Meeting with His Excellency Memma Ould Beibata, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Mauritania

Nouakchott - The FAO Director-General met today in Nouakchott with His Excellency, Memma Ould Beibata, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Mauritania.

The Minister welcomed the Director-General and appreciated the pivotal role played by FAO in supporting the Ministry of Agriculture in its work. He further thanked FAO for cooperation in various projects, particularly for the support and collaboration on Desert Locust Control, including through the National Centre for Desert Locust Control, in addressing agricultural pests like the red palm weevil, for the training provided on pest eradication, and for supporting Mauritania’s efforts to achieve self-sufficiency and food sovereignty.

The Minister further highlighted the need for strengthened collaboration in other sectors, including rain-fed agriculture to ensure self-sufficiency in agriculture and to achieve agrifood systems transformation. The Minister stated that the country was currently working on developing an elaborate national strategy on agriculture to address desert locust and sought technical support from FAO for its implementation.

Finally, the Minister also mentioned the need for support on water projects, such as the irrigation plan for the Senegal Valley.

The Director-General thanked the Minister for supporting the FAO team in Mauritania and expressed appreciation for the commitment and efforts made in the fight against locust invasion and pest infestation. He encouraged Mauritania to explore the use of new technologies to address the country’s drought situation.  

He congratulated Mauritania on its bid to host the next Africa Regional Conference in 2026 and assured the Minister of FAO’s commitment to support Mauritania to ensure a successful conference.

They both agreed to continue working together towards agrifood systems transformation to improve the lives of rural populations and to assist smallholder farmers to build a circular economy through crop, livestock, and fodder production.