Animal Production and Health

Animal productivity- Radioimmunoassay is a very sensitive in vitro technique that allows measuring minute concentrations of antigens, such as hormones in blood, milk or feces. The method depends on the competition between the hormone (e.g. progesterone) in the sample with the hormone labelled to a radioactive isotope (e.g. ¹²⁵I-labelled progesterone) for a limited number of binding sites on a specific antibody. The bound antigen-antibodies are separated and radioactivity is measured using a gamma counter. The proportion of labelled hormone bound to the antibody is inversely related to the concentration of the hormone present in the sample.

More than 55 countries have been supported by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division to deliver Artificial Insemination (AI) services to farmers, resulting worldwide in animal breeds with manifold increases in milk and meat production, improved rural livelihood and enhanced food security. More than 300 professionals have been trained on AI and animal reproduction in these countries and tools and protocols for hormone radio-immunoassays and database applications have been delivered, resulting in;

-          substantially more calves born per year,

-          increased milk and meat production

-          augmented farmer incomes.

Early and rapid diagnosis of transboundary animal diseases- Radioimmunoassay diagnostic test was used in the early phase but later substituted by the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique where the radioactive isotope was replaced by an enzyme and the reading is based on color change through an ELISA reader. The development, adaptation and validation of various ELISA tests for a number of diseases in the format of kits allowed their wider use in decentralized laboratories. Currently, more specific tests are being developed using molecular techniques to identify pathogens.

More than 75 countries use animal disease diagnostic techniques developed or validated by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division to support the prevention, control and eradication of animal diseases, such as foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, avian influenza, peste des petits ruminants (PPR) and Rift Valley fever. The global eradication of Rinderpest, announced in 2011, was supported by the provision of diagnostic kits and technical assistance to a network of laboratories in Africa. This unique laboratory network, now known as the VETLAB Network, is currently cooperating on disease diagnosis in 40 countries in Africa and 17 countries in Asia.

Food and Environmental Protection

Food traceability- In nature, each chemical element has its own identity. Atoms of the same substance can vary in weight because they have different numbers of neutrons. The ratios of these isotopes vary – according to where, how and under what environmental conditions a food was produced. Though subtle, this small difference can be used as a detection test. Hence, the isotope ratios provide a hidden natural signature within the food itself, an inherent record that can provide information on whether or not the food has been adulterated – or has come from the place claimed on the label.

Thirty-two institutes from 23 countries are working with the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in developing and/or implementing technology packages to enable systems for food traceability. This new initiative consists in developing and refining nuclear and related technologies for the analysis of food in order to ensure authenticity and trace / verify origin. Food fraud is estimated to cost the global food industry US $10-15 billion per year, affecting approximately 10% of all commercially sold products. Effective traceability systems are also essential to deal with food safety incidents caused by mislabelled or contaminated foods.

Food safety- Analytical methods are developed or adapted and validated to detect and monitor food contaminants (eg residues of pesticides, veterinary drugs, of mycotoxins, both during the production process and in finished food products), and to assure the quality of the agrochemicals used. After development or adaptation, these methods are validated for transfer to Member States for application in regulatory and research laboratories. Emphasis is placed on simple, multi-residue methods to improve cost-effectiveness and applicability. Radiolabelled compounds, when available, provide a comparative advantage as a quality control tool during method development.

Over 200 methods for analyzing food were validated by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in 2012-2015, and in the same period, over 206 laboratory personnel from Member States were trained in analytical procedures. These activities help Member States reliably monitor residues and/or contaminants of veterinary drugs, pesticides, heavy metals and mycotoxins in food products. The methods are made freely available and shared through the Joint FAO/IAEA database on Food Contaminant Residue Information System.

Insect Pest Control

The sterile insect technique (SIT) is a method of pest control using area-wide inundative releases of sterile insects to reduce reproduction in a field population of the same species. It is therefore a type of "birth control" in which wild female insects of the pest population do not reproduce when they are inseminated by released, radiation-sterilized males. In this type of autocidal control, sequential releases of the sterilized insects in adequate sterile-to-wild male overflooding ratios lead to a reduction in pest population numbers. Effective control using sterile insects is achieved as part of area-wide integrated pest management (AW-IPM) programs.

Sterile insect technique against major fruit fly pests- The preventive release of irradiated and sterile male Mediterranean fruit flies, a strain developed by IPCL, is a crucial part of maintaining California’s and Florida’s Mediterranean fruit-fly (medfly) free status, thereby protecting its large horticultural industries and environment. The direct economic losses per year are estimated at more than USD 3.5 billion, if the Mediterranean fruit fly were to become permanently established in California and Florida. Similar SIT programs to control and eradicate established medfly populations have been performed in Argentina, Chile, Croatia, Guatemala, Israel, Mexico and Spain, protecting the multi-billion dollar horticultural industries in these countries and fostering their continuous expansion.

Sterile insect techniques against tsetse in Senegal- Small-scale farmers in the Niayes in Senegal were able to achieve USD 3.7 million per year in additional revenues following the eradication of the tsetse fly from the region. A pest control campaign initiated in 2009 reduced the fly population by more than 99% in 80% of the target areas and paved the way for its complete eradication using SIT. The Senegal Government is now looking at expanding to other tsetse infested areas. The program has also been used as a training ground for staff from other parts of Africa. The logistics support and tsetse SIT provided by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division remains crucial to the success of the program.

Plant Breeding and Genetics

Physical mutagens, mostly ionizing radiations, have been used widely for inducing hereditary genetic changes and more than 70% of released mutant varieties were developed using such mutagens. Since the 1960’s, gamma rays have become the most commonly used mutagenic radiation in plant breeding; during the past two decades, ion beam radiation has also emerged as an effective and unique mutagen. Other types of mutagenic radiation, e.g. X-rays, α- and β- particles[C1] , fast neutrons, UV light and even space radiation, have also demonstrated usefulness in plant mutation induction, either for particular types of material or for particular purposes.

