The Nuclear Panacea for Indias Food Security – Times of India

By the year 2030, around 600 million people will not have access to adequate food, whereas every year approximately 1.3 billion tons of food is lost or wasted globally which is one-third of the total food produced. According to Global Network Against Food Crises (GNFAC) report, around 193 million people in 53 countries experienced an acute food crisis in 2021. Despite some global efforts led by the United Nations, there has not been much progress in curbing food wastage which is very rampant in lower- and middle-income countries like Brazil, China, India, etc. To prevent a looming food crisis on a global scale, innovative actions are warranted and nuclear technology can be the panacea.

Given Indias ambitious economic growth plan and growing population, food wastage is undoubtedly a drag on government food security plans and a national burden that India needs to address on a war footing. The problem has reached an alarming stage today where an average person in India wastes around 137 grams of food per day, i.e., 0.96 kg per week, or 50 kg per year. As a result, 40% of the food is wasted in India which is equivalent to Rs 92,000 crores per year.

Most of the wastage occurs at two stages: first, at the production stage which is called food loss, which largely happens during production, handling, storage, and processing; second, at the consumption stage which is called food wastage where consumption ready food is discarded because of expiration. In addition, crop failures, low yield, and crop loss due to pest infestation are other major causes of food loss. Therefore, any remedial measure to address food loss or wastage must take into account, the security of production and distribution, in other words, advanced agricultural practice with technological intervention besides nurturing food-best-use-culture in every household.

The application of nuclear technologies in Indias agricultural practice can be the panacea in solving the food loss problem to a great extent. These can be achieved through large scale application of scientific agricultural practice, especially making available mutation breeding seeds and radiation processing technologies. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) has developed 42 high-yielding seed varieties by inducing mutations and cross-breeding through Gamma irradiation for commercial exploitation. In addition, cost-effective food irradiation technology can be used for shelf-life extension of food crops (pulses, serials, and oil seeds), delay ripening and disinfestations of fruits, and sprouting inhibition of potato and onion, reduce of number microorganisms in spices, etc. However, a handful of high-yielding seeds are in use, and only 15 Food Irradiation Plants are in operation in the country of 1.2 billion population.

Evidence suggests that employing irradiation technology can improve yield by 10-40 per cent for potatoes, 10-12 per cent for rice, 10-15 per cent for corn and wheat and 7-15 per cent for Barley. Another problem where radiation technology can make a big difference is pest control. As per the UNs Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), approximately 40 percent of global agricultural crops are lost every year due to pests. The Sterile Insect Technique provides a safe, environment-friendly option for pest control that can significantly minimize crop losses. The technique involves mass sterilization of insects through radiation. The sterilized pests are then released in the area and mate with the wild insects resulting in a decline in the population of pests. The technique not only helps in controlling the pest population, but it also eliminates the environmental harm caused by excessive use of pesticides by farmers.

Furthermore, nuclear technology is also being used to determine soil quality to enable more efficient soil management. Soil moisture neutron probe, a technique to measure the moisture, has proven to be much more effective than conventional sensors, enabling farmers to optimize irrigation as per the soils needs.

This suggests that there is enormous scope for aggressive public outreach to popularize the availability of required technology, methods, and benefits, which is the need of the hour. India has already embarked on such applications in the agricultural sector but the progress has been very slow. The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has set up two radiation technology demonstration units, operated by the Board of Radiation and Isotope Technology. In order to leverage nuclear technology in agriculture at scale for marked improvement, much more concerted efforts are required, both by the government and private sector. In 2020, the government announced much-needed reforms for opening up the nuclear sector for private players in the fields of medicine, agriculture and research. As such, there is an opportunity for Indias start-up ecosystem to undertake initiatives in the use of nuclear/radiation technology in the agricultural sector.

Though the Indian nuclear establishment has already made its best efforts in preparing the irradiation technology and modalities of its application, roping in the private sector and start-ups to promote their application in the agricultural sector would immensely help to allay the fears persisting at the societal level and expedite their acceptance on the ground. Leveraging global innovations and expertise in the field of radiation technology is not only crucial in ensuring Indias food security but also, in turn, will increase farmers income. In addition, wide adoption of radiation technology in agriculture will help eliminate unsustainable conventional agricultural practices that are detrimental to the environment, such as over-irrigation and heavy use of pesticides. For making agriculture more sustainable and reduce wastages, and in turn to ensure national food security, nuclear technologys transformational role India must master smartly.

Views expressed above are the author's own.

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The Nuclear Panacea for Indias Food Security - Times of India