Times Of Swaziland: IAEA CPF TO ENHANCE FOOD, AGRICULTURE

IAEA CPF TO ENHANCE FOOD, AGRICULTURE
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Sabelo Majola on 06/08/2024 07:36:00


MBABANE – The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Country Programme
Framework (CPF) will enhance the country in various aspects including food and
agriculture.
The programme defines mutually agreed-upon Eswatini priority development needs
and interests to be supported through technical cooperation activities with
IAEA. The CPF was officially launched by the Minister of Natural Resources and
Energy, Prince Lonkhokhela yesterday. The minister said the programme was
aligned with the country’s national development plan (2023 – 2028), United
Nations sustainable development cooperation framework (UNSDCF) 2021 – 2025,
sustainable development goals as well as other key government and private sector
policies wherein nuclear energy technology can be exploited.
He said that it ensured an integration of the application of nuclear
technologies into the country’s existing development initiatives and plans and
supports the identification of areas where such technologies might be usefully
deployed. The minister also mentioned that there was also a growing interest in
the deployment of nuclear technologies in sectors such as health, agriculture
and security. “Therefore, as a country, in the country programme framework, we
have prioritised the following areas; nuclear and radiation safety; food and
agriculture; human health; water resources management; and energy planning,”
he said. With regard to the application of nuclear technology in the agriculture
field, the country through this cooperation, has already received funding for
the following projects: -
Food and agriculture
Sustainable control of major insect pests - utilising the sterile insect
technique integrated with other suppression methods for the management of the
false codling moth to prevent spoilage of fruits. Improving cowpeas for enhanced
resilience to climate change – phase ii:  which aims to develop drought
tolerant cultivars by the application of nuclear technology on cowpeas. The IAEA
has already sponsored an officer in the Ministry of Agriculture, who is
currently in Austria for a two-month training until the end of September, 2024,
of which we are very grateful for as a country. Atoms4climate project, which is
a joint interregional project that aims to bring together what the agency has to
offer and where it can add value by using nuclear and nuclear derived techniques
to climate adaptation and non-power mitigation to safeguard food security.
Human and health
Preparing for the first radiotherapy facility in Eswatini which will introduce
nuclear medicine in Eswatini — phase iii: this project is aimed at addressing
the gap in services for the treatment of cancer patients in the country.
Establishing this unit will result in huge cost-savings for the government as
there will be no need to send the patients to neighbouring countries for
treatment.
Nuclear, radiation safety
IAEA legislative assistance programme - technical cooperation (tc) project
‘establishing and enhancing national nuclear legal frameworks in member
states’ (2024-2025). This project aims to assist member states to set up an
adequate and comprehensive national legal framework, which is an essential
prerequisite for the safe, secure and peaceful use of nuclear technologies. The
minister greatly appreciated IAEA for the role they were playing in meeting some
of the developmental needs of the country. He said this was clearly demonstrated
in the first country programme framework  developed together where a total of
nine (country projects were sponsored to the tune of 534 322 euros (about E10.9
million) through technical cooperation.