The National Agriculture and Food Research Organization (NARO) is the biggest national research institute in Japan for conducting research and development on agriculture and food. Our overall mission is to contribute to the development of society through innovations in agriculture and food, by promoting pioneering and fundamental R&D.

We conduct technological development to make agriculture a competitive and attractive industry, and contribute to increasing the nation’s food self-sufficiency rate. To this end, we conduct R&D to increase the productivity and safety of agriculture, and lessen production costs; and to promote new markets and future industries by developing value-added agricultural products, through incorporating market needs into respective products. In addition, we conduct R&D regarding global issues such as climate change, and the utilization of local agricultural resources to maximize the multi-functionality of agriculture.

In 2015, NARO and Wageningen University & Research (WUR) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the promotion of collaborative research in the field of agricultural science and technology. Since 2019, NARO has assigned a researcher with a special mission (so-called liaison scientist) to Corporate Strategy & Acount (CSA) at WUR to promote collaborative research between NARO and WUR or other research institutions, including private companies in the Netherlands.