WORLD FOOD SUMMIT: FOOD SECURITY SITUATION AND ISSUES IN THE NEAR EAST

1. The purpose of this paper is to stimulate regional-level discussions on the policies and priority actions needed to ensure food security in the Near East region. Similar papers have been prepared for the other regional conferences to be held in the course of 1996. The Committee on World Food Security (CFS), expressed its wish to benefit from the perspectives of the regional conferences on the major, regionally specific, issues, policies and actions as their contribution to the World Food Summit draft Plan of Action.

2. Over the past three decades, world food production has grown faster than population. Per caput food production is today about 18 percent above that of 30 years ago. Food availabilities for direct human consumption are equivalent to some 2 700 calories per person per day, up from 2 300 calories 30 years ago. At the one extreme, in Western Europe per caput food availabilities stand at some 3 500 calories and in North America at some 3 600. At the other extreme, average per caput food availabilities are only 2 170 calories in sub-Saharan Africa.

3. Despite the considerable progress achieved in increasing per caput food supplies, more than 800 million people were undernourished in the early 1990s. Millions more suffer debilitating diseases related to micronutrient deficiencies and to contaminated food and water. Every day, one out of five people in the developing world cannot get enough food to meet his/her daily needs; in subSaharan Africa, two out of five people do not have adequate food. The Near East and Latin America and Caribbean regions had the lowest percentage of undernourished. The largest numbers, though declining, are to be found in Asia but those in sub-Saharan Africa have been increasing rapidly, both in total and as a proportion of the region's population.

4. In addition to the chronically undernourished, civil strife and wars have adversely affected millions of people. Although food assistance is provided to ease their plight, the amount provided for each individual is too often insufficient for good health. The sharp reduction in food aid availability over the past three years has reduced our capacity to face crises.

5. To bring each undernourished person to his or her respective energy requirement level (2 200 calories/day on average) would require an additional average 570 calories/day. This is obviously an underestimate of any realistic scheme to eliminate undernourishment exclusively, but the resulting order of magnitude is telling. World food consumption in 1990-92 would need to be higher by about 3 percent. In more concrete terms, given that cereals represent around 60 percent of the calorie supply of the population of the developing countries, this increase would represent about 30 million tons of grains (to be compared with about 9-12 million tons of food aid in recent years). This food gap estimate varies widely between regions, ranging from negligible in the western industrialized countries to about 5 percent in the low-income food-deficit countries, 10 percent in Africa and close to 5 percent in the developing countries as a whole.

6. The prospects for the future, as they emerge from FAO's World Agriculture: Towards 2010 (AT2010) study (1995), indicate that trends towards increasing per caput food supplies in most developing countries will continue. For the developing countries as a whole, average per caput food supplies are expected to reach 2 730 calories in 2010 - a substantial increase from 2 520 in the year 1990-92 .

7. Despite such progress, the developing countries are projected to continue to have some 700 to 800 million undernourished by 2010. The two regions projected to have the largest number of undernourished remain South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. However, while in South Asia their number is forecast to diminish sharply, bringing their share of total population close to the12 percent average of developing countries as a whole, in sub-Saharan Africa the number of undernourished people is projected to increase by more than 100 million to just under 300 million.

8. The forecast level of undernutrition would exist alongside increasing food imports in the developing countries. Net cereal imports are projected to expand from the nearly 90 million tons of 1989-1991 to some 162 million tons in 2010; and the aggregate cereal self-sufficiency ratio to decline from 92 percent to 90 percent. Although the largest increases are foreseen for the Near East and North Africa (33 million tons) and Latin America and the Caribbean (15 million tons), only a small number of countries in these regions currently face serious foreign exchange shortages.

9. The doubling in the net cereal trade deficit (from 8.5 to 19 million tons) foreseen for the sub-Saharan region, on the other hand, is more ominous given the precarious balance of payments situation in many of the countries in the region and the unfavourable prospects for many of them, especially those that must continue to finance their growing food import requirements from agricultural export earnings.

10. The above prospects for protracted incidence of undernutrition for hundreds of millions would be the likely consequence of a ‘business as usual’ approach. To the contrary, all efforts must be mobilized to reduce the incidence of undernutrition and malnutrition as fast and on as broad a geographical scope as possible, so as to achieve by the year 2010 a better outcome than as forecast in the AT2010 study.

