RESPONDING TO THE GLOBAL FOOD SECURITY CRISIS:
THE JOINT FAO/IAEA DIVISION OF NUCLEAR TECHNIQUES IN FOOD
AND AGRICULTURE
1. The crisis
Soaring food prices and increasing pressures
from climate change have created many challenges
to global food security and contributed
to the current food crisis.
There are a number of reasons for the present
and growing world food crisis:
- The rapid growth of populations in the developing world combined with limited availability of arable land. Arable land is in fact declining due to widespread and severe land degradation.
- Scarcity of water resources and insufficient investment in irrigation schemes.
- Climate change and extreme climatic events such as droughts and floods that damage agricultural production and cause land degradation, soil erosion, and the spread of animal disease.
- Growing demand and interest in biofuel as an alternative to carbon-emitting and increasingly expensive fossil fuels, leading to switching of arable land from food to biofuel production.
- Rising fuel prices that lead to increased cost of food production and higher food prices by making more expensive the use of energy-intensive inputs such as fertilisers and pesticides, and fuel for farm machinery and food distribution and transportation. This results in food shortages for the poorest of the poor.
- Changes in eating habits in China and India and other large developing countries with grain being increasingly used for livestock production to produce meat, milk and other animal protein, which limits the supplies available for human consumption.
It is important to note that these factors present an added burden especially for developing countries and those in transition. As the United Nations reacts to this crisis, its various strengths and capacities will contribute to meeting these challenges, especially in the medium and long-term in providing tools and integrated initiatives. The underlying issues of food security need to be addressed through increased investment in agricultural research and technology transfer to ensure the sustainable intensification of agricultural productivity.
2. The Joint FAO/IAEA Division and its
work: medium and long term solutions
The IAEA and FAO, through their Joint Division,
use isotopic and nuclear techniques to
assist Member States in improving food security
and achieving sustainable agricultural
production. An early example of what we in
the UN family have been calling ‘Delivering
as One’ – the Joint FAO/IAEA Division has
been delivering key technical expertise to
Member States since 1964, supporting food
and agricultural activities with cutting edge
nuclear technology.
The International Atomic Energy Agency
continues to work together with FAO within
their new vision and in the achievement of
three global goals: the reduction of the absolute
number of people suffering from
hunger; elimination of poverty and promotion
of economic and social progress for all, especially through increased food production,
and the sustainable management and
utilization of natural resources.
Right now, there are more than four hundred
national research institutions in Member
States cooperating in thirty-seven networks of
coordinated research projects to address specific
problems relating to land and water
management, crop improvement, insect pest
control, livestock production and health, and
improving food and environmental safety.
Nuclear and isotopic techniques provide
unique or substantial complementary value
in addressing food security and safety. Some
of these uses are outlined below:
- Crop improvement through the development of new mutant crop varieties that can deliver higher yields and have better adaptability to climate change, such as high temperature resistance, drought tolerance, etc. Mutation induction also provides valuable biodiversity and material for crop improvement to better adapt to climate change.
- Improvement of land and water management to intensify agriculture production systems. By using nuclear techniques to assess the impacts of climate change and existing production practices on land resources and their constituents such as plant-available soil moisture and nutrients, they will contribute to the development of land and water management technology packages for better production practices in agro-ecosystems. These technology packages can also help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance land carbon sequestration, thus contribute to the mitigation of climate change. Through application of nuclear techniques, improved water management will also increase the technical and economic resilience of agricultural production systems to climate change impacts.
- Improvement in animal production and health by enabling the provision of early and rapid detection of transboundary animal disease, optimizing animal reproduction cycles and breed management, and assessing local feed sources to improve animal nutrition.
- Control of insect pests using the sterile insect technique (SIT) which is species specific and environmentally friendly in reducing the need for insecticides. This technique can protect crops, livestock, and humans from major pests and the diseases they carry, and can help Member States to overcome phytosanitary and sanitary barriers to trade.
- Improvement of food safety through the use of ionizing radiation to enhance food safety for both sanitary and phytosanitary purposes to protect both crops and consumers.
3. Coordination and future directions
The challenges facing us in food and agriculture
are enormous and require a collective
effort and long-term solutions. Science and
technology innovation will play a crucial role
in promoting global food safety and security,
and international cooperation is an effective
way to cope with the agricultural changes we
are confronting.
Through its Joint FAO/IAEA Division the
IAEA and FAO look forward to working with
other agencies in the UN family and the international
community to ensure sustainable
agriculture and increased food production in
the face of challenges such as climate change
and extreme climate variability, decreasing
agricultural production in developing countries,
and increasing global population while
the amount of arable land remains the same.
The underlying issues of food security need
to be addressed through increased investment
in agricultural research and technology
transfer to ensure the sustainable intensification
of agricultural productivity. Besides
the immediate emergency measures of food
aid to address the food crisis, short, medium
and long-term solutions are required to enhance
food security and sustainable agricultural
development.
