South Perth, Asutralia
October 5, 2007
Fourteen nations will be
represented at a research coordination meeting of the
United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Perth later this
month.
The meeting, from the 15th to the 19th of October, will be
hosted by the Department of
Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA).
The Scientific Secretary for joint FAO/IAEA Programme, Dr
Qingyao Shu said member States were assisted in applying nuclear
techniques to establish better and safer food and agricultural
production systems through research, development and training.
“Crop quality improvement is gaining unprecedented importance as
climate changes place increasing stress on the sustainability of
crop production,” Dr Shu said.
“In response for a growing demand for technical assistance from
our Member States, the joint FAO/IAEA Programme has initiated a
coordinated research project (CRP) employing the latest
technologies to produce elite breeding lines and new suitable
crop varieties,” Dr Shu said.
DAFWA represents Australia in the project, providing interaction
for Australian scientists with the international community.
Dr Shu said research was focusing on mutated genes to contribute
to crop quality and resistance to stress affecting quality.
“Mutation techniques are one of the most important applications
of nuclear techniques in food and agriculture. Induced mutations
have become an significant source of genetic diversity for
developing superior crop varieties during the last fifty years,”
Dr Shu said.
“Worldwide, about 3,000 improved mutant varieties have been
released for commercial production, improving the quality,
standard and sustainability of food crops.”
Dr Shu said significant progress had been made in the
participating countries since 2003.
“New lines have been produced in barley, wheat, rice, cotton and
other crops. The quality of these lines provide significant
economic value and health benefits.”
Dr Chengdao Li from DAFWA said the research had even been taken
into space.
“DAFWA’s wheat and barley varieties have been onboard Chinese
satellites for important experiments in space through the
FAO/IAEA linkage,” Dr Li said.
“The meeting in Perth will review the progress made in the last
two years, and outline research plans for the coming year,” he
said.
Delegate countries attending the Perth meeting include Bulgaria,
China, Australia, France, India, Iran, Japan, Republic of Korea,
Macedonia, Pakistan, Poland, Thailand,and the United Kingdom.
The International Centre of Tropic Agriculture in Colombia will
also be represented.
Other news
from FAO |
|