Food security and human nutrition are still major concerns in the Asia and the Pacific region, where the population is growing rapidly with large areas of crop lands disappearing due to urban and industrial development. This issue is now exacerbated by climate change and variability with widespread water scarcity. With agriculture consuming about 70% of the freshwater use by traditional irrigation methods that are highly inefficient (only about one-third of the applied water is actually transpired by the crops), there is great scope for improved irrigation management. Intensification of agricultural production to meet growing market demand requires the simultaneous application of irrigation water and fertilizers. The application of fertilizer in drip irrigation (fertigation) is an effective way to promote efficient use of these scarce and expensive resources. In this context, the objective of the IAEA/RCA project RAS/5/056, "Supporting Mutation Breeding Approaches to Develop New Crop Varieties Adaptable to Climate Change", is to enhance national and regional capacities of RCA Member States for application of mutation and other nuclear and isotopic techniques to develop and pilot test of new crop varieties adaptable to climate change.
From 6 to 10 October 2014, a RAS/5/056 Mid-term Review Meeting was held in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, hosted by the National Nuclear Energy Agency (BATAN) of Indonesia with the cooperation of the IAEA. The meeting reviewed the project achievements to date, including the status of plant mutation breeding and crop, soil and water management in each respective country. The meeting also discussed future planning and in particular the specifics of the project workplan focusing on activities to be held in 2015.
Participating countries were from Australia, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam. An observer from Burkina Faso also participated in this meeting.
