The 19th Steering Meeting and Symposium

Duration：December 12^th(Thu) to 14^th (Sat) in 2024
Venue：Pattaya, Thailand
Composition：Symposium(December 12）、Steering Meeting(December 13)、Field Visit (December 14)
Participants：

10 countries (Egypt, India, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Nepal, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand), 3 international organizations (FAO, MRC, IWMI (online)).
From Japan, in addition to the MAFF of Japan, the participants included (a.) Tsugihiro Watanabe, Professor Emeritus of Kyoto University (b.) Yutaka Matsuno, Professor of Agriculture at Kindai University , (c.) Kyohei Matsushita, Professor of Economics at Shiga University , (d.) Keigo Noda, Associate Professor , Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences at the Professor of Tokyo, (e.) Officers of Shiga Prefecture, (f.) Researchers of National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO), (g.)Staffes of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and (h.) The Japan Institute of Irrigation and Drainage (JIID), and others.

Summary：

On December 12, a symposium themed “Promoting Innovative Paddy Farming to Achieve Carbon Neutrality” was held. Keynote speeches were delivered by Marco Arcieri, President of ICID, and Tsugihiro Watanabe, Honorary Vice President of ICID. Presentations were made by Egypt, India, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand, JICA, NARO, and JIID.
On December 13 the 19th INWEPF Steering Meeting was held. The following discussions took place during the meeting:

・Approval of the “INWEPF 7th Phase Strategy and Annual Action Plan (2024-2025)”.
・Presentations of case studies and initiatives aligned with each group's theme, divided into WG 1-3.
・Approval of Italy and Kenya as new INWEPF member countries.
・Approval of holding the “20th INWEPF Steering Meeting and Symposium” in November 2025 in Japan (Shiga Prefecture).
On December 14, a site visit was conducted at Kubota Farm (Chonburi Province). During the site visit, we observed cutting-edge agricultural technologies closely integrated with the ASEAN region.


Opening Ceremony	Keynote Address by Tsugihiro Watanabe, Honorary Vice President of ICID	Presentation Session

Group photo of representatives from participating countries	Scene from the Steering Meeting	WG3 Meeting

Group photo of WG2 Meeting participants	Report on the Results of WG3 Meeting by Yutaka Matsuno	Shiga Prefecture's Introduction of the Next Meeting Venue

Kubota Farm	Explanation for indoor facilities	WATARAS Inspection