The IAEA hosted the Vienna Group of Friends of Food Security at the Joint FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratories in Seibersdorf in March.
The Vienna Group of Friends of Food Security was launched in October 2024—with 44 Members (43 IAEA member countries s and the European Union). The visit on 27 March marked the group’s first initiative toward becoming an effective platform for IAEA member countries and Vienna-based international organizations to advance food security and contribute to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2: Zero Hunger.
The tour of the Austrian laboratories highlighted the unique role of the FAO-IAEA Joint Centre as a model of inter-agency cooperation within the UN system. The tour included laboratories dealing with animal production and health, insect pest control, plant breeding and genetics, soil and water management and crop nutrition, and food safety and control. For the 30 participants, among them 12 Ambassadors and Deputy Permanent Representatives, the visit offered deeper insights into how the joint centre advances the safe and appropriate use of nuclear and related technologies by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and IAEA member countries. These innovations span food and agriculture, zoonotic disease control, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), sterile insect technique (SIT), and food safety, demonstrating their critical contribution to global challenges.
