A signing ceremony was held on 13 July 2011 to undertake Joint Research Project for “The Establishment of a Sustainable Rural Society with Low Green Gas Emissions in Tigray Regions, Ethiopia” by JIRCAS and five Ethiopian partners.

This Joint Research Project will be conducted by the Japan International Research Centre for Agricultural Sciences (JIRCAS) and Ethiopian counterparts (Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopian Institute of Agricultural Research, Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Development of Tigray Region, Mekelle University, and Tigray Agricultural Research Institute). The Joint Research Project will be completed in five years, from 2011 to 2016.

H.E. Mr. Hiroyuki Kishino, Ambassador, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Ethiopia, observed the signing of the Joint Research Agreement by the six partners.

This Project was initiated with the objective to establish a rural development model that contributes to poverty alleviation and reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in Tigray Region, Ethiopia through evaluation and application of various scientific technologies, as well as development of CDM projects.

Japan has given due attention to climate change mitigation. To this effect, Japan has supported climate change related projects such as Participatory Forest Management Project in Belete-Gera Forest Area in the Oromia Region through technical cooperation of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and construction of Tree Seed Processing and Storage Centers in the Amhara and Oromia Regions with a grant.