The Near East and North Africa (NENA) countries are known for high levels of overweight and obesity. These patterns are observed for both children and adults.Despite some variations across countries, on average 60 to 70 percent of adults in the NENA region are overweight, with obesity rates amounting to about...

Water use has been growing globally at more than twice the rate of population increase in the last century, and an increasing number of regions are reaching the limit at which water services can be sustainably delivered. By 2025, 1 800 million people are expected to be living in countries or...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) launched  pioneering project to provide capacity building and technical support for the Integrated Agri-Aquaculture (IAA) farming systems in Jordan.In line with a technical cooperation agreement signed between the two parties in early January, FAO...

We do not often express our gratitude for the food we eat to the people who actually produce it, and who make sure that it reaches us. Throughout the years of crisis from 2011, Syria lost its human capital, infrastructure and the resources that farmers relied upon. Despite this, many...

Under the framework of the regional project “Implementing the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in NENA countries”, one of the key activities is implementing different Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in the eight studied countries. Palestine one of the countries under the project, suffers from a shortage in...

This Market brief series is based on a study commissioned by IFOAM – Organics International in 2020 in order to better understand possible interventions that can promote market development and trade of organic produce in Africa. The Tunisia Market brief is part of a series with 12 specific Market briefs. They...

Food waste is a critical issue in any household. The main objective of this guide is to support households in understanding what is needed to be done in order to reduce food waste at home. This is seen through proper storage methods for each food category, how to reuse leftovers...

When 27-year old Neeraj Kumar heard about the Access Agriculture “Young Entrepreneur Challenge Fund 2019” announcement, he was excited to learn that winners would receive a Digisoft portable smart projector. Neeraj is co-founder of Khetee, an NGO based in Durdih village in Bihar, a state in eastern India. What impressed him most...

Countries of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region face numerous common challenges to achieving improved food security, nutrition and inclusive agricultural development. Recent conflicts and civil instability in some countries of the region, as well as rapid population growth, low growth in agricultural productivity, scarce and fragile natural...

The International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA) is a unique applied agricultural research center in the world with a focus on marginal areas where an estimated 1.7 billion people live. It identifies, tests and introduces resource‐efficient, climate‐smart crops and technologies that are best suited to different regions affected by salinity,...

With 3 165 kilometres of coastline, it is hardly surprising that fish markets are an important, daily part of local life in Oman. The Sultanate of Oman is one of the largest fish producers in the Gulf region with a total capture production of 554 000 tonnes in 2018, and...

L'objectif de cet étude est d’étudier les différentes types de stratégies adoptées par les agriculteurs pour faire face à une crise d’accès à l’eau souterraine et d’analyser la rentabilité économique des systèmes de production irrigués en relation avec les adaptations aux changements climatiques dans le sud-est Tunisienne, pris come zone...

L’adaptation des pratiques agricoles pour répondre à des objectifs productifs autant qu’environnementaux mobilise les agriculteurs du Maghreb depuis près de 30 ans. Mobilisant instituts de recherche, organisations de producteurs et praticiens durant toutes ces années, l’action de Fert et de ses partenaires a permis de mettre en évidence des acquis...

The rural-urban gap remains the single most well-documented development and welfare disparity in the economies of the Near East and North Africa (NENA). The gap between rural and urban areas can be seen in the lower productivity of economic activities, higher poverty levels and lower quality infrastructure and services in...

This paper characterizes smallholder farm households in Upper Egypt based on data from a comprehensive farm household survey. The results from the descriptive analysis in combination with findings from the global literature provide recommendations on how agricultural projects can be leveraged for improving nutrition. The importance of focusing on nutrition...

All NENA countries are characterized by climatic and epidemiological conditions (presence of susceptible hosts, xylem feeders potentially acting as vectors) favourable to the spread and establishment of the pathogen. Against this backdrop, it must be recalled that the olive production and olive oil sector is one of the most important...

Livelihoods support interventions play a critical role within the humanitarian response; safeguarding and rapidly scaling up food production and therefore increasing food availability among the most vulnerable.

This new edition of the State of Mediterranean Forests aims to demonstrate the importance of Mediterranean forests to implementing solutions to tackle global issues such as climate change and population increase. The report is divided into five parts. After an introduction, the second part highlights the importance of Mediterranean forests...

The world’s soils are rapidly deteriorating due to soil erosion, nutrient depletion, loss of soil organic carbon, soil sealing and other threats, but this trend can be reversed provided countries take the lead in promoting sustainable management practices and the use of appropriate technologies. Several scientific reports highlighted in this brief...

With the human population increasing drastically in recent times, improving agricultural productivity will be important in maintaining livelihoods and raising living standards. This project investigated the adoption of farming technologies in two governorates of Tunisia: Zaghouan and Kairouan. Through a questionnaire approach, a total of 700 farmers from both governorates...