The Ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) took place at the end of August. A long-time supporter of African development, the Government of Japan launched the first TICAD event in 1993. Ever since, Japan has helped to redirect global attention to African nations with the aim of reducing endemic disease and destitution, and providing economic planning in coordination with the United Nations and other international organizations. TICAD has always been organized in the spirit of African ownership, meaning that the participating African states should determine the priorities and overall direction of the conference.
This time the ministers and senior representatives from Burkina Faso, Kenya, Malawi, Mauritania, Senegal and South Africa presented results achieved in Africa in cancer care and food security through the IAEA’s flagship initiatives, Rays of Hope and Atoms4Food, drawing the attention of national counterparts to the economic and social dividends to be reaped as a result of engagement with nuclear science and technology. In particular, Minister of Fisheries of Mauritania El Vadil Ahmed Louly, Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Burkina Faso Amadou Dicko, FAO Assistant Director General Alue Dohong, and Kenya’s Principal Secretary of Agriculture Paul Kipronoh Ronoh took part in a high-level discussion on improving food security.
Atoms4Food assessment missions help countries to map their food security needs and develop a plan to address identified challenges. Under the Atoms4Food initiative, the IAEA, together with FAO, supports countries to use nuclear and isotopic techniques in six key areas: crop variety improvement, soil and water management and crop nutrition, animal production and health, insect pest control, food safety and control and public health nutrition.
“In Burkina Faso, as part of the Atoms4Food initiative, eight high-yield rice varieties were developed and included in the national variety catalogue. As well, the analysis laboratories were reinforced with various materials and equipment, thus enhancing their performance,” explained Amadou Dicko, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Animal Resources and Fisheries, Burkina Faso. He showed gratitude for the first assessment of Atoms4Food in his state, which laid the foundation for a successful implementation of integrated projects.
The Atoms for Food Equipment programme directly tackles the question of how to implement food safety programmes using specialized equipment for food treatment with ionizing radiation (E-beam and X-Ray). Food processing technologies using specialized equipment, presented within the framework of the Atoms for Food Equipment programme, make it possible to destroy insects and their larvae, as well as pathogenic microorganisms with ionizing radiation and subsequently increase the shelf life of products.
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