This paper summarizes the main themes and recommendations of the document Regional Water Scarcity Initiative: Towards a Collaborative Strategy prepared as part of FAO’s ‘Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity’ in Near East and North Africa (NENA). The Regional Collaborative Strategy will complement and complete existing initiatives, will seek structured mechanisms...

According to the country’s Central Agency for Public Mobilization and Statistics, around 51 per cent of the population living in rural areas in Upper Egypt is poor. The factsheet focuses on this topic, arguing that although most people in Upper Egypt depend on agriculture for their livelihoods, smallholder farming in...

Morocco and Tunisia are considered among the countries where the scarcity of water resources may cause a serious constraint to the development of their economies. During the past, huge efforts have been made by both governments in order to satisfy an escalating water demand expressed by all users. The main...

Agriculture plays a significant role in Africa, accounting for about 30 per cent of GDP south of the Sahara, as well as a significant proportion of export value. Not surprisingly, in most African countries, 60 per cent or more of employees work in agriculture. Yet this barely scrapes the surface...

The main objectives of this paper are to evaluate the impact of water use efficiency improvement on water value and to estimate the potential of water cost reductions in durum wheat production in Central Tunisia. Results show that significant inefficiencies exist in the sample of farms under investigation. The effects...

The HSAD-Iraq program is a collaborative effort between the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region and ICARDA. Special thanks for continued support and guidance to Dr. Mahdi El Kaisey (Technical Deputy Minister of Agriculture), Dr. Faisal Rasheed (Advisor to...

في الشرق الأدنى وشمال إفريقيا يفاقم النمو السكاني، والتوسع الحضري، وقاعدة الموارد الهشة، وتغير المناخ، وانخفاض الإنتاجية، من أوضاع الجوع وسوء التغذية. لكن انتشار "المدارس الحقلية الزراعية" في وادي الأردن ومختلف أنحاء البلاد ساعد المزارعين الأسريين على زيادة إنتاجهم ومداخيلهم ومرونتهم، بالإضافة إلى حماية البيئة.

The most important agricultural systems such as Pomegranate, Pistachio, and Saffron farming systems are irrigated by Qanat. The geographical regions around the Central Desert of Iran which is also one of the most traditional agricultural areas have been using the Qanat technology for providing water for agriculture and human consumption...

The topics covered in this Dossier concern 21 research units based in Languedoc-Roussillon Region, involving over 1 000 researchers whose activities are fully or partially focused on addressing—in collaboration with many partners—major family farming challenges in France and worldwide.The scientists have developed four multidisciplinary approaches to deal with family farming...

Le numéro 2 de la revue Alternatives Rurales est une revue qui a pour objectif d’offrir un espace de communication, réflexion et débat sur le développement rural et agricole au Maroc, mais aussi dans d’autres pays de la région.Cette revue s’adresse aux acteurs du développement agricole et rural, aux acteurs...

En Afrique du Nord, et en particulier au Maroc, les zones rurales connaissent un regain d’intérêt, avec en particulier des politiques publiques ambitieuses en termes de développement rural, agricole, et de gestion des ressources naturelles. De nombreux travaux de recherche sont menés dans ces zones rurales, cependant nombre d’entre eux...

The number of chronically undernourished people in the Region in 2010-13 reached 79.4 million, representing 11.2% of the population which was higher than in the 2008-2010 period. In addition, an estimated 31.0% of children under five are stunted. On the other side of the malnutrition spectrum, nearly one quarter of...

The Near East and North Africa Region (NENA)  may be facing the most severe intensification of water scarcity in history. Agriculture, which uses over 85 percent of the total freshwater, will most likely absorb the bulk of this shock. This shortage will have major implications for food security and the...

his paper summarizes the main themes and recommendations of the document Regional Water Scarcity Initiative: Towards a Collaborative Strategy prepared as part of FAO’s ‘Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity’ in Near East and North Africa (NENA). The Regional Collaborative Strategy will complement and complete existing initiatives, will seek structured mechanisms...

The humanitarian situation in Syria is of grave concern, with domestic, regional and growing international consequences. As the conflict enters its fourth year, insecurity, generalized violence and specific persecution continue to force the people of Syria to seek safety and protection elsewhere, both inside the country and in the neighbouring...

This report is divided into three sections: Section II outlines how priorities and items requiring follow-up emanating from the previous Regional Conference have been addressed, bringing to the attention of the Members major achievements and aspects requiring further consideration. The section will also draw lessons from the implementation of the...

Most of Near east and North Africa societies have been in the midst of social and political transition in recent years. Three of them changed governments following the events of 2011, and some have endured armed conflict. Moreover, most of them face the challenge of food security in a drylands...

Part of the International Family Farming Year proclaimed by the United Nations Organization, the Zagora Oasis International Forum association held on December 18-21; 2014 the Forum's 3rd edition under the topic "Oasis Family Farming: Opportunities and threats" Over three days, participants made of associations, experts and researchers along with the...

In the Near East and North Africa (NENA), the role of women in agriculture and the rural sector has increased significantly. In many countries of the region, agricultural incomes no longer suffice to sustain the livelihoods of rural men and women. This has resulted, in particular, in massive migration of...

IFAD and the International Centre for Rural Development, (IDRC) joined hands to use networking to improve the performance of their agriculture and rural development projects in a programme called the Knowledge Access in Rural Interconnected Areas Network, or KariaNet. The KariaNet approach, including collaborative research and capacity building, takes a page from...