Conclusion of a comprehensive agreement with the FAO

In June 2016 Kyoto University signed a comprehensive agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The FAO is an agency dedicated to food safety, nutrition, and to promoting the development of agriculture and agricultural communities, including crop farming, animal husbandry, fisheries and marine products. The FAO advances projects to eliminate poverty and hunger in its 194 member countries and support sustainable use of natural resources.
The agreement calls for evaluation of the impact of climate change on food production, cooperation on research on food safety and harvest forecasting, and and personnel exchange. In commemoration of the conclusion of this agreement, Dr. Charles Boliko, Director, FAO Liaison Office in Japan paid a courtesy visit to Kyoto University. Dr. Boliko held an exchange of views on projects in “space agriculture” (agriculture in space and in other gravity environments different from Earth’s) with Takao Doi, former Space Shuttle astronaut and professor at the University’s Unit of Synergetic Studies for Space. He also engaged in an exchange with students and held a press conference on the agreement.