Dr. James D. Dargie (UK) today assumed his duties as the new Director of the Joint Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the IAEA. The new Director is a staff member of FAO.
Born in 1943, Dr. Dargie graduated in agricultural sciences in the United Kingdom, obtaining a Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine from the University of Glasgow. Before joining the Joint FAO/IAEA Division in 1982, Dr. Dargie worked as reader in veterinary physiology at the University of Glasgow. From 1969 to 1971 he served as an FAO/IAEA regional expert for East Africa and later carried out consultancies for FAO/IAEA, the Rockefeller Foundation and the British Overseas Development Administration in various African countries. In these assignments, he established radioisotope laboratories within national veterinary and agricultural institutions, and research programmes involving techniques to improve animal health. Since 1982, he has been the head of the Animal Production and Health Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division.
Dr. Manase Peter Salema (Tanzania) has been appointed as Deputy Director of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture.
Born in 1952, Dr. Salema graduated in general agriculture from the University of Dar-es-Salam, Tanzania, and obtained his PhD in Soil Sciences at the University of Western Australia. After several assignments at the Sokoine University of Agriculture in Morogoro, Tanzania, he worked in several IAEA technical co-operation projects in biological nitrogen fixation in African States. Since 1991, he has been technical officer in the Section for Soil Fertility, Irrigation and Crop Production of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division.
Through projects and research oriented work, the Joint FAO/IAEA Division attempts to solve practical problems related to agricultural production and food and animal protection in the developing world. Its objectives are to exploit the potential of nuclear techniques in research and development for increasing and stabilizing agricultural production, reducing production costs, improving food quality, protecting agricultural products from spoilage and losses and minimizing pollution of food and the agricultural environment. Control of insects and pests meets several of these objectives. Much attention is devoted to studies of the fate of fertilizers and their influence on the environment.