Joint FAO/IAEA Programme – Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition (SWMCN) Section

The Soil and Water Management and Crop Nutrition (SWMCN) Section of the Joint FAO/IAEA Programme and its associated SWMCN Laboratory assist FAO and IAEA Member States in the development, validation and dissemination of a range of soil, water and crop management technology packages using nuclear and nuclear-related techniques. It aims at:

-     Enhancing agricultural productivity, ensuring the conservation of soil and water resources for sustainable crop and livestock production systems, and improving farmers' livelihoods;

-     Improving soil quality and soil resilience against impacts of climate change and variability; and

-     Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increase soil carbon sequestration in both productive and marginal lands.

The newly established Cosmic-Ray Neutron Probe, which measures real-time water content over an area of 20 ha, provides accurate SWC measurements for a wide range of land covers and soil types, making it an ideal method to aid irrigation decisions, and providing drought and flood warnings. The information can also be used for the calibration and validation of satellite products.

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