Between 2004 and 2014, FAO has developed over few thousands FFS in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region primarily on good agricultural practices and IPM, covering ten countries3 under the Regional Integrated Pest Management Programme in the Near East (GTFS/REM/070/ITA). The main objective was to improve food security in the target areas of the participating countries and territories through community based – FFS – IPM, aiming at reducing and possibly eliminating of pesticide related risks for health and environment, and at improving farmers’ access to markets. The FFS has been adapted for several crops as tomato, cucumber, olive, apple, wheat, citrus, strawberry, pistachio, and mint. In case of Lebanon, FFS on poultry has been introduced, on organic agriculture in Syria and animal production in Morocco. In this document some of the farmers’ stories are presented, describing their experience and changes in their personal and professional life. The exercise is based on qualitative methods to capture the information through focus group discussions complemented by individual discussions with FFS (ex-) members and facilitators, using open-ended guiding questions. Main thematic areas of the scoping exercise are: gender equality and women’s empowerment; social inclusion (social vulnerability, ethnicity, age, etc.); social protection in terms of community empowerment (building of their own social support systems/safety nets/mechanisms); nutrition-related decision making (diet diversity/improved diet, health); and sustainable agricultural production, IPM and access to and control over natural resources.