On May 27, 2025, Agriculture and Food Industry Minister Ludmila Catlabuga from the Republic of Moldova graciously visited NARO, accompanied by: Mr. Maxim Popov, Executive Director of Agency for Development and Modernization of Agriculture; Mr. Dumitru Socolan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Moldova to Japan; and Mrs. Corina Prigorschi, Counsellor of Embassy of the Republic of Moldova to Japan.
Vice President Dr. NISHIDA Tomoko, in charge of international cooperation, gave welcome remarks and a presentation of NARO's overview followed by a discussion, where Minister Catlabuga stated that they are concerned about sustainable agriculture and that providing relevant information to farmers in Moldova is important.
They then visited NARO Tsukuba Plant Factory of Institute of Vegetable and Floriculture Science, where Dr. ISOZAKI Masahide, Manager of the Division of Greenhouse Productivity Research, made a presentation about the simulation of growth and yield in horticultural crops. And he gave a tour of the Plant Factory including growing rooms for tomatoes.
After that, they visited Institute for Rural Engineering, where Dr. ISHII Masahisa, Leader of the Regional Resource Utilization and Management Group, introduced to them the Wind Tunnel and the environmental control system for the Smart Greenhouse. The delegation showed great interest in those technologies and had a lively discussion on the temperature control technology in the greenhouses.
