Title: Release of the SATREPS-EARTH webpage

The SATREPS-EARTH project webpage opened on July 2nd, 2021.

This project, entitled “Eco-engineering for Agricultural Revitalization Towards Improvement of Human Nutrition (EARTH)”, was adopted as part of the “Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) in 2020 founded by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and was officially launched at the Ethiopia-Japan Joint Kick-off Meeting on July 1, 2021. Professor Dr. Shinjiro Sato of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, Soka University, will lead the project. The research will continue for five years, from July 2021 to June 2026.

Aquatic plants (water hyacinth) overgrown in Lake Tana, the largest lake in Ethiopia, have been causing various environmental and economic problems due to the invasion of exotic species and the nutrient inflow because of recent population growth. In this project, we will research and develop a process to produce valuable products (such as biogas, anaerobic digestion effluent, biochar, microalgae, vegetables, and crops) utilizing those aquatic plants properly managed and harvested by using ICT such as remote sensing. In particular, by developing and marketing health food products using Spirulina, a type of microalgae that is known as a superfood, we aim to build a modern version of the “African Satoumi recycling society” to achieve both environmental conservation with economic growth.

＊Only the top page has been opened to the public at this time, and additional pages introducing the activities and achievements of the project will be posted in the future.