President of AAACU Prof.
Satoru Tsuchikawa
(Nagoya University)

We are glad to announce the 24th AAACU Biennial Conference and General Assembly to be hosted and co-organized by Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan from December 2-6, 2024. The Non-Profit Organization Bio Tech TOKAI will likewise organize an agribusiness fair in Tokai.  We expect a number of visitors from various agricultural institutes from all over Japan.

The Asian Association of Agricultural Colleges and Universities (AAACU) was established in 1972 and it is a network of agricultural colleges and universities in Asia with the main mission of improving human welfare through agriculture, education, research, and extension.

Over past decades year, the 8th Biennial Conference (1990, main theme: Academic Cooperation for the Improvement of Agriculture in Asia) and the 15th Biennial Conference (2004, main theme: Development of an e-Learning System as a Tool for Distance Education in Agriculture and Bio-Industry in Asia) were hosted by Nagoya University. During that time, the Biennial Conference had been serving as a great platform to strengthen the collaboration between international researchers in agricultural science and technology.

The main theme of the 24th AAACU Biennial Conference is “Nagoya Protocol in Nagoya -wise and harmonized use of bioresources in the international community-“. Each country, particularly in tropic Asia, has vast bioresources with high diversity. Investment in such bioresources would be further beneficial with cooperation with partner countries and universities, but it needs thoughtful care on access and benefit-sharing (ABS). Nagoya is famous or infamous for the Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit-sharing, so we, Nagoya University, would like to share the good practices and problems of the AAACU member universities in international collaborations using bioresources. We are also thinking of sharing our practices in education on bioinformatics and biodiversity as it is essential for capacity building in terms of ABS.

Nagoya City is home to over 2.3 million people. It is Japan’s fourth largest incorporated city, and Japan’s third most populous urban area. Centrally located, it is one of the nation’s most important transportation hubs, historical centers and industrial powerhouses. As the most centrally located major city, Nagoya evolved early as a major transportation hub and offers complete infrastructure for land, sea and air transportation, making it an ideal base for businesses and tourists. International Airport, Centrair, located about 30 minutes by express train south of the city.

We are looking forward to welcome you to the 24th AAACU Biennial Conference and General Assembly and our interesting city where both great academic experience and the wonderful memory are awaiting.