Days before visiting Colombia in May 5th 2010, Japanese Minister of Agriculture, Hirotaka Akamatsu, extended an unusual invitation to Ambassador Patricia Cardenas. He invited her to plant rice.

Members of Diplomatic Missions of other 14 Latin American countries were part of the planting-rice experience, a day in which formalities were left behind to learn the art of planting rice guided by Japanese experts.

“Rice to Japan is like coffee to Colombia. It is without a doubt the pillar of Japanese agriculture and a product of millenary tradition. Because of this, such an invitation has a special meaning. It was an opportunity to learn more about this country´s agricultural practices, its advances in terms of productivity and the usage of land. We hope that a number of these technologies can be applied to Colombian in the future”, said Ambassador Cardenas.