The Fifth Session of the FAO Agriculture and Land and Water Use Commission for the Near East (ALAWUC) was held in Cairo, Arab Republic of Egypt, from 26 to 28 February 2008, at the kind invitation of the Government.  The opening ceremony of the Commission was attended by 44 persons, including 29 official participants from 13 Member Countries, 2 participants from 2 observer countries from the region and 13 representatives of 11 regional and international organizations active in the field of agriculture and land and water in the Near East Region.

The participants expressed their thanks to the Government of Egypt for hosting this event and for the arrangements made for the meeting.

The Commission expressed its thanks and appreciation to FAO and its Regional Office for the Near East for their commendable efforts in giving due consideration to the recommendations, through implementation of a broad programme of activities and projects, at the national and regional levels, during the biennium (2006/07)

On general issues pertaining to agriculture and land and water, the Commission made the following recommendations to the Member Countries of the Commission:  

It recommended that FAO and Member Countries should continue to cooperate on plant protection and quarantine focusing on health and environmental protection and compliance with international standards for enhancing agricultural exports.

The Commission focussed on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and requested FAO to support countries IPM strategies that aim to reduce pesticide use and to contribute to the protection of farming communities, their environment and consumers.

The Commission recommended that other UN organizations further coordinate their respective work plans and streamline their activities in view of creating synergy and avoiding redundancies. It also recommended that Member Countries should ensure good coordination between these agencies and harmonize their respective activities with national and regional policies.

On studies on irrigation of date palms and associated crops that FAO conducted in several countries of the Near East Region and a regional experts’ meeting on the subject, proposed by the meeting, the participants requested member countries to consider financing and benefiting from the project. They also requested other relevant research and development organizations to support the initiative and to contribute to the project goals of elaborating a manual on date palm irrigation and conducting training on its use.

They requested FAO and other organizations to continue giving priority to the Field Programme, assisting Member Countries to develop and implement development projects and to secure financial support from donors.

They also urged the organization to consider re-opening its Office in Baghdad as soon as possible, for greater benefit from FAO support.

The participants noted that some countries of the Near East region have acquired practical experiences in areas of relevance to the Commission, particularly water harvesting, groundwater recharge and cloud seeding. The participants further recommended that Member Countries encourage the exchange of experience through joint collaboration and mutual visits.

On the Reform of Agricultural Products Marketing Rules and Regulations in light of the New Socio-economic Changes, the Commission recommend that Member countries:

• Develop effective food safety and control systems to allow NE countries to effectively compete in international agri-food markets..
• Support national and regional efforts aimed at establishing harmonized standards  and conformity assessment procedures for agro-food products, including testing, inspection, certification and accreditation.
• Consider the establishment of quality standards for products that could be registered with geographical indicators.
• Seek to further de-regulate national markets and promote a greater role for the private sector in undertaking marketing through providing incentives for investments in modern marketing infrastructure, including cold chain establishment.
• Introduce measures to streamline customs procedures and introduce greater competition in regional transportation services which would enhance the benefits of regional trade agreements.
• Undertake analyses and introduce measures for the promotion of exports and interregional trade
• Undertake supply chain analyses of key crop and livestock sub sectors including infrastructuree needs ( e.g. wholesale markets) to facilitate the preparation of plans to improve the efficiency of the respective marketing system and reduce the costs of marketing (particularly the avoidable losses in the marketing chain).
• Encourage grouping, networking and clustering of producers for agricultural marketing to reap the benefits of economies of scale in conforming to modern market requirements and to supply agri processing plants.
• Encourage improvements in marketing extension and information systems to better orient farmers and traders to meet the demands of modern food distribution systems.

On the Public Private Partnerships to Finance, Construct and Operate Irrigation Systems, The Commission recommended that Member Countries:

• Implement adequate reforms of irrigation management aimed at improving the services provided to farmers, increasing water productivity and lowering the financial burden on public finances;
• To create the conditions for enhancing the role of the private sector in improving irrigation services in terms of operation, management and maintenance;
• Assess the possibility of adopting charges for irrigation water services as part  of the reforms aimed at boosting agriculture water use efficiency and productivity;
• Develop, enact and enforce a regulatory framework geared toward the promotion of public private partnerships in the provision of irrigation water management;
• Promote the active involvement and participation of farmers associations in irrigation water management, including decision-making and clear responsibility, as a means of achieving better governance of irrigation water, resources sustainability and protection of the environment.
• Assess the potential of PPP for managing the reuse of treated wastewater in agriculture.

Finally, the Commission concluded the Session by recommending various topics for discussion at the next Session of ALAWUC in the year 2010.