On May 2, 2019, the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Vietnam National University of Agriculture (VNUA), welcomed and had a meeting with representatives of the Japanese Institute of Agricultural Machinery, a member of the National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, Japan. This was the first meeting and discussion between the two parties with the aim of facilitating mutual understanding and promoting cooperation and technology transfer.

From the Japanese Institute of Agricultural Machinery, there were Dr. Kawase Yoshiyuke, Director of the International Cooperation Office, and Dr. Dang Quoc Thuyet, researcher of the Department of Postharvest Technology. From Vietnam National University of Agriculture, there were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Thi Bich Thuy, Director of the International Cooperation Office, Head of the Department of Postharvest Technology; Assoc. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Hoang Anh, Dean of the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, and lecturers of the Department of Postharvest Technology. In the meeting, the two parties gave an introduction on their development, research strengths and achievements, as well as scientific and technological products. Following that, the potential collaborative contents were proposed such as research in and transfer of machines with smart features used in post-harvest technology, preservation and processing of agricultural products which can be applied in high-tech agriculture and food safety.

After the meeting, members of the strong research group of the Department of Postharvest Technology organized a scientific seminar on “Application of artificial intelligence in high-tech agriculture”. The seminar attracted the participation of lecturers and students from the Faculty of Food Science and Technology, the Faculty of, Engineering, the Faculty of Information and Technology, and the Faculty of Biotechnology. Dr. Kawase Yoshiyuke and Dr. Dang Quoc Thuyet gave presentations on: (1) Application of multivariate analysis for processing data on pesticide residues in agricultural products; (2) Indirect determination of moisture content by microwave signal, applied in food quality analysis; and (3) Analyzing images to automate agricultural machines, applied in data analysis for designing and programing of garlic root cutting machines. The new research subjects introduced in this seminar attracted much attention from participants and received various discussion questions especially the automated garlic root cutting based on the image analysis data set, a basis for making automatic agricultural harvest robots or post-harvest agricultural sorters based on fast quality assessment. In addition, information on agricultural wastewater treatment technology using nanotechnology; meat quality parameters estimation using ultrasound image; determination of the moisture content of agricultural products by using microwaves; and application of air-nano-bubbles technology to enhance germination quality of barley seeds, etc. were also updated.

The meeting and seminar with Japanese Institute of Agricultural Machinery ended successfully, opening up many collaboration opportunities between the two parties in the coming years.

Some photos of the event