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R e se ar c h ac t ivities

Japan Intellectual Support Network in Agricultural Sciences■Joint research eﬀorts to improve educational and research conditions in an agricultural university in Cambodia

Founded on November 30, 2009, the Japan Intellectual Support Network in Agricultural Sciences (JISNAS) serves as abridge between the universities that are committed to playing a part in international cooperation activities in the ﬁeld ofagricultural sciences and the international institutions/organizations that specialize in agricultural research. The ICREA,
which was one of the founding members of the JISNAS, has served as the secretariat for JISNAS with a clear mission andvision in mind.
There are various ways through which universities can contribute to international cooperation. They could, for example,provide advanced education and training programs to concerned parties in both developing countries and Japan, conduct
academic research to investigate the problems that exist in developing countries, carry out international development
studies, or actually take part in international cooperation. Since its foundation, the JISNAS has shared its knowledge andexperience with the international community through various activities (e.g., educational/research activities, social
contribution activities, etc.) in the ﬁeld of agricultural sciences. With the recent advancement of social and economic
globalization in advanced as well as developing/emerging countries throughout the world,
the needs for international cooperation are becoming increasingly diversiﬁed and■Committees of JISNAS
complicated. It is therefore important more than ever to expand the network ofCommittees
Contents of theinternational agricultural cooperation that brings together the wisdom of personal
activities
nameinsights.
Seminar and Planning and management ofThrough promotion of international cooperation in agricultural education and research
Symposium those such as JICA-JISNAS Forum
activities, the JISNAS has not only contributed to successful human resources
Journal：Editorial Board of the academic
journal "Journal of International Cooperation
Journaldevelopment in developing countries but also oﬀered high-quality learning opportunities
for Agricultural Development (JICAD)"(planning, editing, and publishing)to aspiring individuals in Japan who are willing to take part in international education,
International Collaboration with JICA and thejoint international research programs, and international cooperation. This success isCooperation other International Organizations
expected to strengthen the roles of academic and research institutions in the international
International Strengthening cooperation between thecommunity. In 2015, the Rural Development Department of JICA and the JIRCAS have also
network and collaborators to promote
Researchinternational research programs
joined the JISNAS. As of July 2019, the JISNAS has 53 group members and 120 individual
Human Resources Promoting international career of young
members, and is funded by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andresearchers and students, supporting
Development]recruit
Technology, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, and the JICA.

After over 20 years of civil war, many farmers in Cambodia are still living in extreme poverty, which is exacerbated by low
agricultural productivity and income. The genocide perpetrated by Pol Pot's regime in the 1970s and the subsequent civil
war left the country with a severe shortage of labor. Furthermore, Cambodia's agricultural universities have been unable tofulﬁll its duty of identifying agricultural issues in the country and delivering good solutions for them. Since 2000, the ICREA
has been assisting the Royal University of Agriculture (RUA) in Cambodia improve its educational and research conditions,reform the education system, and establish both master's and doctoral programs in agricultural sciences. We have beencommitted since 2008 to lead the movement towards the introduction of the practical training and research approaches thatoﬀer the opportunity for hands-on experience and practice in the local farming communities.
Our focus is on the traditional agricultural products and vegetable production that, if handled properly, should yield good
proﬁts. Through our research activities, we have identiﬁed the current agricultural issues and challenges in Cambodia,
proposed and tested several solutions to them, and put our research ﬁndings into practice by taking part in the JICA (JapanInternational Cooperation Agency) Partnership Program. By combining research and on-site support activities, we have beenable to undertake a wide variety of basic research studies and oﬀer university instructors and students the chance to not only
get hands-on experience of investigating and solving the problems that are actually occurring in the local farming
communities but also understand how research and education can contribute to identifying
and solving the agricultural issues in the country.
By building on the experience we have gained through our research and support activities
with the RUA, we have started gradually a human resources development assistancethrough a series of basic research studies with other universities in Cambodia.
Rice liguor producer in Takeo Province:
A step-by-step guide from a Japanese expert.

