World Food Day 2020: IAEA & FAO’s Joint Work Benefits Farmers and Increases Food Security Worldwide

Salinization – the increasing amount of salt content in soil – contributes to land degradation, desertification and subsequently food insecurity. Ten countries in the Middle East facing severe salinization received IAEA/FAO support to improve soil, water and crop management practices with the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques. Five years on, farmers are successfully growing crops under saline conditions with significant yield. Additionally, guidelines are now available to help countries produce various crops on different types of salt-affected soils. Click here to read the full article.

In Malaysia, rice is a staple food as well as a source of income for about 300,000 farmers. Since early 2020, Malaysia’s nuclear agency, Nuclear Malaysia, has been multiplying seeds of a high-yielding rice variety developed using radiation to induce genetic diversity and then subsequent plant breeding. This production arrangement is set to provide access of the improved variety to farmers to boost rice yields and food security in the country after the seeds are harvested and distributed to farmers towards the end of the year. Click here to read the full article.

Bosnia and Herzegovina veterinary authorities are now better equipped to protect livestock from several animal diseases spreading in South-eastern Europe thanks to the support of the IAEA and FAO. This is an important step for food security in the country and for the export of animal products and food to the European Union market. Click here to read the full article.

Ecuador, one of the largest producers of tropical fruit in the Western Hemisphere, is now adding non-traditional fruits to its export portfolio as a result of successfully fighting off the Mediterranean fruit fly with the help of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT), a nuclear technique transferred to the country’s scientists by the IAEA and FAO. Click here to read the full article.

Despite tightening of quality and safety requirements in major import markets, fish and fishery products have continued to be a significant contributor to Namibia’s exports, thanks in part to a strong food safety and quality assurance system built in collaboration with the IAEA and FAO. The system incorporates nuclear science into quality tests for food and water safety and has allowed the country to make significant progress towards becoming self-reliant in carrying out these tests. Click here to read the full article.

The Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture supports countries through adaptive research and development at its own laboratories in Seibersdorf, Austria, as well as through leading support and coordination of coordinated research projects involving some 400 research institutions and experimental stations, capacity-building and technology transfer to over 250 national and regional technical cooperation projects and technical and policy advice to policy makers.