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 promote local activities, including food culture and tourism, to conserve millets.

Title:	Millet Summit in Nishi-Awa, Japan
Date:	August 29–30, 2022
Venue:	Higashi-Iya Museum of Local History and Folklore, Miyoshi, Japan
Sponsor:	Tokushima Tsurugisan Global Agricultural Heritage Promotion Council Secretariat
Partners:	Japan Millet Association, Millet Society of Japan, Chugoku-shikoku Regional Agricultural Administration Office, Nishi-Awa and Mt. Tsurugi and the Yoshino River Tourism Zone, Tokushima Shimbun, Shikoku Broadcasting Co., Ltd.
Participation fee:	Participation fee is free of cost

Program

• Opening remarks
  Shigeru Kanenishi (a mayor of Tsurugi town)
  Miho Takai (a mayor of Miyoshi city)
• Keynote speech
  “History and current situation of millets”
  Pro. Nobuyuki Kurauchi, Nihon University, College of Bioresource Sciences
• Keynote report
  “What children learn from GIAHS”
  Pro. Kenichi Abe, The Research Institute for Humanity and Nature
• Case report
  “Planting and cultivating indigenous finger millet”
  Students from Higashi-Iya elementary school
  “Millet production in Nishi-Awa and the situation of product development”
  Yasuyo Toyonaga, General Prefectural Office in Western Tokushima
  “Development of a small threshing machine for millets”
  Hutoshi Sasaki, Nihon University, Lecturer
• Panel Discussion: “Food culture of millet and the future: From the perspectives of producer, seller, and consumer”
  Panelist: Yoshikazu Sugihira (Higashi-Iya Millet Producer Association), Eiko Watanabe (Kumakogen Council for the Study of Living), Yaegashi Takuya (Pronoumu Hanamaki), Mika Yokozeki (Zakkoku Creator）
  Facilitator: Prof. Naoki Naito (Tokushima University Graduate School of Technology, Industrial and Social Science)