●今なぜサゴヤシなのか？ Why now interested in sago palm?
＜低利用・未利用植物資源の開発利用の拡大＞
発展途上国の人口増加率が食料生産の増加割合を凌駕している現実をみると，長期的にみて，世界の食料需給の逼迫は避けられません。いま私たちがなすべきことは，将来のどのような事態にも対応し得るように，可能な限り食料増産の道を切り拓いていくことです。サゴヤシは，今はまだ低利用植物資源のひとつですが，その潜在的な生産能力を高める努力をすることは，現在の私たちの果たすべき将来への義務であり，その成果は，子孫への貴重な遺産になると考えています。
＜広大に拓がる熱帯低湿地域の経済開発＞
経済的な有利性をもつ植物資源がきわめて限られている熱帯低湿地域で，サゴヤシは高い適応性をもっており，現に野生のサゴヤシの一部は，そこに住む人達の食料として，また，他地域への輸出財として利用されています。しかし，今後サゴヤシが，そのような地域の経済開発に効果的，持続的に利用できるためには，解決しなくてはならない問題が山積みしています。開発のしかたによっては，環境保全，社会生活の安定を脅かす事態も招きかねません。含まれる問題は，複雑多岐にわたっており，しかも一朝一夕には解決できないことばかりのようです。問題の分析と解決方法の探究を今から始めておく必要がある所以です。
＜サゴヤシの生育する地域の社会的，経済的，制度的な条件の整備＞
サゴヤシ開発の重要性やサゴヤシ地帯の効果的な経済開発の必要性はわかっても，それが実現されるには，地域の産業・経済・社会・文化・政治などの問題と深くかかわらざるを得ません。しかも，生産地域は，経済的にまだ力の弱い発展途上国です。農林水産物を含み国外の食料資源に大きく依存するわが国にとって，発展途上国への協力に力をかすことは，食料資源輸入国として当然踏むべき道であると考えます。サゴヤシの潜在的な生産能力の開発と利用拡大に対する協力は，わが国が発展途上国の経済開発に寄与できる恰好な場を提供してくれるものと確信しています。
（初代会長 長戸 公 「SAGO PALM 創刊の辞」より）
Why now interested in sago palm?
Development of underutilized/utilized plant resources
The development of underutilized/unutilized plant resources and the expansion of their utilization considering the fact that the rate of a population increase in developing countries continues to surpass that of a food supply and demand relations would possibly be inevitable in long-terms. What we must do at present is to exploit all possible measures for increasing food and food production in the world so that the next generation could effectively cope with any serious food situations. Sago palm is now one of the underutilized plant resources.Nevertheless, taking into account its potential capacity, we must make strenuous efforts to improve its productivity at the present time. Certainly, this should be the duty we have to undertake now. Its achievements would surely become an important heritage to our descendant.
The economic development of low-lying wetland areas extensively present in the tropics
In the low, swampy areas of the tropics, only very limited plant resources have an economic advantage at present. Among those resources is sago palm, which has a high adaptability to such conditions. In fact, part of sago palm and its products is utilized as food stuffs of the local people in those areas, while a small portion is exported to other regions. If sago palm is to further contribute to the economic development of those areas effectively and sustainedly, a number of problems would have to be resolved. This is because the matter might threaten to assume serious situations in environmental conservation and stability of social life of the local people, providing that the development programs take an inadequate strategical approach. They could not be solved in a short time. This is the very reason why we must begin with analyses of the problems and related researches as soon as possible, “immediately” indeed.
Provisions of suitable social, economic and institutional conditions in the sago palm growing areas
Even though the importance of the sago palm improvement and the economic development of its growing areas is well recognized, special considerations on strategies for materializing its potential are really needed, since the issues are closely related to the complicated circumstances of industries, economics, society, culture, politics and other environmental factors in these areas. Furthermore, the sago palm production takes place in the developing countries which are economically weaker in general. In view of the heavy dependency of Japan on the imported food and feed resources, including biological stuffs in agriculture, forestry and fisheries, we believe that our collaboration with the developing world should be the right course to take as a large importer of agricultural products. In this sense, our cooperative efforts in research and development of sago palm production and utilization would provide Japan with a good opportunity of collaborating with selected developing countries.