[en] Full text: Healthy and abundant food supplies is a goal for every nation in the world. Nuclear techniques have played a fundamental role in solving some of the obstacles to attaining this goal which existed in the 1960s. New trends and approaches in food and agricultural production have had a tangible impact on the quality of life of people worldwide. Research, testing, analysis and experience in the peaceful applications of nuclear energy have helped solve many practical problems for farmers and industry alike. Unfortunately, however, not all successful nuclear applications available to industrialized countries reach developing nations. To address this problem, in 1964, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations joined forces to create the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Initially just a small unit seeking solutions to food and agriculture problems through nuclear techniques, the Joint Division, and the Agricultural Laboratory of the IAEA Seibersdorf Laboratories, have since grown to be an internationally respected research and development centre, a forum for global sharing of information and knowledge, and a conduit through which nuclear technology can be transferred to those countries which need It mos The Joint FAO/IAEA Division today focuses on six major areas: Insect and pest control nuclear techniques are used to control or eradicate harmful pests responsible for extreme losses in food production, as well as in human and animal life, through dangerous diseases. Food preservation through irradiation has become a valuable tool in reducing post-harvest food losses, reducing the occurrence of food-borne disease, and extending the shelf life of agricultural commodities. Animal production and health is an area where nuclear techniques have been used successfully to improve the health and productivity of ruminant animals. Plant breeding and genetics is an approach where nuclear technique; are used to develop new strains of plants of higher quality, yields, and resistance to diseases. These techniques induce genetic variation. Soil fertility, irrigation and crop production covers the important combinations of healthy, productive soils and an adequate supply ol water necessary to achieve good quality crop production. Nuclear techniques are used to improve the efficiency of fertilizers, to understand their environmental effects, and to establish new ways to restrain their use. Agrochemicals and residues are watched through radiotracer techniques as they travel through our environment. More effective applications of pesticides can be devised, as well as new approaches to understand and protect the ecological balance. As the Joint FAO/IAEA Division completes its 25th year in operation, it is an opportune time to review some of the achievements of nuclear methods applied to food and agricultural production. Some of these are quite remarkable and have set valuable precedents in research, development, and applications for nuclear strategies and their role in solving food and agricultural problems in a practical, efficient manner. (author)

[en] The article indicates the importance of using nuclear techniques in agricultural research and its development and the role the Agency has played since it was founded in 1957. Also the activities and achievements of the six sections that comprise the joint FAO/IAEA Division. In addition to a future look at the use of nuclear techniques in agricultural applications