Announcement of Awardees of the 2025 (The 19th) Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers (Japan Award) and the Awarding Ceremony

〇  Three young researchers from developing countries were awarded for their outstanding research achievements in the fields of agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. 〇  The awarding ceremony will be held on October 27, 2025 at Hitotsubashi Hall, Tokyo.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) has decided this year's awardees of the Japan International Award for Young Agricultural Researchers (Japan Award).
The awarding ceremony will be held on October 27, 2025 at Hitotsubashi Hall, Tokyo. The ceremony is open to the public. Photos are permitted.

1. Overview

Japan Award, organized by the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council (AFFRC), MAFF, Japan from 2007, aims to motivate young researchers who engage in research and development in agriculture, forestry, fisheries and related industries in developing regions. Up to three young researchers are commended with the awards for their outstanding performance and research achievements each year.

The chairman of the AFFRC bestows testimonials on the winners. They also win “MOTAI-JIRCAS Award*” of USD5,000.
＊ The award is implemented with the donation from Mr. Shigeru MOTAI, the former Chairman of the AFFRC, supported by the Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS).

2. Awardees

Name (Age*1, Gender, Nationality)	Institute*2	Research Achievement
Dr. Vignesh MUTHUSAMY (38, Male, Indian)	Indian Agricultural Research Institute	Genetic biofortification and dissemination of Indian maize hybrids for enhanced nutritional security
Dr. Ivan Eduardo RAMIREZ MORALES (39, Male, Ecuadorian)	Universidad Técnica de Machala	Research on Artificial Intelligence in agriculture, aquaculture and livestock production and its international application and deployment
Dr. Addisu Fekadu ANDETA (38, Male, Ethiopian)	Arba Minch University	Research on innovative enset*3 processing and fermentation technologies and its deployment in five regions of Ethiopia

＊1 Age is as of January 1, 2025
＊2 Affiliation is as of the time of application.
＊3 Enset：In certain regions of Ethiopia, enset is used as a staple food. Starch is extracted from the plant’s pseudostem and corm, then fermented and processed into a bread-like food called kocho.

3. Date and Place of the Awarding Ceremony

(1) Date
Monday, October 27, 2025
Registration opens               9：30 a.m.
Awarding ceremony             From 10：00 a.m. to 10：55 a.m.
Lectures by the awardees     From 11：10 a.m. to 11：55 a.m.

(2) Place
Hitotsubashi Hall
(National Center of Sciences Building 2F,2-1-2 Hitotsubashi,Chiyoda-ku,Tokyo 101-8439)

4. Registration

This event is open to public. To register, please follow the link below to access the online registration page.Only online registration is accepted; please refrain from making a call to register.
Registration deadline is Sunday, October 26, 2025, 12：00 p.m.
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/form/event/2025/e20251027_japanaward

5. To The Press

Please register online following the link provided in "4.Registration"

6. Other(JIRCAS International Symposium 2025)

JIRCAS International Symposium 2025 “Accelerating Application of Agricultural Technologies in the Asia-Monsoon Region: Taking Stock and the Way Forward for Enhancing Production Potentials and Sustainable Food Systems” will be held at the same venue from 13：30 on the same day. If you would like to participate, please register with the following URL.
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/form/symposium/2025/e20251027_jircas

For more information about the symposium, please visit the following website:
https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/symposium/2025/e20251027_jircas

7. Reference

For the announcement on the call for nomination for the 2025 (The 19th) Japan Award, please visit the following URL.
https://www.affrc.maff.go.jp/docs/press/250327.html

For information on previous awardees, please visit the following URL.
https://www.affrc.maff.go.jp/kokusaikenkyu/young_foreigner_researcher.htm