Western Region Agricultural Research Center, NARO

The Western region of Japan is divided into three distinct parts with different geographic and climatic conditions such as the Pacific coast area, the Seto Inland Sea coast area and the Japan Sea coast area. In the region, the ratio of farmland in hilly and semi-mountainous area to total farmland is higher than other regions of Japan. However, some farmland areas are close to the consuming urban areas. Based on different geographical and climatic conditions a diverse agricultural production have been conducted in the region, such as paddy rotation for rice, wheat, barley and soybean, citrus production on slope lands, sustainable vegetable production in greenhouse, and Japanese black cattle production.

The WARC/NARO has four research stations (Fukuyama City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Zentsuji City, Kagawa Prefecture; Ayabe City, Kyoto Prefecture; and Oda City, Shimane Prefecture) and six research divisions (Division of Farming System Research, Division of Lowland Crop Research, Division of Agro-Environment Research, Division of Regional Crop Research, Division of Hillside Horticulture Research, and Division of Japanese Black Cattle Production and Wildlife Management Research) in which we promote research and development.

In the fourth mid-term plan, we will focus our research mainly on the four projects listed below. We are also actively promoting cooperation among industry, academia, and government so as to concentrate on pioneering research and development that can contribute to the advancement of the agriculture and food industry sector of the Western Region.