11. The additional amount of food that would be required to increase the per caput consumption of the projected 700-800 million undernourished to the level of average requirements for a healthy life is a minor proportion of world food output. Therefore the issue is not simply whether the world as a whole could produce such an additional amount of food, but even more how to ensure that the countries with the largest concentration of undernourished people improve access to food for all. This would require inter alia a faster increase in the food production rates of those countries projected to have low food supplies and high undernutrition in 2010. For the developing countries in this class, per caput food supplies are projected to be 2 360 calories in 2010. If none of them were to have less than 2 700 calories by then (which would bring the incidence of undernutrition of the developing countries to a more moderate 6 percent, or 330 million), their production would need to grow at 3.5 rather than the projected 2.7 percent annually. This would barely raise the world growth rate from what is currently projected to 2010 (1.8 percent) to 2.0 percent annually, but what is of great matter is where the additional production is to come from. For those countries and regions with high rates of undernourishment, the task represents a great challenge, as it does in the world community as well. For example, it would imply that in sub-Saharan Africa production growth must be at 4.6 percent for 20 years, instead of 1.9 percent during 1970-1990 and 3 percent projected to the year 2010.

13. Annual growth in food production in the region as a whole accelerated from 2.7 percent during the 1970s to 3.0 percent in the 1980s, and further to 3.4 percent during the first half of the 1990s. At the same time, however, annual population growth rates were among the highest in the world - 2.7 and 2.9 percent during the 1970s and 1980s, respectively. Consequently, only modestimprovements were recorded in per caput food production for the region as a whole during these two decades. A deceleration in population growth during the first half of the 1990s to 2.7 percent has enhanced the scope for realizing gains in per caput food production.

14. Consumption of food in the region as a whole has been rising rapidly over the last two decades and is projected to continue rising for the foreseeable future. During the 1970s, strong growth in per caput incomes (2.6 percent annually) led to increasing per caput growth in the demand for food (about 2 percent per annum). During the 1980s, however, when the region as a whole experienced negative growth in per caput incomes of some - 0.8 percent per annum, per caput food consumption increased by only 0.2 percent per annum.

15. Changes in lifestyle and dietary patterns over the past three decades have led to a shift in morbidity and mortality rates with diet-related diseases becoming major public health problems, now accounting for more than half of mortality rates in the region. In addition to the rapid rise in the amount of total energy intake, there has been a steep upward trend in the consumption of animal products, fats and sugars and a decline in the consumption of pulses and nuts. Thus, undernutrition of the poor and malnutrition of the affluent exist side by side in some countries of the region.

16. Overall, in terms of per caput daily dietary energy supplies (DES), which adds together all food items consumed by the population into a common unit, the region had an average of 2 730 calories in 1990-92, among the highest of any developing country region, the average for all developing countries being 2 520 calories during the same period. There were, however, wide variations in DES levels in the different countries. Some of them, including Cyprus, Egypt, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, had average DES around 3 300 calories, a level close to the average of the developed countries. By contrast, other countries of the region had average food consumption levels in 1990-92 well below the developing country average, including Afghanistan (1 670), Iraq (2 270), Pakistan (2 340) Somalia (1 590), Sudan (2 150) and Yemen (2 150). These countries account for more than 75 percent of the number of undernourished people in the region, but important pockets of undernutrition are also found among poor segments of society even in countries with very high average DES levels. Overall, the incidence of chronic undernutrition was estimated by FAO at 16 percent of the total population, compared with 21 percent for the developing countries as a whole. In absolute numbers, this 16 percent corresponds to about 74 million people.

17. Looking towards the future, FAO projects that the region as a whole will continue to improve its aggregate food availability. As a result, the incidence of chronic undernutrition is expected to decline further to 11 percent by the year 2010. Despite this positive outlook at the regional level, the low-income countries would continue to experience serious food security problems and low-income groups in all countries require special attention.

18. While there are significant differences in resources for food security between individual countries in the region, they share a number of common issues and concerns.

19. The growing resource scarcities in a relatively harsh physical environment, make exploiting the region's untapped potential and sustaining the quantity and quality of the productive resources, priority concerns. The region is dominated by arid and semi-arid lands with low and erratic rainfall severely limiting food crop production and causing production instability. About 70 percent of the total area is arid or semi-arid, where only expensive irrigated agriculture and limited nomadic grazing are possible. As a result, year-to-year variability in crop production is higher than in all other developing regions.

20. About 38 million hectares of arable land, approximately 34 percent of the total arable area of the region, is irrigated. The total land area that may be irrigated without excessive investments, about 40 million hectares, is already mostly exploited. Surface water used for irrigation accounts for 90 percent of irrigation while 10 percent comes from ground water sources. Ground water, mostly fossil and thus not replenishable, is of primary importance in several countries. While further growth in agricultural production from the irrigated areas may not be as high, these areas would require resources to maintain the current level of productivity. Also, further development of irrigation must rely as much as possible on low-cost methods and technologies adapted to local conditions. Examples include water harvesting, use of cheap low-lift pumps and exploitation of shallow aquifers requiring simple methods of water extraction. Also, new approaches to irrigation must emphasize the development of skills and incentives and participatory management of water resources.

