Prof. Dr. Yuichiro Amekawa received his Ph.D. Degree in Rural Sociology and Sustainable Agriculture from Iowa State University, USA. He currently works at the College of International Relations, Ritsumeikan University, Japan. He has done research on the role of organic farming, integrated farming, agroforestry, and the certification standard called GAP (good agricultural practices), collectively called ‘sustainable agriculture', for farm management and livelihoods of small-scale farmers and environmental protection in Southeast Asia (especially Thailand).