From Monday, November 20 to Monday, December 4, 2023, the Asia-Africa Center, Ehime University’s Institute for International Relations conducted the “Agriculture and Rural Development B” training program for young people, sponsored by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
While for the past three years the training has been conducted remotely online due to the Corona disaster, this year we were able to accept 11 trainees from seven Spanish-speaking countries in Central and South America to Ehime University, where they were able to participate in face-to-face lectures, site visits, and discussions. The trainees participated in classroom lectures at Ehime University, visited sites in Yawatahama City, Uchiko Town, and Koiijima Island, and learned about successful examples of food value chains*, sixth industrialization, branding, and product development related to agriculture in Ehime Prefecture through hands-on observation, lectures, and question and answer discussions. In conducting these training programs, we received cooperation from government and municipal offices, companies, and organizations involved in agriculture in Ehime Prefecture, as we did in the previous program.
The fact that we were able to realize the training program in Japan this time made it more meaningful than ever for the trainees. It was also an opportunity for them to learn more about Japan by experiencing Japanese culture and traditions.
Based on the experience and knowledge gained through the training, the trainees created specific activity plans that are achievable in their home countries, and had active discussions with Ehime University faculty members, which also helped to further enhance the effectiveness and feasibility of the activity plans. It is expected that the trainees will put their activity plans into practice in their home countries and contribute to the development of agriculture and rural areas in their respective countries.
Food value chain: The linkage of added value generated in the distribution process from production to consumption related to agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and fishery products and foods.
＜nternational Relations Office＞