Message

　I have been studying about tropical agriculture and rural development, especially focusing on the effect of land use/ water use changes on rural livelihoods in semi-arid tropics. 

Indian economy has been maintained a growth rate of approximately 6% per annum since the beginning of the 1980s, and it is well-known that this economic development is based on the agricultural development since mid-1960s through “Green Revolution”, in which rice and wheat yield per unit of land dramatically increased. However, such an ideal combination of irrigation, agricultural growth, and reduction in poverty observed during Green Revolution period is unlikely to be available during the next phase, when agricultural growth must increasingly come from less favorable regions where water is a limiting factor. I have been doing the fieldworks in Tamil Nadu and Punjab to analyze the survival strategy of rural people in such semi-arid zones. 

Research Theme

• Effect of land use/ water use changes on rural livelihood in arid/semi-arid tropics
• Studies on Sustainability Indicators

Education & Appointments

[ Work History ]

• Visiting Research Associate, International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Area (ICARDA) (2001-2003)
• Researcher, Center for Southeast Asian Studies(CSEAS), Kyoto University (2006-2007)
• Program Specific Researcher, CSEAS, Kyoto University (2007-2009)
• Program Specific Assistant Professor, CSEAS, Kyoto University (2009-2012)
• Post-doctoral Fellow, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) (2012-2014)
• Project Scientist, IRRI (2014-2015)
• Visiting Associate Professor, Graduate School of Asian and African Area Studies, Kyoto University (2015-2017)
• Associate Professor, Faculty of International Agriculture and Horticulture, Hirosaki University (2017-Now)

[ Education ]

• BS in Engineering, University of Electro-Communications (1991)
• BS in Agronomy, Utsunomiya University (1998)
• MSc in Agronomy, Kyoto University (2000)
• Ph.D in Agronomy, Kyoto University (2006)

Publications

[Recent Publications]

• Sato, T. 2017. Livelihood Transformability in Indian Villages with Poor Water Resources: The Case of Tamil Nadu. In Mio et al. (eds.) “Structural Transformation in Globalizing South Asia: Comprehensive Area Studies for Sustainable, Inclusive, and Peaceful Development”, Senri Ethnological Studies 96: 47-61.
• Sato, T. 2016. Overview of food-water-energy nexus in India: with special reference to Punjab and Tamil Nadu. Paper presented in the 8th INDAS-South Asia International Conference “Toward Sustainable Development of India and South Asia“.
• Sato, T. 2016. Evolution of water-intensive agriculture from 1909/10 to 2009/10 in Tamil Nadu, India – The case of Madura district -. Paper presented in TNAU-INDAS International Conference “Toward Sustainable Development of India and South Asia: Population, Resources, and Environment”.
• Sato, T., López, M.I., Wada, T., Sato, S., Nishi, M., Watanabe, K. 2016.Humanosphere potentiality index: Appraising existing indicators from a long-term perspective. International Journal of Social Quality 6(1):32-66.
• Sato, T. 2013. Beyond water-intensive agriculture: expansion of Prosopis juliflora and its growing economic use in Tamil Nadu, India. Land Use Policy 35:283-292.
• Tanaka,T., Sato, T., Watanabe, K., Yang, W.D., Inoue, H., Li, K., Inamura, T. 2013. Irrigation system and land use effect on surface water quality in river, at lake Dianchi, Yunnan, China. Journal of Environmental Science 25(6):1107-1116.
• Sato, T., Periyar, R.D. 2011. The effects of expansion of private wells on rural livelihood in tank intensive watersheds: a case study in upper Gundar river Basin, Tamil Nadu. Southeast Asian Studies 49(1):124-150.