Cairo, Egypt - The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has held a number of Training of Trainers (TOT) workshops on SDGs, which were organized in coordination with the Ministry of Planning - Follow-up and Administrative Reform department; the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation; and the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation.

The workshops were held during the period 13-28 October 2019, with the participation of trainees from the above mentioned ministries, and from the Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistic.

In coordination with the relevant authorities, FAO has designed an integrated program that includes a number of specialized workshops and training courses t that included exercises on Stakeholders Mapping, identification of interlinkages amongst stakeholders, possible incentives for attaining theSDGs, in particular those related to sustainable food and agriculture, systematic collaboration and other institutional arrangements across ministries and non-governmental actors.

The training workshop aimed at: 

• Strengthening the technical capacity of government officials in charge of planning and monitoring of SDGs in relevant ministries and other stakeholders to better understand the interlinkages of SDGs related to food and sustainable agriculture.
• Linking sustainable development goals related to food and agriculture systems to the national goals to improve the integrated implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• Enhancing the capacity to monitor the relevant SDG indicators. 

The workshops discussed number of challenges facing Egypt in its effort to attain food security and the sustainable development goals as follows:

• scarcity of natural resources such as energy, land and water (in addition to environmental degradation) ;
• lack of human development resources including population, health, and education;
• inadequacy of the governance system and the absence of systems that foster creativity and innovation;
• dependence on importing strategic crops such as wheat, yellow corn and beans;
• reliance on traditional irrigation methods, as agriculture consumes 85% of Egypt's water resources; and
• Climate change, which is a major concern for Egypt. 

“Sustainable food and agriculture is critical to achieving the SDGs, especially those that tackle the main causes of poverty and hunger, building an inclusive society that leaves no one behind, particularly rural communities; and managing natural resources sustainably,” Said Dr. Nasredin Hag Elamin, FAO Representative in Egypt, in his opening speech during the inception workshop from 13 to 17 October 2019.

“A comprehensive assessment will be conducted to identify the requirements needed to implement and monitor the SDGs, to participate in all strategies and policies, to present challenges and success stories, and to develop appropriate responses to the related challenges and opportunities, especially in the agricultural sector,” said Dr. Adel Abdel-Azim, Deputy ARC for Extension and Training Affairs.

In response to the need for implementing the 2030 Agenda, the UN Development Group (UNDG) adopted 'MAPS' (Mainstreaming, Acceleration and Policy Support)- a common approach to support the implementation and mainstreaming of the SDGs in national plans, policies, strategies and budgets with the purpose of acceleratingSDGimplementation, drawing on skills and expertise held in the UN development system.

The MAPS engagement process in Egypt during 2018 had worked on providing the Government with integrated support on policy making and capacity building for SDG implementation.