OPENING STATEMENT

摘要

May I add my welcome to that of the Deputy Director General, Mr. S. Machi. The transfer of information and technology is a basic function of the Joint FAO/IAEA Division of Nuclear Techniques in Food and Agriculture. Symposia such as this are vital to this function, alongside training courses, fellowship training, expert services and Co-ordinated Research Programmes. It is, therefore, gratifying that, although the number of participants is restricted by financial considerations, over 40 Member States are represented here. Mr. Machi has already spoken of the high priority placed on environmental issues at both the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency. This is particularly the case in the Joint FAO/IAEA Division, so much so that at the beginning of 1997 the Agrochemicals and Residues Section will be amalgamated with the Food Preservation Section to create the new Food and Environmental Protection Section, whose name emphasizes this commitment. Thus, it is particularly appropriate that we should be holding a Symposium devoted to an environmental issue in 1996.