During the VI Mediterranean Forest Week, which took place from 1 to 5 April in Brummana, Lebanon, hundreds of researchers, policy-makers and other relevant stakeholders from the wide Mediterranean basin gathered to discuss Mediterranean-wide forestry issues. Emerging topics included: the role of forests for achieving NDC targets for COP21, existing linkages...

Every day since the early 1990s some 2,000 hectares of irrigated land in arid and semi-arid areas across 75 countries have been degraded by salt. Over the years not only the scale but also the range of threats to food, water and income security of vulnerable communities around the world...

Producing more food with less water is a straightforward objective that could be realized through using better production practices. The challenge is in achieving an overall optimum in using the little water available. Clarification of the WP concept in its different dimensions - economic, social and environmental – has become...

Around 43 percent of the NENA region’s population live in rural areas, which in turn are highly affected by the poverty that results from exclusion from the region’s economic growth; 70 percent of the region’s poor currently live in rural areas and are largely dependent on agriculture for their livelihoods....

En Tunisie, la succession des politiques agricoles et le discours dominant sur la petite agriculture ont participé à construire un fort dualisme agraire entre une agriculture « performante » et une petite agriculture « en retard ». Historiquement, la petite paysannerie tunisienne a été malmenée par les pouvoirs publics, demeurant...

The International Forum "Strategies for More Sustainable Food Systems in the Mediterranean" was held from May 15 to 17 in Palermo, Italy. Initiated and managed by the CIHEAM Bari and the Forum on Mediterranean Food Cultures, this important event has been granted the organisational and logistic support of many institutions including the Italian Ministry of...

Migration flows, including those to, from and between rural areas, have long shaped - and been shaped - by the NENA region’s complex socio-economic and political landscape. Demographic shifts and the mismatch between labour supply and demand have created common migration routes within and between NENA countries, as well as...

FAO’s 2018 activities and achievements In collaboration with the World Bank and the European Union, FAO’s comprehensive resilience building approach focuses on recovery and development, while meeting the humanitarian needs of more than 2 million resource-poor host and displaced populations across 16 governorates.

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...