21. The dichotomy in resource distribution, in particular between oil-exporting and labour surplus countries in the region, represents both a constraint and an opportunity. A major influence affecting economic and agricultural performance in the region has been the labour flow from the capital-deficit to the capital-surplus countries. At its peak in 1985, the number of migrant workers in the oil-exporting countries of the region exceeded 5 million, of which around 3.5 million were from countries within the region. Although the number of migrants has widely fluctuated, reflecting in particular oil market changes and political developments, remittances from migrant workers continue to represent major sources of foreign exchange. For instance, workers' remittances in 1993 amounted to US$4.96 billion and US$1.56 billion in Egypt and Pakistan, respectively, while the figure for Jordan, US$1.04 billion, is even more impressive relative to the size of the economy. Such flows have contributed significantly to raising rural incomes and, to a certain extent, to rural capital formation. Returning migrants have, also, brought with them savings and new skills acquired abroad. At the same time, however, the phenomenon has also created labour shortages and reduced agricultural activity in the countries of origin. Labour mobility has also caused added demands on women’s already heavy involvement in farm activities. Furthermore, the changing demand for migrant labour in the region has had disruptive effects on current accounts, labour markets and agricultural production in several countries.

22. A major issue constraining sustainable agricultural production throughout much of the region is the serious degradation of the natural resources due to soil erosion, desertification, water logging and salinity. In fact, managing natural resources in an efficient and sustainable manner is now one of the most critical issues for food production in the region. Land has been subject to varying degrees of degradation. Wind erosion is believed to affect 35 percent of the total area, while water erosion affects 17 percent. Many of the slopes are stony and denuded by water and wind erosion. This process has led to desertification which is irreversible in many areas. Where irrigation is intensive, as in Egypt or Iraq, salinization has emerged as a major problem. In those cases where the major source of land degradation is excessive irrigation, policies that correct for the price distortion of the past, notably free or subsidized irrigation, will help reduce both the problems of excessive water use and its negative effect on soil degradation. It is also important that the agricultural production effort focuses primarily on those areas that offer the greatest potential for cost-effective and ecologically sustainable increases in land productivity.

23. Almost all countries in the Near East and North Africa have entered a process of market-oriented economic reform, albeit with varying degrees of commitment and success and amidst considerable economic, political and social difficulties in some instances. In certain cases, economicliberalization has represented a complete break with previous centralized and inward-oriented systems of macroeconomic management. Governments have in general moved away from past practices of large-scale procurement of cereals from producers at high guaranteed prices. Annual increments in support or procurement prices have deliberately been kept low in many countries of the region.

24. Parastatal monopolies on procurement and marketing have also been lifted and the private sector encouraged to compete with the parastatal in these activities. Similar trends, notably reduced subsidies and increased private sector handling of retailing, are apparent in inputs such as fertilizers. Policy reforms implemented in Egypt in the past four years are a leading example of this process. Key reforms implemented include: ending restrictions on cropping patterns; revoking obligatory deliveries of, inter alia, wheat and rice; freeing up restrictions on private transportation and milling of rice; and rescinding the ban on the marketing and lifting of controls on bread production. A major liberalization programme along similar lines is in progress in Morocco.

25. While the reform process is still under way, some countries have already recorded farm productivity and income gains from reduced interventions on farm production and marketing operations, lower trade barriers and freer prices. However, the reduction of previously high levels of both input and food price subsidization has created the need for special programmes and measures to protect poor farmers, consumers and vulnerable populations.

26. Even in several countries in the region where chronic undernutrition on a large scale is not foreseen, appropriate food safety nets are nevertheless needed to protect vulnerable groups in both urban and rural areas. At the same time, there is a need for nutrition education programmes to deal with adverse malnutrition trends of the affluent. The two major food insecure population groups in the region include rural households in both the limited rainfall zones and the highlands, and the urban poor. Safety net programmes in most countries have in the past concentrated largely on the urban poor, based on food price subsidization policies. The picture is, however, gradually changing with recent policy reforms. The dominant trend has been one of reductions in general subsidies and price decontrol, implemented within the context of structural adjustment programmes and geared towards reducing high fiscal costs. Cost-effective income transfer schemes are needed so that the limited resources that are made available reach those in need. Targeted food subsidies, food stamps and targeted feeding programmes that identify vulnerable groups and cater for their needs only are to be favoured. Experience has shown that the effectiveness of generalized food subsidies towards ensuring an adequate diet for those in need is questionable (everybody benefits from such subsidies, they are distributionally regressive, they become expensive to maintain and, depending on the level of the subsidy, they may be a distorting factor in the economy).

