Vienna, Austria
August 11, 2008
The world is facing a food and
energy crisis that threatens to drive tens of millions of people
into hunger and poverty. A scientific technique that
dramatically improves crop productivity could be part of the
solution.
More than 600 scientists, researchers and plant breeders from
around the world will attend an International Symposium on
Induced Mutations in Plants (ISIM), 12-15 August 2008, at the
International Atomic Energy Agency
headquarters in Vienna. The symposium will focus on the latest
innovations and how they can improve crop varieties in the
future.
The eighth of its kind, this International Symposium is part of
a series promoted by the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, which is
hosted at Agency headquarters, in Vienna. The Joint FAO/IAEA
Division is a 44-year example of the United Nations delivering
as one on behalf of its Member States and humanity.
"This is the most important gathering in the field of mutation
induction in the last 10 years," says Pierre Lagoda, Head of the
Agency´s Plant Breeding and Genetics section.
"It will bring together world experts and critical stakeholders
in order to tackle the challenges to food security and the
current global food crisis spawned by climate change and
variability."
The application of scientific interventions to improve the
productivity of crops is not new. For more than 80 years,
mutagens such as X-rays, gamma radiation and chemicals have been
used to produce plant varieties that are disease-resistant or
best suited to conditions such as high altitude or saline soil.
The IAEA has worked with radiation technology to induce mutation
in plants since the 1960s. Today the technology is being used
worldwide.
The process of mutation induction in plants emulates spontaneous
mutations found in nature, which over millions of years have
allowed the development of domesticated crops. But the
scientific approach using induced mutations to develop superior
varieties is at a greatly accelerated pace. To date 2700 mutant
crop varieties have been officially released, many of them in
developing countries, with enormous socio-economic benefit to
local communities.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) serves as the
world's foremost intergovernmental forum for scientific and
technical co-operation in the peaceful use of nuclear
technology. Established as an autonomous organization under the
United Nations (UN) in 1957, the IAEA carries out programmes to
maximize the useful contribution of nuclear technology to
society while verifying its peaceful use. |
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