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Yokohama City University and CIMMYT, an International Agricultural Research Institute, Conclude a Comprehensive Basic Agreement Today
Press Release November 22, 2007 Yokohama City University Research Promotion Section Manager Hiroyuki Okuda Tel: 787-2019 |
On Thursday, November 22, Yokohama City University (hereafter called YCU) and the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), an international agricultural research institute based in Mexico (Director General: Masaru Iwanaga), concluded a comprehensive basic agreement in order to build a cooperative relationship for the promotion of international-level research and education.
The signing ceremony started at 10:30 at the YCU Extension Center (13F, Yokohama Landmark Tower, Minatomirai, Nishi-ku, Yokohama). Ryoichi Takarada, Chairman of the Board, YCU and Masaru Iwanaga, Director General, CIMMYT exchanged a written agreement.
Kihara Institute for Biological Research of YCU is actively pursuing international social contribution and human resources development through education and research making the most of the extensive and valuable genetic resources of the wheat and red pepper families. In the future, the Institute will make the most of the cooperative relationship with CIMMYT by, for example, sending students to CIMMYT for hands-on training, fostering internationally-minded YCU students through lectures by CIMMYT researchers, and making joint proposals for international and domestic research projects. Taking advantage of the characteristics/capabilities and achievements of each other, the two parties will conduct joint research on a global scale and the world's top-level research activities in plant science and agriculture to make international contributions.
For Your Reference
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center/ Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maiz Y Trigo (CIMMYT) Director General: Masaru Iwanaga
International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center/ Centro International de Mejoramiento de Maiz Y Trigo CIMMYT is an international agricultural research institute founded in 1966. With the World Bank, FAO*1 and UNDP*2 as supporters, it is currently one of the several research centers in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) that conducts long-term and organized research in agriculture, forestry and fisheries for expansion of food production and sustainable development of agriculture, forestry and fisheries in developing countries. This Mexico-based institute is carrying out breed improvement and related R&D regarding maize and wheat, two of the world's three major cereals in order to solve poverty and starvation in the world. In relation to the "Green Revolution" that allegedly saved 100 million people from starvation through development of wheat varieties with significantly higher yields from Japanese semidwarf wheat, "Norin 10" in the 1960s, Dr. Borlaug, the then director of the wheat department, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970. At present, CIMMYT, headed by Dr. Masaru Iwanaga, the first Japanese director general of this center, is pursuing scientific and technological development in order to make contributions to the international society and ensure continually stable supply of food while s trengthening cooperation with the Japanese government through various bureaus of the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
*1 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)
Founded in 1945 and based in Rome, Italy, the FAO is the United Nations' largest specialized agency that carries out activities aimed at "liberation of man from starvation, improvement of nutrition and living standards, and improvement of production and distribution of food and agricultural products. The FAO's Japanese office is located in Yokohama.
*2 United Nations Development Program (UNDP)
A United Nations organization founded in 1966 as the central source of financing in the technical cooperation activities. Through the global network of the U.N., UNDP offers education and training aimed at development of developing regions and provides developing countries with access to knowledge, experiences, and funds for improvement of people's living conditions.
The main office is in New York, U.S.
Yokohama City University Kihara Institute for Biological Research (Director: Atsushi Komamine)
Kihara Institute for Biological Research, located on the Maioka campus, maintains achievements of Dr. Hitoshi Kihara, the founder of this institute, stores precious genetic lineages of 800 red pepper varieties and 6,000 wheat varieties, one of the three chief crops for man together with rice and maize, and conducts research and development valuable both for the local community and the international society. From the current fiscal year, this institute made a new start as a base for the cutting-edge plant genomics and an international research and education institute.
For the sake of scientific and technological development in response to global-level environmental changes and population growth, this institute is carrying out education and R&D activities that make the most of precious genetic resources and research resources available, e.g., study of new functional genes that restrict a greenhouse gas (N2O) biologically and wheat genes resistant to dryness and damage from salt, genetic-level study of safe and disease-resistant wheat varieties with an eye to future food crisis, gene-discovery study for new functionalities of medicinal plants and red peppers.
