5th anniversary symposium of Nishi-Awa GIAHS site: reflecting the past, creating the future
Tokushima Tsurugisan Global Agricultural Heritage Promotion Council Secretariat held the “5th anniversary symposium of Nishi-Awa GIAHS site: reflecting the past, creating the future” on March 5, 2023 . In 2008, "Nishi-Awa steep slope agricultural system" was designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site by the Food and Agriculture Organization. Commemorating its 5th anniversary, this symposium aims to retrospectively examine the past, compare the situation before and after recognition, and engage in discussions with the goal of sharing the future of the “Nishi-Awa steep slope agricultural system” with everyone. Additionally , local students reported on their "Kikigaki" (listening and writing) research on the lives of farmers, each school […]
Millet summit in Nishi-Awa
Tokushima Tsurugisan Global Agricultural Heritage Promotion Council Secretariat will hold the “Millet summit in Nishi-Awa” from August 29th to 30th,2022, to raise awareness of indigenous millets as a symbol of local food security. The Nishi-Awa steep slope agricultural system has been designated as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) site by the Food and Agriculture Organization in 2018. Farmers in the Nishi-Awa region have used their slope land for agriculture without creating terrace paddy fields and have cultivated various crops, such as millets. At the summit, we will improve our knowledge of indigenous millets as a symbol of local food security, learn new ways to protect genetic resources, and […]
The Ark of Taste Registration Ceremony of Indigenous Millets in Higashi-Iya by Slow Food
Prof. Naoki Naito of Tokushima University, Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Science, promoted the registration of six indigenous millets, i.e., finger millet, Japanese millet, foxtail millet, common millet, sorghum, and buckwheat grown in Higashi-Iya. Prof. Naito is responsible for the conservation of the Nishi-Awa GIAHS site and the native millets of Higashi-Iya. He has collaborated with global and local actors such as Slow Food Nippon, Higashi-Iya Millet Producer Association in Miyoshi city, Ikeda High School, and related public administration to conserve indigenous millets . In 2020–2021, he conducted a project to conserve indigenous millets in collaboration with various sectors founded by the TOYOTA foundation. Production of millets in […]