0５■Empirical research exploring how biogas production from livestock manure may help preserve forests in Nepal

Pub lic ations
Journal of International Cooperation for Agricultural Development

URL https://icrea.agr.nagoya-u.ac.jp/jpn/journal/backnumber.html
The Journal of International Cooperation for Agricultural Development (JICAD) provides ahuman development platform for training individuals who aspire to plunge into the ﬁeld ofinternational cooperation to make use of their expertise in agricultural sciences. This journal
publishes peer-reviewed articles that examine world aﬀairs from the agricultural perspectives,
explore the possibility of conducting multinational agricultural research, or present a casereport describing how leading-edge research ﬁndings can be applied to solve global issues. Articles submitted for
publication are edited by the Japan Intellectual Support Network in Agricultural Sciences (JISNAS). Vol. 14 and later issuesof the journal are published in online version.

ICREA News

This is a periodical published twice a year by the ICREA. It provides an update on ICREA's current research activities.

Steering Committee
Committees
Clerical assistantTimber harvesting to supply fuelwood used for cooking every day is one of the major
factors contributing to deforestation in many developing countries. Nongovernmentalorganizations (NGOs) and international institutions are accelerating their eﬀorts toencourage developing countries to use biogas produced from livestock manure to replace
wood fuel sources. Although the use of biogas can clearly reduce fuelwood consumption,
little is known about other desirable and undesirable eﬀects of biogas use. This researchuses data obtained from ﬁeld surveys conducted in a hilly district in Nepal where biogas
Degraded forests in hilly areas of Nepal
technology was introduced nearly 20 years ago to analyze (both quantitatively andqualitatively) the positive and negative impacts of biogas production on fuelwood consumption, forest vegetation, livelihoodof local residents, and forest management schemes.

Executive Group Members

General Assembly

1. Seminar and Symposium
2. Journal
3. International Cooperation
4. International Research
5. Human Resources Development

Institutionalassistant

Secretariat

Activeinvolvement

Participation

Grad. Sch. of Agr. & Life Sci., Univ. of Tokyo
Cent. For Int. Prog., Tokyo Univ. of Agr.
Fac. of Agr., Niigata Univ. Int. Coop.
Cent. for Agr. Ed., Nagoya Univ.
Grad. Sch. of Bioresources, Mie Univ.
Gad. Sch. of Agr. Kyoto Univ.
Inst. of Trop. Agr., Kyushu Univ.
Rural Develop. Depart., JICA
Jap. Int. Res. Cent. for Agr. Sci. (JIRCAS）

Cooperation

UniversityB・Other Organizations
・Individuals

UniversityA

JISNAS

Advisory Organizations

・Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT)
・Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF)

Privateenterprises
NGO etc.

Sharing
Knowledge andexperience byjoint project

UniversityC

Organization Chart

UniversityD

Request forCooperation
Entrustment•Japanese Goverment（MOFA,MEXTetc.）•Organizations
implementing Intʼlcooperation

UniversityE

Cooperation
implementation〔intʼI student
acceptance,Intʼ l joint
research,etc.〕

Needs inagriculturalﬁeld indeveloping
countries

Grovernmental
ResearchInstitutions etc.

Image of JISNASO p e n f o r u m s a nd s e m i na r s
The ICREA holds a forum every year to address important topics relating to the ﬁelds ofagricultural education and international cooperation. Researchers and otherprofessionals from both inside and outside the country who are experts on thesubject matter are invited to give lectures in this forum. The forum is open
not only to people from academic institutions but also to the general public.
Furthermore, several times a year, a subject matter expert (e.g., anagricultural expert with practical experience in international cooperation
activities in developing countries) is invited to conduct an open seminar for
researchers, students, and the general public who may be interested ininternational agricultural cooperation.

Lecture by lecturers from various countries
at Open Seminar

Group discussion at Open Forum06