FAO Regional meeting on the regional initiative

Representatives from six countries from the Near East and North Africa region and FAO staffs meet in the framework of the FAO regional Initiative on “ Sustainable small scale agriculture for inclusive development”.

Representatives from six member countries from the Near East and North Africa region, Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Mauritania, Sudan and Tunisia and FAO staffs from the regional and subregional office in Tunis and from HQ met in Cairo on the 2-3 March to review the progresses made in the implementation of the  regional initiative on “sustainable small scale agriculture for inclusive development” (SSA) and chart the way forward for  2015 and beyond. The meeting was also attended by representatives from CIRAD and CIHEAM.

The “Sustainable Small Scale Agriculture for inclusive development” regional initiative aims at reducing rural poverty and  improving youth employment in the agriculture sector. The initiative will also support the empowerment of smallholders organizations and the development of inclusive agriculture value chains.

“Small scale agriculture holds the key to many of the challenges faced by the rural world in our region. The initial results of the actions implemented in the framework of the regional initiative in Morocco and Tunisia are encouraging and show the path for the empowerment of producers organizations in the region” said Abdessalam Ould Ahmed, Assistant Director General and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa.

The participants agreed on the main elements of a study on small scale agriculture that will feed into the action plan of the initiative for 2016-2017.

FAO | Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa

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