Activity Report of Open Application Program 2022 vol.7 (Course A)
Hands−on advanced agricultural research program for achieving the SDGs
Report from Kagawa University
For seven days, from October 23 to 29, 2022, eleven young researchers (four undergraduate students, four graduate students, two researchers, and one supervising faculty member) from eight different universities from Thailand, Vietnam, Spain, Indonesia, and Taiwan participated in the Sakura Science Exchange Program's hands−on science and technology course hosted by Kagawa University's Faculty of Agriculture. The theme was "Hands−on advanced agricultural research program for achieving the SDGs." The course included (1) tours of agricultural research and education facilities and private companies' factories involved in achieving the SDGs, (2) practical experiments in one of the Faculty of Agriculture's laboratories and discussions with laboratory members. The exact schedule of their stay is as follows.
| Schedule | Activities |
|---|---|
| October 23 | The students arrived at the airport in Japan (Kansai, Narita, Haneda) and were transported to Kagawa University for orientation |
| October 24 | Opening ceremony, laboratory tour with Kagawa University's Faculty of Agriculture, courtesy visit to Kagawa University's international office, and tour of Kagawa University Museum |
| October 25 | Tour of soy sauce manufacturing plant, onshore sturgeon aquaculture facility, and Kagawa University Rare Sugar Production Station |
| October 26 | Practical experiment in one of the Faculty of Agriculture's laboratories and discussions with laboratory members |
| October 27 | Practical experiment in one of the Faculty of Agriculture's laboratories and discussions with laboratory members |
| October 28 | Preparation for presentation, presentation of training results, closing ceremony |
| October 29 | Departure from respective airports |
(1) Tours of agricultural research and education facilities and private companies' factories involved in achieving the SDGs
We took a tour of the Kagawa University Museum—a research and educational facility—and Kagawa University Rare Sugar Production Station. At the Kagawa University Museum, we went to a special exhibit called "The Blessings of Fermentation." Fuminori Ito, the Deputy Director, talked about the research on fermentation by researchers from Kagawa University and the history and collection of fermented foods around the world. Rare sugars are monosaccharides that exist only in very small amounts in nature. Some rare sugars (e.g., D−psicose) increase blood sugar levels and prevent fat from accumulating. It is now sold in some countries, such as the United States and Japan, and there is expected to be more demand for it in the future. Kagawa University's Rare Sugar Production Station is the first in the world to successfully create a method of mass producing rare sugars. Susumu Mochizuki, Associate Professor of the International Institute of Rare Sugar Research and Education of Kagawa University, explained the functions of rare sugars and methods of producing them.
We visited two private companies in Higashikagawa City and observed two of their factories.
The first company was Kamebishi, which has been producing and selling soy sauce for 270 years since 1753. It continues to produce soy sauce using a traditional method known as the straw mat—malt method, and it has 18 buildings that are registered as Tangible Cultural Properties, including shops and soy sauce warehouses. We saw the straw mat malt and soy sauce warehouses while a representative of the company gave explanations. The participants were surprised that the manufacturing method fit with the SDGs. The second company was CAVIC, which produces and sells caviar, one of the world's three major delicacies. The participants learned about sturgeons and their biological characteristics from Naoki Itasaka, the president of CAVIC, and visited an onshore aquaculture plant.
(2) Practical experiment in one of the Faculty of Agriculture's laboratories and discussions with laboratory members
The eleven participants were divided into eight groups, each sent to a laboratory that was close to their own area of research, where they stayed for two days. They exchanged opinions on their research with instructors and students from the laboratories, did experiments the students, talked about their research, and did other activities to deepen their friendship. The participants in Hitomi Yamaguchi's laboratory boarded a research boat to collect benthos (deep dwelling aquatic organisms) from the Seto Inland Sea and observe coastal marine ecosystems. Participants in Toya Ishii and Masahiro Ogawa's laboratories made prototypes of food together with laboratory students and measured the food's physical properties.
On October 28, each of the participating students gave a presentation in front of about 40 faculty members and laboratory students from Kagawa University about what they learned during their research. During the closing ceremony, the students received a Sakura Science Exchange Program certificate of completion from Professor Kazuya Akimitsu, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture.
Although the exchange program was only seven days long, all eleven participants said in the questionnaire that they enjoyed the program and thought it was a very valuable experience. Five of them said they wish to return to Kagawa University as a regular international student, postdoctoral fellow, or short−term guest researcher. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to JST for their support of the program, to everyone at Kamebishi and CAVIC for letting us tour their factories, and to all of the Kagawa University faculty for their cooperation.