27. The region depends heavily on commercial imports and, in several countries, on food aid to meet its food needs. Net cereal imports increased from 6.5 million tonnes in 1969-1971 to 39.3 million tonnes by 1988-1990 and are projected to reach 75.5 million tons by the year 2010. Along with this considerable increase in imports, the self-sufficiency ratio of cereals for the region declined from 89 percent in 1969-1971 to 71 percent in 1988-1990, and could fall to 68 percent at the horizon year of 2010. Imports of other food items such as livestock products, vegetable oils and sugar have also grown substantially and are expected to continue rising.

28. As a consequence of such large increases in the volumes of imported foodstuffs, the foreign exchange expenditures on food imports have risen sharply in the past two decades. The value of net food imports into the region increased tenfold from 1969-1971 to 1988-1990 and may double again by the year 2010. Cereals remain the major item of foreign exchange expenditure amongimported foods, accounting for 35-39 percent of the total value of food imports. The value of net livestock products recorded an exceptionally large increase of about 800 percent during the period 1970 to 1990 and may register a further 200 percent increase over the period to the year 2010.

29. The projected large increases in food imports may not constrain the oil-producing countries, but would certainly aggravate the balance of payments difficulties of other countries in the region. Indeed, food imports as a whole amount to some 10-12 percent of merchandise exports. However, low-income countries of the region spend a consistently high share (over 25 percent) of their merchandise export earnings on food imports.

30. For many countries in the region, future economic and food security prospects will be largely contingent upon agricultural performance. Adequate agricultural production growth will be needed to limit food import dependence, meet the growing food needs of urban populations and improve the incomes and food security of poor rural populations, in particular.

31. Despite resource constraints and often adverse climatic conditions, untapped potential does exist. FAO projects that food output could increase by the year 2010 by over 70 percent as compared with 1988-1990 production levels. Cereal output would grow at an average annual rate of 2.6 percent during the 1990s (wheat by 2.5 percent, rice by 1.8 percent), sugar by 2.9 percent and vegetable oils by 3.6 percent. Growth in output could extend into the first decade of the twenty-first century but at lower rates: 2.2 percent for cereals as a whole, 2.7 percent for sugar and 3.0 percent for vegetable oils.

32. Growth in food production up to 2010 could be achieved by a combination of increases in yield, intensification of farming and some expansion of the area under cultivation. About 70 percent of the projected increase in crop production over the period is expected to come from yield improvements. This picture runs across the sub-regions with no significant variations between them, except for the Arabian Peninsula, where Saudi Arabia has already reached average yields of more than 5 tons/ha.

33. This considerable scope for yield improvement reflects the existing wide inter-country yield differential, with most countries at present having average yields well below those achieved by the highest-yield producers. Although many factors are involved in this, the high yields achieved by the better performers suggest that even with the existing technology of high-yielding varieties, improved land and water management, judicious use of modern inputs, especially fertilizers, crop protection inputs, good cultural practices and further adaptive research, there is still considerable scope for increasing yields in a sustainable manner. The adoption of improved technology and farming practices together with efforts to control or eradicate plant pests such as desert locusts, can also be expected to reduce instability in production.

34. There is also scope for changes in national cropping patterns by introducing new crops such as soya bean and sunflower. Countries like Egypt, the Gulf States, Jordan, Libya and Morocco have made remarkable advances in controlled-environment farming of horticultural products for domestic consumption and the export market. Besides generating foreign exchange and seasonal employment opportunities, such farming systems are noted for their high productivity, controlled use of agricultural chemicals and water saving.

35. Increases in livestock numbers and in off-take rates would continue to be the dominant sources of growth in meat production in the region. The former is expected to contribute 35 percent and the latter 27 percent of growth in meat production during the coming two decades. Raising production in this manner would require enlarging the feed resource base by increasing the intensity of range and pasture utilization and by using more feed concentrates and agriculturalbyproducts. Striking a sustainable balance between livestock numbers and the availability of forage and feed is of paramount importance in the semi-arid conditions of the region.

36. In some countries, such as Egypt and countries of the West Asia sub-region the lack of potential for expanding the grazing areas means higher yield per animal is an increasingly important source of growth. The intensive and semi-intensive production systems, such as dairy and poultry, which are more responsive to market conditions, are spreading in many countries. Improved production systems and animal health and expanding and upgrading the region's feed base, will all be essential to achieve the projected growth in livestock production.

37. The World Food Summit (WFS) draft Policy Statement calls on all parties to reaffirm their commitment to policies that will ensure the availability and stability of adequate food supplies as well as access to an adequate diet for all. The WFS draft Global Action Plan stresses the need for each country to choose its own strategy for attaining food security since individual circumstances vary so widely.

38. The need for differentiated policy responses is particularly evident in the Near East and North Africa region, characterized as it is by marked differences in food security situations and the relative importance of food supply and access in determining them. For a number of low-income countries overall food supply is clearly insufficient to ensure adequate and regular food flows for all and, indeed, a large proportion of their populations are chronically undernourished. For others, aggregate food supplies largely exceed what would be theoretically needed to ensure adequate food intakes for all; yet, significant segments of the population suffer from chronic undernourishment, pointing to the predominance of equity and access problems.