Mutation breeding for food security- Mutation breeding, as developed and disseminated by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, has generated more than 3200 mutant crop varieties and brought food security to many areas of the world. Mutant rice alone has generated incomes in excess of US $1 billion and benefitted more than 4.5 million farmers. In Viet Nam’s Mekong Delta, the annual income of smallholder farmers increased by an average US $300 following the introduction of the high-quality, salinity-tolerant mutant rice variety VND95-20, which now covers 30% of the rice-growing areas in the Mekong Delta and has become a key export variety in 2005. The Vietnamese counterpart was awarded the National Prize of Science and Technology of Viet Nam for this achievement.

Biodiversity and adaptation to climate change- Experts predict that one-sixth of Earth’s species will be headed for extinction by 2050 if global warming continues at its current rate, seriously impacting biodiversity, agricultural productivity and global food security. Mutation induction is a key technology to increase biodiversity and enhance Member State capabilities to develop and improve crop varieties under conditions of climate change. In Peru, for example, the mutant barley variety Centenario II, tolerant to harsh environments above 3000 meters, increased yields from 800 to 3000 kg of grain/hectare; it is currently grown by 15 000 farmers in the Peruvian Andes where it covers 18% of the dedicated barley growing area and generates US $6.6 million in additional income. The Peruvian counterpart received the Peruvian 2006 Price of Good Governmental Practices and the UNESCO and National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation (CONCYTEC) Award for Women in Science 2010 for her success in plant breeding.

Soil and Water Management & Crop Nutrition

Soil erosion- Fallout radionuclides (FRNs) refer to measuring caesium-137 (137Cs) in the soil, which came to the earth as fallout following the atmospheric nuclear testing of the 1950s and 1960s. Since it was not there before those days, it now can be used as a marker to compare what has changed in the natural landscape. This allows scientists to trace eroded soil back to the specific place where it started and enables agriculturalists to target their solutions to the area that needs to be treated. Compound-specific stable isotopes (CSSIs) are naturally occurring soil organic biomarkers that also can be used to identify sources of sediments.

More than 60 countries are using fallout radionuclide techniques that have been developed and promoted by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. Guidelines are available to assess soil erosion magnitude and develop effective and targeted soil conservation management practices. On the hill slopes of the Pamir Mountains in Tajikistan, the use of fallout radionuclide technologies helped determine the extent of soil erosion and design remedial actions to effectively control soil erosion and reduce the loss of fertile soil.

Water use efficiency- The soil moisture neutron probe (SMNP) is used to measure soil water content for crop production. During the measuring process, the probe emits neutrons that collide with hydrogen atoms in soil water. This collision slows down the speed of the neutrons. The change in the speed of the neutrons is detected by the probe and provides a reading that corresponds to the soil water content. The SMNP is currently the most suitable instrument to accurately measure soil moisture under saline conditions. It is also widely used to calibrate other moisture sensors for direct use in farmers’ fields. It is often used in connection with drip irrigation technology, which increases water use efficiency by applying water directly to the immediate vicinity of the plant roots through a network of pipes and water emitters. This again results in a reduction both in soil water evaporation and in excess water draining away below the roots, so that much less irrigation water is needed. This technology can be easily adapted for use in large-scale fields allowing for automation of the irrigation process, or for small-scale plots using low-cost materials such as buckets, drum kits, etc. It can also be easily adapted for the simultaneous application of water-soluble fertilizers, such as nitrogen.

Over 60 Member States have received assistance in their efforts to optimize agricultural water use and increase crop water productivity and area-wide water use efficiency, using nuclear and related technologies developed by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division. In the water-scarce dry season in Ghana, these techniques, combining drip irrigation of cabbage with the use of organic manure, helped reduce water usage by 60% for a saving to farmers of US $216/hectare.

Impacts of Nuclear Applications in Food and Agriculture

The impact of nuclear and related technologies runs into billions of US dollars annually in additional revenue and will be valuable in meeting the ambitious sustainable development goals. These technologies played a key role in the recent eradication of rinderpest, an animal disease costing African farmers in excess of US $1 billion per year. Isotopic techniques and drip-irrigation systems have helped Kenyan farmers to almost triple their tomato yield, using 45% less water than traditionally required. Kenya last year released to farmers new mutant wheat varieties resistant to the devastating wheat stem rust, Ug99, that currently threaten wheat production in many countries worldwide. In parts of Pakistan, soil erosion – a major challenge that costs the world’s farmers more than US $120 billion every year – has been reduced by more than 50% due to the use of nuclear techniques that facilitate effective and sustainable soil management practices. And the preventive release of irradiated sterile medflies effectively protects California’s US $ 9 billion horticultural industry and is a crucial component in maintaining the fruit fly free status of numerous countries and regions in Central and South America.

The persistence of widespread food insecurity and malnutrition - especially in the context of continuing pressure on natural resources and concerns over the sustainability of ecosystems - highlights the need for the continuing safe and appropriate use of nuclear and related technologies in agriculture. Chief among the many challenges are climate change and associated extreme weather events; soil fertility degradation and pollution; land-use change; water scarcity; transboundary outbreaks of animal and plant pests and diseases; and the continuing loss of biodiversity. The Joint FAO/IAEA Program will continue to assist nations in identifying, developing and applying cutting-edge nuclear technologies that will enable them to keep pace with the many agricultural challenges they face and, at the same time, improve food security and the sustainability of natural resources.