From 22-24 June, the IAEA participated in the international Food Security Forum in Manila, Philippines, organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Forum gathered over 300 participants from a variety of backgrounds and institutions under the slogan ‘Safe, Nutritious, and Affordable Food for All’, to discuss transformations, trends and future directions in food production and consumption. The Forum provided an important opportunity for the IAEA to share its work in building capacities in IAEA Member States in the application of nuclear techniques in food safety, quality and security.
The Forum, which consisted of four panel sessions and a farmers’ roundtable discussion, provided a platform to share experiences and outlooks on challenges and prospects for the agriculture sector. The Forum agenda covered a broad range of topics related to food security: the region’s agriculture transformation challenges, value chains in agribusiness, sustainable food entitlement1, and food quality and safety – all areas in which the IAEA has broad expertise. In addition, the Forum’s Techno Show showcased innovative, clever and state-of-the art agricultural and food processing technologies.
The IAEA was represented by Ms Najat Mokhtar, Director, Technical Cooperation Division for Asia and the Pacific, and Mr James Sasanya, Food Specialist and Technical Officer in the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Ms Mokhtar, speaking at the fourth panel session on food safety, quality and nutrition, highlighted the IAEA’s efforts to build capacity in the application of nuclear and isotopic analytical techniques. These techniques contribute to enhanced food safety and security throughout the food chain system – from the farm to the fork. She emphasized how the IAEA supports regional and sub-regional networking between national laboratories as a way to improve and sustain food safety programmes, share experiences and expertise, and encourage harmonization of analytical techniques.
‘Safe, Nutritious, and Affordable Food for All’ – the IAEA at the International Food Security Forum 2016
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IAEA staff at the International Food Security Forum 2016.
The IAEA presented their work at the International Food Security Forum 2016.
At the Techno Show, Mr Sasanya presented a range of outreach materials explaining how nuclear and isotopic techniques contribute to food security. This included information on induced crop mutation, which is used to develop drought and disease resistant crops with higher yields, and the sterile insect technique, which is used for pest control. The IAEA display also presented irradiation techniques that are used to ensure food integrity and safety, as well as technologies used for traceability and contaminant control.
Background
Some facts about the IAEA’s role in enhancing food safety and security:
1. Nuclear techniques play an important role at all levels of the food production and distribution process.
2. The IAEA builds Member State capacities in developing crops that are resistant to diseases, applying the sterile insect technique to prevent insect pests, and using food irradiation to ensure safer consumables, to name a few.
3. Regional networking and south-south cooperation are key for experience exchange, standardization of the methodology, and quality control.
1 Sustainable food entitlement refers to the set of income and resource bundles over which households can establish control and secure their livelihoods in a sustainable manner; under the notion that food insecurity occurs in situations where food is available but not accessible. [T.R. Frankenberger and M.K. McCaston 1998: The household livelihood security concept. FNA/ANA 22, FAO Corporate Document Repository, online: http://www.fao.org/docrep/x0051t/x0051t05.htm]