39. The additional number of calories that would be required to bring every undernourished person in the region to his/her respective energy requirement level is currently estimated at about 586 calories per person/day. This implies that the region’s food consumption would have to be higher by 3.2 percent. The cereal component of this higher consumption amounts to approximately 2.6 million tons/year.

40. It is expected that by the year 2010, the percentage of people chronically undernourished in the region will have fallen to 11 percent, with most countries well below this percentage. Nevertheless, five countries are still forecast to have 20 to 50 percent of their populations chronically undernourished (Afghanistan, Mauritania, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen), while pockets of undernourishment are expected to subsist in the other countries. Appropriate policies must improve this outcome. For the richer countries the objective of altogether eradicating food insecurity is certainly within reach, provided economic and sectoral policies are pursued emphasizing distributional and access aspects. For the Low-Income Food-Deficit Countries (LIFDCs) in the region, and others where the food security problem is primarily related to inadequate and unstable supply, the obvious necessity will be to enhance domestic food production capacity, focusing on those areas that offer the best opportunities for doing so in an economic and sustainable manner. By combining these policies with appropriate support to the poor and vulnerable groups, even those countries with the highest incidence of undernourishment can expect to reduce it to 10-30 percent by the year 2010. This improved outcome would also require, however, an abatement of the conflicts and civil unrest which affect several of the countries more severely affected by undernourishment in the region. In all cases, the achievement of food security objectives will depend on the governments' recognition of the fundamental role of agricultural and rural development in addressing the related issues of domestic food supply development, income and employment creation, poverty and food import dependence.

41. In order to raise each of the regions undernourished persons in 2010 to their respective energy requirement level, an additional 570 calories/day per person would be required. This represents for the whole region, assuming a 60 percent cereal content of this total, 3 million tons/year. This estimate, based on a non realistic targeting of only those undernourished, compares with annual food aid shipments of the order of 1.8 million tons of cereals during the past decade in only one country of the region.

42. The overall goal for the region would be to reduce the level of undernutrition by a significant margin. FAO considers feasible a reduction in the rates of the undernourished from 16 percent of the total population in 1990-92 to 11 percent by the year 2010. This level of achievement would still leave several countries with high proportions of their populations undernourished (40 or 50 percent in countries like Afghanistan, Somalia and Sudan), and special efforts would be needed in these countries in order to achieve sharper reductions in the numbers of their undernourished people. This would require a further increase in the annual growth rate of food production in the region as a whole (3.1 percent at a minimum, instead of 2.9 percent), but a strong and difficult acceleration in the countries with the highest levels of undernutrition.

43. It is estimated that the total gross investment for primary agricultural production would have to reach about US$18 billion (1993 United States dollars) annually, of which some 30 percent would be concentrated in the countries with otherwise average food availability below 2 700 calories by the year 2010. To this US$5.0 billion gross of post-production investments should be added, and a further US$6.2 billion would be needed for supporting rural infrastructure and services, which is roughly equivalent to present levels.

44. Within the framework of the draft Global Plan of Action of the World Food Summit, the priority, regionally-specific actions to achieve such a significant improvement of food security in the Near East and North Africa are as follows:

45.There is considerable scope for improving overall productivity, reducing annual and inter-country production variabilities as well as for diversification in crop production. In particular, 14 countries in the region are LIFDCs, for which increasing domestic food production is essential for enhanced national or regional food security.

46. i)expand and diversify food production, especially in the areas with high potential, at least to achieve a 68 percent production increase for the main food crops by 2010 for the region as a whole, and at least by 75 percent for the countries with higher rates of undernutrition (Afghanistan, Mauritania, Pakistan, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen);

ii)strengthen the sustainable management and use of the natural resources, so as to be able to expand areas for crop production by a further seven million hectares (net increase of 7 percent) by 2010; and

iv)enhance the effective, self-reliant participation of farmers and producers in the agricultural and rural development process.

