The Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in collaboration with the Institut Agronomique et Veterinaire Hassan II, Morocco, will organize an expert consultation meeting on ‘’Irrigated Forages for Sustainable Animal Production in the Near East Region’’ from 15-19 June 2009 in Rabat, Morocco.

The expert consultation meeting will be attended by twelve countries from the Near East Region: Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria and Tunisia. 

The objective of the meeting is to exchange national and regional experiences in the production, conservation and utlization of fodder crops in the Near East and North Africa.

 Wide range of topics will be discussed in the meeting and include;

(1) Forage crops germplasm evaluation and productivity enhancement

(2) Forage yield and quality as affected by agronomic and management practices

(3) Fodder conservation and utilization for animal production

(4) Conventional vs. non-conventional forage crops and animal feeding systems

(5) Current and future research and development priorities in forage crops production, conservation and utilization for sustainable animal production.

The expected output from the expert consultation meeting:

• Identify options for fodder crop production to meet demand of animal products for the growing human population, depleting water resources and climate change impacts
• Establish regional fodder crop forum for information exchange between researchers, extension agents and farmers.