New Research On Growing Resilient And Nutritious Crops

New research project will use nuclear techniques to develop climate-resilient crops and assess their nutritional benefits in the Indo-Pacific region.

A new Coordinated Research Project (CRP) under the Atoms4Food initiative will support the development of climate-resilient and nutrient-dense crops and assess their nutritional benefits for populations in the Indo-Pacific region, where food security and nutrition are under pressure from climate-related stresses and soil degradation. While improving the resilience of crops to changing environmental conditions is essential, ensuring that these crops provide essential nutrients, and that those nutrients can be effectively used by the human body, is equally important.

The project will bring together nuclear and isotopic techniques in agriculture and human nutrition.

Implemented through the Joint FAO/IAEA Centre of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture and the IAEA Division of Human Health, it will take an interdisciplinary approach, integrating crop improvement, soil and water management, crop nutrition and human nutrition.

From climate-resilient crops to better nutrition
The CRP will use complementary nuclear and isotopic techniques across the food chain to develop improved crop varieties, manage the soil, water and nutrients needed to grow them, and assess their nutritional benefits for people.

Mutation breeding, which uses radiation such as gamma rays to generate genetic variation, and other advanced methodologies will be used to support the development of crop varieties that combine resilience to climate-related stresses with desirable nutritional characteristics. The project will also examine how soil, water and nutrient management can contribute to the productivity and nutritional quality of these crops.

Stable isotopes (oxygen-18 and deuterium) will help researchers better understand water and nutrient dynamics and develop agricultural practices that improve water and nutrient-use efficiency. Isotopic tracing techniques will also be applied to study the movement and availability of nutrients in soil-crop systems.

Beyond measuring the nutrients in the crops, the project will use stable isotope techniques to assess how well key nutrients can be digested, absorbed and used by the human body. A dual stable isotope tracer technique will be used to assess protein and amino acid digestibility, while stable isotopes of iron (iron-57 and iron-58) will help determine iron bioavailability from foods and diets based on the improved crop varieties.

By linking these areas of research, scientists will be able to consider not only whether a crop is more resilient or contains more nutrients, but also whether those nutrients adequately support human nutrition.

Overall objective
The research project aims to develop climate-resilient, nutrient-dense crop varieties and generate scientific evidence on their nutritional quality and the availability and utilization of key nutrients. By integrating crop improvement, soil and water management, crop nutrition and human nutrition, the project will address different stages of the food system within a common research framework.

The research is expected to contribute to improved food security and nutrition in the Indo-Pacific by supporting more resilient agricultural production, better soil fertility and nutrient-use efficiency, and to provide a clearer understanding of the nutritional benefits of improved crop varieties. Evidence generated through the project could also inform agricultural recommendations, dietary guidelines and nutrition interventions and programmes.

The research will also strengthen scientific capacity and regional collaboration through training, knowledge sharing and collaborative research, building expertise in the use of nuclear and isotopic techniques across agriculture and human nutrition.

How to join
The project will be open to countries from the region. Participants will be selected based on the following criteria:

• demonstrated technical and laboratory capacity;
• experience in at least one of the CRP thematic areas;
• experience in integrated agriculture and nutrition research;
• previous work in nutrition, particularly maternal and child nutrition; and
• established national and international partnerships.

Research organizations interested in joining the CRP must submit their Proposal for a Research Contract or Agreement by email no later than 30 November 2026 to the IAEA’s Research Contracts Administration Section, using the appropriate template on the CRA web portal. The same template can be used for both research or technical contracts and research agreements by indicating the type in the form.

The IAEA encourages institutions to involve women and young researchers in their proposals whenever possible.

For further information about the CRP, potential applicants should use the contact form on the CRP page (https://www.iaea.org/projects/crp/e43041).