The Federal Government has signed a five-year (2012-2017) technical co-operation agreement with the Geneva-based International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, the Director - General of Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission has said.

The Commission boss, Franklin Osaisaai said this in a statement on Friday.

Mr. Osaisaai said the accord was signed in February 2013 and contains six priorities areas - energy and infrastructural design, human health, food and agriculture, nuclear safety, radiation and water resources.

Mr. Osaisaai signed on behalf of Nigeria, while Kwaku Aning, the Deputy Director-General and Head of the Department of Technical Cooperation of IAEA, signed on behalf of the agency.

The commission boss pointed out that the technical co-operation, known as Country Programme Framework, CPF, is to assist member states and the IAEA to identify priority areas in the transfer of nuclear technology and technical co-operation.

Resources would be directed to support national development goals in the identified areas, he added.

The statement added that education and training in nuclear power programme development would be pursued to enhance national capacity for sustainable nuclear power infrastructure development and management.

Mr. Osaisaai said that there would be development of national capacity for the maintenance of nuclear devices through the setting up of a hub and network of national nuclear infrastructure maintenance centre.

Infrastructure and national capacity would be developed to assess the impact of contaminants level on food quality and toxicity elevations to enhance the assurance of food safety, the statement added.

He said the installation of equipment to control diseases such as cancer.

The agreement, the statement added, would assist in intensifying efforts toward making the Hydrology Laboratory facility at Centre for Energy Research and Training, Zaria, Kaduna State, to become operational.

"And when it becomes operational, it will support studies in hydrological basins for safe and potable water supply."

Mr. Osaisaai's statement noted that food and agriculture would be developed, while crop and animal production would be increased to enhance food safety.

He said that Nigeria would ensure that it got assistance from the IAEA to combat the menace of tsetse fly, which is the animal vector for trypanosomiasis in Nigeria.

NAN