The context
The National Agriculture Policy Centre (NAPC) of the Syrian Ministry of Agriculture and Agrarian Reform (MAAR), has been established from 2000 as a major instrument of the Government of Syria in determining adequate policies for the development of the agricultural sector in the context of the on-going reforms aiming at modernizing the economy and enhancing its international integration. The establishment and institutional development of the NAPC are the result of several years of fruitful cooperation between Italy and Syria through projects implemented by FAO and cooperation is continuing to ensure the sustainable consolidation of the NAPC capacity.
Many countries in the Near East Region are similarly facing the need for a suitable institutional and technical capacity for responding to the requirements of analysing, formulating and adjusting policies for agricultural and rural development within the context of a changing domestic and international environment. A variety of responses have been given to such need in the different countries, according to their specific conditions and recent history.
FAO and the international donor community are collaborating with member countries in identifying needs and developing the institutional capacity of governments and other stakeholders in the area of agricultural policies. The comparison of, and the lessons drawn from, the experience of countries of the Region should help each of them in taking advantage of the experience of others as well as in establishing links within the Region among institutions having to render similar services to the respective governments. The ability of the international donor community will also be improved, thereby enabling assisting countries upon request to meet emerging needs for adaptation and improvement. In this context, a two day workshop was co-organized by FAO and NAPC in Damascus, Syria, on 6 and 7 December 2003.
Workshop objectives
The objectives of the Workshop were:
To enhance the knowledge of participating institutions about the conditions for adequate technical and institutional capacity development for agricultural policy work;
to disseminate information about the different possibilities of addressing policy analysis requirements;
to better identify needs for and ways of improving existing situations and practices; and
to facilitate regional and international cooperation in this regard.