Actions to be taken

at the national level

47. i)secure adequate infrastructural and service support to increase the productivity and output of food crops, especially in the short term, in the high potential areas with irrigation and adequate rainfall;

ii)in all the LIFDCs in the region, but with priority for those with food availability below 2 700 calories per caput/day, launch by the year 2000 programmes targeted at the substantial reduction of the undernourished, including expansion of cereal production by at least 75 percent by 2010;

iii)intensify and diversify food and agricultural production, including cash and fodder crops, livestock and fish culture; the yields of the main cereal crops should increase by at least 44 percent, to over 2.3 tons/ha by 2010. In the countries with food availabilities below 2 700 calories/day, cereal yields should increase to at least 1.8 tons /ha, up from current levels of about 1.3 tons/ha;

iv)expand the reliable availability, to farmers and producers, of an improved quality of production inputs, including irrigation (with an expansion of the irrigated area of at least 10 percent overall, and of 90 percent in countries below 2 700 calories daily intake, by 2010), seeds, plant nutrients (at least doubling chemical fertilizer use by 2010), and post-harvest processing and storage;

v)enhance support services for extension and rural communication, credit and marketing, as well as prevention and control of plant pests and animal diseases;

vi)enhance land tenure arrangements and participatory organizations for farmers, not only for higher productivity but also for more self-reliant management of natural resources for sustainable use;

vii)strengthen national capacity in agricultural research, extension and technology dissemination, especially to support farmers in sustainable technologies for intensification and diversification of production;

viii)promote self-reliant participation by all segments of farmers and producers, both at the national and local levels, with particular attention to poor farmers, and especially women producers;

ix)expand fish production, especially to meet the expected 70 percent increase in demand by 2010 among countries in the North Africa sub-region, by promoting aquaculture and by the better utilization of small pelagic fish for food;

x)protect, conserve and manage natural resources (soil, water, plant and animal resources), especially through integrated pest management and plant nutrition, by

integrating forestry into land management, managing and protecting aquatic environments and fisheries resources. Similarly, monitor and assess the environmental effects of agricultural activities; and

xi)strengthen national capacity for developing and executing policies, plans, programmes and projects with a view to realizing sustainable and participatory agricultural and rural development.

at sub-regional and regional levels

48. i)expand and intensify cooperation, in collaboration with the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), in exchanging appropriate technologies and approaches to food production and agricultural rural development, especially in irrigation, crop production technologies and integration of crop production and livestock;

ii)collaborate effectively in establishing and operating joint programmes addressed to transboundary plant pests and animal diseases, such as desert locusts and rinderpest; and

iii)cooperate in the joint management of shared resources, especially by proactive participation in the International Code of Conduct on Responsible Fisheries.

49.The region’s land resources are predominantly characterized by arid or semi-arid conditions, which makes water a critical factor. Low and erratic rainfall severely limits food crop production and causes wide year-to-year variations in agricultural output. The presence of potentially competing claims to limited common water resources makes a regional approach to water development an imperative for many countries of the region.

50.To ensure sustainable and cost-effective use of water resources between various sectors, including an at least 20 percent improvement in the efficient application of water for irrigation and other agricultural purposes by 2010; and to facilitate harmonious management of the shared water resources for sustainable use by the riparian countries and peoples.

at national level

51. i)review and reform national water policy and formulate comprehensive strategies for the sustainable use and management of the water resources for various purposes, including the monitoring of water quality and cost-efficiency;

ii)increase the efficiency of water use in agriculture, especially to improve irrigation efficiency through appropriate irrigation technologies, effective water management by farmers, proper usufruct rights and appropriate systems of fees and charges reflecting the true cost of water;

iii)selectively expand irrigation by at least 90 percent by the year 2010 in the countries having a high incidence of undernutrition, and develop low-cost irrigation methods and production techniques with the active participation of farmers;

iv)monitor and survey waterlogged and salinized lands, and reclaim at least 50 percent of these lands;

v)explore the feasibility of, and implement, re-use and ensure the safe disposal of 60-70 percent of municipal and drainage effluent for agricultural production, ground water recharge and desertification control; and promote forestry as part of the strategy for water conservation and land use.

at regional and sub-regional levels

52.i)expand and strengthen inter-country cooperation for the exchange of technologies and methods for more efficient use of water for food and agricultural production;

ii)promote inter-country negotiation and cooperation in the management of water resources to prevent conflict and uncontrolled ecological damage; and

iii)review and enhance the effectiveness of international river basin agreements and mechanisms.

53.The region depends heavily on commercial imports, and several countries on food aid, to meet rapidly expanding food needs.

Objectives

54.To enhance the capacity of financing food import needs; to balance food import dependence on the one hand, and domestic conditions, cost-efficiency and environmental considerations on the other, including the need to minimize problems linked to supply and price instability through market stabilization mechanisms and market information and early warning systems.

at the national level

55. i)in order to enhance food import capacity, pursue diversified economic growth;

ii)liberalize trade in line with the provisions of the Uruguay Round agreement.

at sub-regional and regional levels

56.i)develop cost-efficient stabilization mechanisms at national and regional levels, including national food stocks; promote early warning and market information systems;

ii)pursue, at the international level, the implementation of the Uruguay Round Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Countries; and

iii) ensure adequate supplies of food aid to food-deficit countries that would otherwise encounter major difficulties in financing the food imports they need.

