Prof. Hisayoshi Hayashi
Professor of Biosphere Resource Science and Technology Program, Faculty of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Tsukuba, JapanSpeech Title: Collaborative Agricultural Research to Overcome Conflicting Global Issues in the 21st Century
Abstract: In the 20th century, human beings made great progress by modernizing agriculture and reducing food shortages. We had high expectations of a wonderful life in the 21st century. However, almost a quarter of a century has passed since the start of the 21st century, and various challenges have become increasingly severe. Thus, the European Union, USA, numerous other countries and supra-national organizations have developed strategies to preserve or enhance the environment and human health recently. In Japan, a new strategy to achieve Sustainable Development Goals and develop sustainable food systems, called MeaDRI (Measures for achievement of Decarbonization and Resilience with Innovation), was formulated in 2021. Japan is located in a region of Asia with conditions (including high temperatures and humidity) that promote outbreaks of diverse pests and diseases. Thus, successful establishment of efficient agricultural production systems with less environmental impact here would contribute to sustainable development not only in Japan, but also in other Asian countries and globally. The MeaDRI goals for 2050 are to reduce CO2 emissions from agriculture, forestry, and fisheries to zero, reduce use of chemical pesticides by 50%, reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by 30%, and increase the area devoted to organic farming to 1 million ha, ca. 25% of the total agricultural area. It is believed that thorough elucidation and utilization of soil microbial functions will be essential for achieving these goals. In this presentation, I will introduce the background to the development of MeaDRI and its contents, as well as the studies I have conducted related to this strategy. I will also introduce the post-Koch ecological research that started in 2019 to elucidate the functions of soil microorganisms.
Biography: Dr. Hisayoshi Hayashi graduated from the University of Tsukuba in 1980. After working as an extension officer for a year in Nagano Prefecture he moved to Chushin Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES), where he was a member of the station’s department of field crop cultivation for six years. He then moved to the University of Tsukuba, where he is a professor and head of the Crop Science laboratories, now. He is the president of Japanese Society of Farm Work Research, too. His research focuses on the development and evaluation of sustainable, environmentally friendly production systems for both major crops and regional specialty crops. The effects of farm work on the human mind is one of his important research objectives, too.