Category: Research Activity

From December 1st to 15th, 2025, Kiyotaka Tokuraku and Shinya Yamanaka travel to Malawi. From November 29th to December 16th, 2025, Tetsu Sato travel to Malawi.
Reports on the progress of the project and future coordination meetings were conducted at the Embassy of Japan in Malawi and the JICA Malawi Office. At WOTA LTD, discussions were held regarding small scale irrigation facilities, along with the collection of information from leading farmers. Surveys were carried out at the Sustainable Cape Maclear Farm, and visits were made to progressive farmers in Zomba, Blantyre, and Lilongwe. Research meetings were also held with Nicholas Sikoya Chanza, John Matewere, and Yasuko Kusakari. In addition, Sato conducted a diving survey in Chirundu.

From November 4th to 16th, 2025, Tetsu Sato travel to Malawi.
Proceeded with the discussions on further collaboration in the construction of three new Chirundu units. Visited the SCM farm and the agroforestry farm and held meetings to discuss current issues and future developments. Held a meeting regarding the terminal evaluation and requested the cooperation of stakeholders. Held a meeting with the University of Malawi to discuss the collaborative structure after the SCM project is completed.

The symposium is organized by the “Date Pro” project, implemented under the Cross‑ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), 3rd period, “Building a Platform to Realize New Ways of Learning and Working in the Post‑COVID‑19 Era,” of the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI). The program is administered by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST),

This symposium is organized by the research project “Date Pro.” supported by Council for Science, Technology and Innovation (CSTI), Cross-ministerial Strategic Innovation Promotion Program (SIP), the 3rd period of SIP (Funding agency: Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST)). And the project is led by Shinya Yamanaka of Muroran Institute of Technology.
The symposium was held on October 25th and 26th at the Civic Activity Center in Kashima, Date City. The core keyword was “Networking.” Innovators from Date and Malawi who are tackling various agricultural practices and challenges presented their unique initiatives. Through these presentations, we hope to spark new connections and envision a brighter future for the region—highlighting how human networks can overcome difficulties and how new forms of collaboration can emerge.
From the project, we invited Nicholas Sikoya Chanza (Mr. Mantis) and J. B. Matewere (Mr. John) from Malawi, who presented on sustainable agriculture, the linkage between agriculture and tourism, and the activities of the local restaurant “ZATHU” in Chembe Village. Project member Yasuko Kusakari also introduced “The Cape Maclear Story: Connecting Farmers and Tourism Beginning from a Local Restaurant.”
During the Roundtable Discussion, the facilitator, Sato, shared a hopeful message: “Someday, I would love to see people creating menus that combine vegetables and seafood from Date, and many visitors coming to ZATHU saying they want to enjoy those dishes.”
Web site of Date Pro.　だてプロ

From September 18th to November 23rd, Placid Mpeketula from the University of Malawi was accepted as a short-term foreign researcher at the Tokyo University of Agriculture.
Through discussions and collaborative research with Japanese researchers, he conducted a detailed analysis of the results of empirical research on soil improvement processes and mechanisms and leverage point analysis, and prepared a paper for submission to an international academic journal.

From September 18th to November 23rd, Nicholas Sikoya Chanza from Sustainable Cape Maclear (CBO) in Chembe village was accepted as a short-term foreign researcher at the Tokyo University of Agriculture.
He learned multifaceted techniques from Japan’s leading examples of agroforestry, forest seed production and tree planting, and environmentally friendly agriculture.
Through collaborative research, he built a foundation for utilizing these techniques on the ground in Malawi. During his stay, he visited Miyagi Prefecture, Date City in Hokkaido, and Nagano University, and other places, and conducted collaborative research on Japan’s leading examples of various techniques and methods of collaboration with community stakeholders.

October: Presentation at Muroran Institute of Technology International Symposium, Date City, Hokkaido

November: Participated in Nagano University’s “Seed Project” tree planting festival in Miyagi Prefecture

From September 28th to October 22nd, Lameck Fiwa from Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources was accepted as a short-term foreign researcher at the Tokyo University of Agriculture.
Through discussions and collaborative research with Japanese researchers, he analyzed the results of collaborative research on hydrological models, which are at the cutting edge of environmental conservation agriculture research, and prepared to submit a paper to an international academic journal. During his stay, he visited Nagoya University with Prof. Okazawa to discuss methods for summarizing the research results.

From August 4th to 19th, 2025, Hiromu Okazawa visited Malawi.
Have a meeting with Rector of the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and Dr. Lameck Fiwa, and conducted crop growth surveys, soil analysis, maintenance of installed equipment such as solar pumps, and gathered information on resource management methods through dialogue with farmers.
Held detailed discussions with Dr. Lameck Fiwa, who will be visiting Japan in September, regarding his research plans in Japan.

From July 13th to October 9th, 2025, Yasuko Kusakari visited Malawi as a short-term overseas researcher for this term.
She energetically collected multifaceted information related to the community and promoted the emergence of new actions. She continues to fulfill her role as a two-way knowledge translator that encourages knowledge sharing between Japanese and Malawian research members and local innovators.
She engaged in dialogue and follow-up with stakeholders in Chembe village, and held discussions and exchanged opinions with various committees.

From July 26th to August 8th, 2025, Tetsu Sato visited Malawi.
Had a meeting and surveyed the current status of the farm and Chirondu management and operation, and also participated in the tour guide association’s pamphlet launch ceremony. Discussed with many members the research strategy and compilation of papers for the final year of the project, and held meetings to discuss the creation of final results. Discussions also progressed regarding further research plans, allowing for concrete prospects to be established.

From July 6th to August 23rd, Happy Mussa, Japanese Government (Monbukagakusho:MEXT) Scholarship Student from Kagoshima University, conducted research in Malawi.
Following up on his research from last September, he conducted a comparative study that combined participatory research on advanced cases in Japan with fieldwork on Lake Malawi. He was able to collect primary data on the structure, implementation, and performance of fisheries products marketing in Malawi, with a focus on mapping value chains, analyzing stakeholder behavior, profitability, and efficiency, and identifying challenges and opportunities for sustainable market systems. As planned, He was able to collect data from key fishing grounds and urban markets, gaining important insights.