(As prepared for delivery)
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,?
It's?good?to be with you at?this very important?World Food Forum,?2023. I want to thank?Director-General?Qu Dongyu?for inviting?me?to?launch, here today,?the?IAEA/FAO joint?initiative, Atoms4Food.?
It fits?well?into?the?theme of?“Innovations?Breakthroughs”?because?it?is?a concrete,?action-oriented response?to?our?shared?goals?of eradicating?poverty, ending hunger and?malnutrition, fighting climate change and?adapting to its consequences.?
Before?I?explain what?Atoms4Food?is?all?about, I would like to say a few words about?the?IAEA and FAO’s indispensable?collaboration.?
The FAO is one of our closest partners. For?almost 60 years, the two organizations have?run?the FAO/IAEA Centre for Nuclear?Techniques.?
Our?collaboration?is exemplified by?complementary mandates, common targets,?joint programming, co-funding and?coordinated management.?
FAO and IAEA staff?are based?at the IAEA’s?Headquarters in Vienna and?work on?cutting-edge research at our unique?laboratories?in?nearby?Seibersdorf.?
Ladies and gentlemen,?
I do not need to repeat the dire statistics?about food insecurity and climate change?that others have already elaborated on. The?bottom line is this: We need to use every tool?we have to grow more highly-nutritious food?in an?environmentally sustainable way.?
Nuclear techniques and applications are?powerful tools?with which we can do just?that, and?Atoms4Food will maximize?their?positive impact.?
Ensuring food security and healthy diets?amid a variety of shifting challenges and the?enormous burden of climate change is a?complex endeavour with many moving parts.?
It requires a multi-disciplinary?approach?that?is?in harmony with?other global initiatives,?such as the One Health Approach and FAO’s?Hand-in-Hand Initiative.?
And it?must be?based on?careful assessment of prevailing?capacities and needs?amid?a true partnership?with Member States.?
In very close collaboration with each?of our?partner countries,?Atoms4Food?will?provide?seven?specific?services:?
1.?The?Atoms4Food Assessment Mission?will?map?out a country’s?status, needs and?activities?to?determine priorities and?develop?tailor-made?solutions.?
2.?The?Atoms4Food crop?variety?improvement?service?will?use plant?mutation breading to develop better crop?varieties based on an?assessment of?the?country’s?major crops, agricultural zones,?diseases and pests, farmer and consumer?preferences, and prevailing gaps in?capacities.?
3.?The?Atoms4Food soil and water?management,?and crop nutrition?service?will use the precision of nuclear and?isotopic science to gather information?about?soil fertility, major crops, and their?
average yield. We’ll look at?the?availability?of fertilizer and water irrigation systems,?as?well as?the?farming practices?used?for each?crop.?
Getting the balance right here, can?vastly improve yields.?
4.?The?Atoms4Food animal production and?health?service?will develop?carefully?calibrated?nutritional packages to improve?animal production. This will be done?following?a country assessment?
of?the?current epidemiological situation of?animal diseases;?interventions?and services?already in place;?and gaps that?still?need to?be filled.?
5.?The?Atoms4Food insect pest control?service?will use approaches such as the?Sterile Insect Technique to reduce the?populations of harmful pests that destroy?crops and carry diseases. It will be?informed by a?careful assessment of the?pest and control situation in the country.?This?technique already has a long history?of proven results.?
6.?The?Atoms4Food food safety and control?service?will assess and widen the capacity?of a county to use tools like food irradiation?technology to improve the longevity and?safety of food for domestic consumption?and exports.?
7.?The?Atoms4Food public health nutrition?service?will support countries in assessing?and improving the?nutritional value of?foods and diet quality?by using?stable?isotope techniques.?
Dear colleagues,?
This is Atoms4Food!?
Atoms4Food aims for?Four Betters: better?production, better nutrition, a?better?environment, and a better life, leaving no?one behind.?The FAO and IAEA are ready. We will be?delivering it on the ground very soon.?
I call upon all those in a position to support?us,?to do so. Atoms4Food is action, not?words.?It is?less hunger, less poverty, with?dignity and equality for all.