Los Baños, Philippines
11 February 2019

The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and Nagoya University strengthened their partnership by signing an agreement to intensify cooperation in rice research and education.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by Dr. Seiichi Matsuo, President of Nagoya University, and by Dr. Matthew Morell, Director General of IRRI, outlines the scientific and technical collaboration.

Through this partnership, IRRI and Nagoya University will exchange organization members and research fellows, academic materials, information and publication; and conduct joint research projects and organize symposiums, jointly supervise students’ research, dissertations, theses and fieldwork, and develop projects for fundraising.

“Driven by our shared goal to educate and train the next generation of ASEAN leaders in agriculture, this cooperation and exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge will help pave the way for developing innovative solutions to achieve food security in Asia,” said Dr. Matsuo.

Population growth, dwindling land and water resources for agriculture, lack of interest and engagement of youth in agriculture, and the adverse effects of climate change are some of the urgent issues that Asia and Africa regions need to confront.

“We are committed to build strategic alliances with universities and research institutions to accelerate delivery of excellent research, generate knowledge, and build scientific and leadership capacity that will propel progress in Asia and Africa. We are grateful for the trust of Nagoya University in IRRI’s expertise and technologies that will help countries attain sustainable food security,” said Dr. Abdelbagi Ismail, IRRI’s Regional Representative for Africa.

The partnership between IRRI and Nagoya University started over 15 years ago through exchange and joint supervision of PhD students through the IRRI-Japan collaborative project. In 2012, a research project titled “Wonder Rice Initiative for Food Security and Health (WISH)” funded by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) was initiated. Through the project 200 new rice varieties, both high-yielding and tolerant of unfavorable conditions were developed for Asia and Africa regions.