Nuclear Tech to Boost Pakistan’s Agriculture, Food Security and Climate Resilience

A recent Atoms4Food Initiative assessment mission has highlighted the immense potential of nuclear science and technology to transform Pakistan’s agriculture, enhance food security, and strengthen resilience to climate change. The mission, conducted in August 2025 by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), was the first of its kind in Asia and the Pacific and marks a turning point for the country’s agricultural development.

Climate Change Threats to Agriculture

Pakistan, home to 250 million people, is among the world’s most climate-vulnerable nations despite contributing less than 1% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Its farmers face mounting challenges from:

• Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall.

• Soil degradation and salt-affected land.

• Water scarcity due to inefficient irrigation.

• Growing pest populations and crop diseases.

• Animal health risks from recurring livestock epidemics.

These pressures are already reducing yields of staple crops like wheat and rice, alongside cash crops such as cotton, with serious implications for national food security and rural incomes.

Amir Mohyuddin, Federal Secretary for the Ministry of National Food Security and Research, warned:

“The agricultural sector, crucial to the Pakistani economy, faces dire consequences, with projections indicating substantial losses if current practices continue.”

Atoms4Food Mission: Partners and Scope

Responding to Pakistan’s request, FAO and IAEA experts spent a week engaging with over 50 stakeholders, including the Pakistan Agricultural Research Council, the National Institutes of Health, the Nuclear Institute for Agriculture & Biology (NIAB), and the National Institute for Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering (NIBGE).

The mission focused on five thematic areas:

1. Crop production and seed systems.

2. Soil and water management.

3. Animal health and production.

4. Food safety and trade.

5. Nutrition and public health.

Crop Production: Strengthening Seed Systems

Pakistan has a long history of collaboration with IAEA on mutation breeding, which has produced pest-resistant and drought-tolerant varieties of chickpea, rice, and cotton. Today, cotton developed through this cooperation accounts for 30% of the country’s cotton crop.

The mission recommended:

• Expanding advanced methods like genetic engineering, speed breeding, and biotechnology.

• Revitalizing the seed distribution system to ensure improved varieties reach farmers.

• Scaling up training for agricultural institutions to improve yields and lower costs.

Muhammad Yussouf Saleem, Director General of the PAEC Agri- & Biotech Division, said:

“We have reclaimed barren land, optimized fertilizer use, and improved soil fertility with nuclear techniques. Atoms4Food will expand this cooperation with a value-chain approach.”

Soil and Water Management

Nuclear techniques developed with IAEA support have already helped Pakistan reclaim salt-affected soils and improve fertilizer efficiency. The mission recommended:

• Wider adoption of climate-smart practices in irrigation and nutrient use.

• Training to enhance soil fertility and water efficiency, cutting both costs and carbon emissions.

Animal Health: Urgent Need for Local Vaccines

Livestock diseases such as foot-and-mouth disease, peste des petits ruminants, and poultry pathogens cause devastating losses annually. Pakistan currently imports hundreds of millions of vaccines at high cost, often with limited effectiveness.

Future cooperation will focus on:

• Building local diagnostic and vaccine production capacity using irradiation.

• Training national labs to detect and monitor zoonotic diseases and antibiotic resistance.

• Integrating nuclear-derived techniques to strengthen prevention and control measures.

Food Safety and Trade

Food exports are hampered by weak testing capacity for contaminants such as mycotoxins, veterinary drugs, and microbes. The mission urged:

• Scaling up accredited laboratories.

• Establishing a national food safety plan across the value chain.

• Expanding isotopic techniques to improve nutritional policy-making.

One example: isotopic analysis has already guided the identification of effective iron fortification strategies in wheat, critical to tackling iron deficiency anaemia—a condition affecting nearly 50% of Pakistani children.

Toward a National Action Plan

The mission’s findings will inform a national Atoms4Food action plan, focusing on:

• Strengthening research institutions.

• Expanding technology transfer.

• Building technical capacity at local and national levels.

This plan aims to make Pakistan’s agri-food system more productive, resilient, and globally competitive.

Global Context

The Atoms4Food Initiative, launched in October 2023, is one of the IAEA’s flagship programmes. It brings proven nuclear techniques to bear on pressing challenges in food security, health, and environmental sustainability. The Pakistan mission demonstrates the model’s value in creating integrated, country-specific strategies that connect science with national development priorities.