57.Although market-oriented reforms are being pursued in many countries in the region, the process of market liberalization, overall and in agriculture, has been uneven. The reduction or elimination of previously high levels of input and food price subsidization has encountered considerable political and social obstacles, as significant segments of population suffered from the immediate consequences of such measures.

58. i)provide an economic environment conducive to sustained and equitable growth, by stabilising the economies and eliminating costly and distortive interventions and regulations affecting production, marketing and trade; and

ii)ensure an adequate presence of the State in the supply of public goods, infrastructures and social services and in the regulation of competition.

59.i)pursue and intensify market-oriented reforms that address stabilization and growth objectives while also incorporating social and environmental concerns;

ii)create the conditions for a better supply response to price incentives, through improvements in agricultural infrastructure, training and education and technical support and services to agricultural production;

iii)create an environment conducive to private enterprise development and competitive growth; and

iv)promote private sector investment and broad-based participation in overall and agricultural development.

60.Some 70 percent of the areas of the region are arid or semi-arid where low and erratic rainfall severely restrict food crop production and cause production instability. The inhabitants in these areas represent a significant part of the rural poor and are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. At the same time, the relatively adverse and fragile agro-ecological conditions demand that food and agricultural development in these areas must be built on sustainable management of the natural resources. These are the challenges confronting most countries in the region, and especially the 14 LIFDCs.

61.To improve the food security of the populations in highlands and arid and semi-arid areas through enhanced, more stable, diversified and sustainable crop and livestock production as well as through development of the off-farm economy.

at national level

62.i)develop and introduce farming systems and technologies adapted to more stable, sustainable production in highlands and low rainfall areas, including the use of more drought and disease resistant varieties of food crops;

ii)promote and introduce more sustainable and effective management systems for extensive grazing land, including production of higher-quality fodders within the traditional farming systems;

iii)integrate practical management practices for the protection and conservation of land and water resources, including integration of forestry and trees against desertification;

iv)improve the system for early warning on food shortages and strengthen measures to prevent and control pests and diseases;

v)strengthen agricultural research to provide appropriate technologies for the production systems in these areas, especially to enhance production stability under low-input systems and to enhance sustainable management of land and water;

vi)expand and intensify services for extension and the provision of improved seeds and other inputs;

vii)promote and implement agricultural and rural development schemes targeted at increasing on-farm and off-farm employment, infrastructure for improved services and marketing, as well as at addressing property rights, land use arrangements and participation of poor farmers;

viii)monitor and review the environmental effects of agricultural and rural development, and incorporate lessons in developing strategies and programmes in these areas.

at sub-regional and regional levels

63.i)exchange and transfer improved technologies and lessons on common problems in enhancing food and agricultural production in the highlands and low rainfall areas; and

ii)cooperate in preventing and controlling outbreaks of transboundary pests and diseases, as well as early warning on food shortages.

64.Population growth rates in the region are among the highest in the world, implying that only modest gains in per caput food production have materialized over the last two decades. This has been accompanied by rapid rates of urbanization. Even in those countries of the region where aggregate dietary energy supplies are currently adequate, there are sizeable population groups facing food insecurity problems. Considerable scope exists for enhancing broad social participation, particularly for women, in activities relating to food security.

65.i)maintain population and urbanization growth at rates compatible with the objectives of food security for all;

ii)ensure adequate living conditions and food supplies in urban areas;

iii)ensure access by all groups - including the poorest and most vulnerable - to food necessary for a healthy life; and

iv)create an environment that will enable people to achieve social development in conformity with the principles adopted by the World Summit for Social Development.

at the national level

66.i)actively pursue the strategies defined at the Cairo Population and Beijing Conference on Women, as applicable to the country;

ii)provide urban infrastructures and services to ensure that adequate, stable and reasonably priced flows of food reach urban areas;

iii)devise and implement policies to foster employment and access to productive resources by the urban poor, including food-for-work programmes;

iv)provide nutritional assistance and education to the poor segments of the population and those at nutritional risk; and

v)ensure an adequate involvement and empowerment of women in decisional and operational activities related to food supply and distribution.

67.The region is rich in human capital, physical capital and agricultural resources, but these assets are unevenly distributed. Such disparity of resource endowment offers wide areas of resource complementarity and commonality of interests among countries in the region. Nevertheless, progress in implementing regional integration and cooperation schemes has been generally slow and uneven.

68.To exploit the potential for enhanced welfare and food security arising from the complementarity of resources amongst countries in the region by liberalizing and intensifying intra-regional trade, in particular of food products, as well as capital and labour flows.

69.i)pursue regional cooperation and integration efforts aimed at enhanced food security, in particular for intra-regional trade in food products and mobility of factors of production;

ii)ensure that regional financial and technical institutions earmark adequate resources for programmes aimed at the improvement of regional food security;

iii)strengthen regional research activity on food production technologies and systems adapted to the conditions of the region; and

iv)foster exchange in technology, know-how and human skills development within the region and in a transmediterranean context.

