About ICREA

Background of Establishment

Many developing countries are still suffering from food shortages, poor agricultural production, poverty, environmental destruction, infectious diseases affecting domestic animals, and other agricultural problems, which are regarded today as serious global issues that need to be addressed. To solve these issues, we need to develop appropriate agricultural techniques by undertaking socio-economic impact assessment and ensuring effective use of natural resources and harmony with the natural environment. In addition, it is equally important to produce high-quality human resources. International cooperation is essential for this endeavor, and Japan is expected to take an active part in it.

This trend was especially strong in the 1990s, when the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture (equivalent to today's Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) set up the Council for Understanding the Latest Forms of International Educational Collaboration. In its report published in June 1996, the Council presented new policies relating to international educational collaboration, highlighting the importance of actively responding to the increasing demand for international cooperation in education, clarifying the important roles played by universities and other related institutions in educational collaboration, and emphasizing the importance of not only promoting collaboration among businesses/institutions but also encouraging educational institutions to take voluntary and organized action to effectively promote educational collaboration.

In April 1999, as part of the governmental efforts to realize these policies, the ICCAE was established at Nagoya University as a center that takes an initiative in training individuals to acquire the ability to find practical solutions to the developmental issues in the field of agriculture, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture.

The ICCAE has put together the expertise of agricultural universities and other related educational and research institutions in Japan and used integrated multidisciplinary approaches to contribute to the resolution of various agricultural issues in developing countries. Furthermore, the ICCAE has been promoting international research and education activities based on the belief that human development efforts should be undertaken both inside and outside the country.