FAO Regional Conferences are an official forum where Ministers of agriculture and senior officials of Member Countries from the same geographic region meet to elaborate on  regional challenges and priority matters related to food and agriculture. Main role of the Conferences is to promote regional coherence on global policies and...

Funded by the Belgian Government, FAO launched in 2016 a CFW programme to rehabilitate land and agricultural infrastructure for 12 000 conflict-affected people in 30 villages in Kirkuk, Anbar, Salah Al Din and Ninewa governorates. In addition to benefit local farmers by enabling them to restart or expand farming activities...

During 2014–2017, FAO assisted countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region to achieve results in the context of agreed priorities and FAO's Strategic Framework and Medium Term Plan (MTP). FAO's strategic direction is maintained in the approved MTP 2018–2021 and the Programme of Work and Budget (PWB)...

Gender considerations are important in achieving sustainable development and food security, as reflected in global commitments to Sustainable Development Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Agriculture and rural development rely on the participation of both women and men in food production, resource management, balancing paid work and family...

“Enhanced Rural Resilience in Yemen (ERRY)” Programme aims at enhancing the resilience and self-reliance of crisis-affected rural communities through support to livelihoods stabilization, food security, local governance, social cohesion and improved access to sustainable energy.

FAO’s EWEA initiative aims at guiding activities in the country to systematically monitor, through a set of indicators and thresholds, the likely impact of drought on the livelihoods and the food security situation of target groups in Kassala and North Darfur and and Red Sea States. It also links the...

Efforts to build resilience and improve food security, nutrition and livelihoods in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region are often challenged by the continuous threat of transboundary plant (including forests, hereinafter ‘plant’), animal and fish pests and diseases. Increased movement of people, plants and animals, accentuated by conflicts...

Mauritania’s attainment of food security is hindered by structural food Mauritania deficits, recurrent drought and environmental degradation. This makes it difficult for vulnerable households to access food and aggravates the prevalence of food insecurity and malnutrition for many Mauritanians. In this context, the RIMA analysis explains why and how some...

Faced with poor harvests and low market prices, Egyptian grape farmer Mabrook Khamees struggles to support his family, but is optimistic that training from FAO can help reduce further food loss.  

Soil and water salinity are a big problem in many parts of the UAE due to intensive desalination, including in agriculture, and seawater intrusion into aquifers. So much so that some farmers prefer to abandon their salt-degraded lands as traditional crops fail. The problem poses challenges to national efforts to enhance food...

This paper analyses the relationship between agriculture transformation and employment in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, where unemployment, particularly among the young generation, represents a fundamental challenge. The paper summarizes the origins of the problem and sheds light on policy reforms in agriculture and agroindustry that contribute...

The experts discussed how to stop exotic or invasive plant pests and diseases from entering and establishing themselves in the region. This is especially important given the large volume of international trade in agricultural products. They will also look at ways to increase phytosanitary capacity, prepare regional positions on new...

The NENA region has some of the lowest levels of freshwater resources in the world, and these mainly underground, non-renewable stocks are being depleted. The amount of available freshwater has reduced by 60 percent in the last 40 years and is expected to fall a further 50 percent by 2050. In...

The agriculture sector in the Gaza Strip faces a number of systemic issues; most prominent is the depletion of its coastal aquifer, which is the only source of freshwater. The aquifer is also extremely polluted; and high groundwater salinity leads to poor plant performance for some of the most produced...

There are multiple constraints which limit the development of more sustainable and resilient urban agriculture in the Gaza Strip (and the West Bank). Current urban development policies, land use classification systems and planning have ignored to recognise urban agriculture as a land use category and urban development strategy. Furthermore, there...

This study reviews the literature on the provision of social protection by forest producer organizations, with a specific focus on their role and practices in this regard, the types of benefits they provide, the factors that may enhance or hinder the provision of benefits and the opportunities for taking advantage...

Fragility has become the reality in several countries of the Middle East and North Africa. Armed conflict and forced displacement are taking an enormous toll on human lives, with the region accounting for about 60 percent of the estimated global total of battle-related casualties since the turn of the millennium....

The ability of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region to attain significant progress towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) will largely hinge on sustainable management of agricultural water and adaptation to a changing climate. Agricultural transformation in the NENA region has followed a specific...

Quels sont les investissements qui répondent aux spécificités des oasis et comment on peut unifier les efforts pour stabiliser la sécurité entre eux ?Dans l’environnement économique oasien c’est le moment de diversifier ses investissements indispensables pour obtenir des bons rendements et améliorer la vie des citoyens. Ce symposium vise à...

This programme is designed to improve living conditions for rural people in mountain zones, where climate change has caused erosion and desertification. It has two components: Agricultural value chain development and value addition Sustainable nature resource management, climate change adaptation and diversification. The programme area includes 32 rural communes in the provinces of...