70.The national governments have the primary responsibility for creating the conditions required for food security in their countries, through the implementation of the priority actions outlined above. In addition, they have shared responsibilities with other countries within and outside the region, international and non-governmental organizations and civil society at large, in the pursuance of food security goals.

at the regional and sub-regional level

The governments of the region should:

71.i)promote cooperation among themselves in the exchange and transfer of appropriate technology and approaches, including the establishment of technical cooperation networks among their institutions and exports;

ii)strengthen the cooperation in identification and dissemination of appropriate methods and techniques for cost-effective use of water for agriculture;

iii)share appropriate technologies and approaches for sustainable food production and rural development in highlands and arid and semi-arid areas;

iv)jointly manage shared water resources in the river basins and honour the international agreements they enter for this purpose;

v)extend the scope of national information and early warning systems into a regional network that provides crop and market outlook information;

vi)reinforce regional cooperation mechanisms for food security; and

vii)regional financial, technical assistance and research institutions have responsibility for focusing their activities in favour of regional food security. In particular, regional banks and funds, together with international lending agencies should provide adequate financial support to food-deficit countries in the region that face serious difficulties in financing the food they need.

at the international level

The international organizations and the donor community should:

72.i)promote and support the national governments and institutions in the planning, execution and reviewing of programmes and projects for food production and agricultural and rural development through technical cooperation and investment;

ii)support, through technical cooperation and investments, national programmes for water resource management as well as inter-country cooperation in water management at the sub-regional and regional level;

iii)support national governments in designing and implementing policies and programmes to control population growth and urbanization, to enhance food access of poor and vulnerable groups and to provide them with nutritional assistance and education;

iv)contribute where needed, funds for investment particularly in urban infrastructure necessary for food supplies;

v)assist in regional cooperation and integration mechanisms, in particular by facilitating the exchange of expertise and know-how;

vi)promote and support national and regional efforts for enhancing food security in highlands and semi-arid areas. Institutions such as CGIAR will play an important role in fulfilling this need; and

vii)the members of the World Trade Organization should ensure, within the institutional and regulatory framework provided by that body, the implementation, as applicable to the region, of the Uruguay Round Decision on Measures Concerning the Possible Negative Effects of the Reform Programme on Least-Developed and Net Food-Importing Countries.

The international lending agencies in particular should:

73.i)provide adequate financial support to food-deficit countries in the region that face serious difficulties in financing their food needs;

ii)assist national governments to pursue and intensify macroeconomic and sectoral economic reforms that pursue stabilization and structural adjustment along with social objectives.

FAO will play a leading and catalytic role in:

74.i)providing technical advice and technical cooperation support for expanded food production. It will mobilize its extensive network of cooperation with other international organizations and financial institutions in support of improved food security of the countries in the region;

ii)providing appropriate technical support in the development of policies, strategies and programmes for the agricultural use of water and the related institutional capacity building as well as in the promotion of appropriate technologies in irrigation and technologies for reclaiming water-logged and salinized lands;

iii)assisting, along with other international organizations, in the pursuance of economic reform objectives by providing technical assistance in areas such as: formulation and implementation of policies, strategies and projects for agricultural and rural development in the context of overall reform programmes; building of institutional capacity for policy formulation and implementation; evaluation of the effects of reform programmes on the agricultural sector and the rural poor; financial evaluation of needs involved in reform-related activities;

iv)providing technical advice and cooperation in enhancing sustainable agricultural production and productivity in highlands as well as arid and semi-arid areas by mobilizing programmes covering the broad range of issues involved; and

v)providing and channelling technical assistance in the fields of nutritional assessment as well as in services for marketing and supply of food products.

75.The private sector is expected to play an increasingly important role in taking over functions no longer assumed by the State, in particular activities relating to investment, agricultural production, marketing and trade as well as the provision of inputs. The new emphasis onbroad-based development implies added responsibilities on the part of previously marginalized segments of society, in particular women, smallholders and the poor.

76.The private sector, non-governmental organizations and interest groups have important roles to play in:

i)technology transfer, investment and skills development through commercial activities;

ii)promotion of, and compliance with, major international agreements such as the International Plant Protection Convention;

iii)sustainable water resources management; in particular the private sector plays a key role in investing in irrigation development;

iv)providing farmers with inputs, services and marketing;

v)undertaking private investment and commercial activities for ensuring adequate and stable food supplies to urban areas;

vi)promoting and supporting programmes catering for the development of arid and semi-arid areas. In particular, non-governmental organizations have many advantages in working with the local populations for their participatory development for food security;

77.Society at large, including community institutions and local government and non-governmental organizations, has a responsibility for ensuring the involvement and empowerment of women in decisional and operational activities of importance for food security.