This paper draws on key recent IFAD documents, evaluations, studies and reviews and
also on workshop findings and discussions related to the Near East and North Africa
(NENA) region. The IFAD documents and evaluations consulted are: (a) IFAD Strategic
Framework 2007-2010; (b) the 2006 Near East and North Africa Division (PN)
self-evaluation report on the regional strategies for Central and Eastern Europe and the
Newly Independent States (CEN) and the NENA; (c) the corporate-level evaluation of
the same strategies by the Office of Evaluation; and (d) the completion assessment of the
NENA Gender Programme of Action managed by PN. The studies and reviews used are:
(a) The Status of rural poverty in the NENA prepared by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and IFAD; (b) the thematic study by IFAD
and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) on the Impact of trade
liberalization on agriculture in the NENA; (c) the paper prepared by the Economic
Research Forum on Rural unemployment and poverty in the NENA region, and
(d) Guiding framework for rural finance in the NENA prepared by PN.
The paper also draws on the outcomes and findings of several workshops: Strategic
directions for IFAD’s support to the rural water sector in the NENA region, held in June
2006; the round table on Generating remunerative livelihood opportunities for rural
youth, held in conjunction with the thirtieth session of the Governing Council of IFAD,
and two expert consultation workshops: (i) the role of domestic and export marketing of
horticultural commodities in poverty alleviation in the NENA region held in March 2007,
and (ii) the role of herbs, medicinal and aromatic plants (HMAPs) in improving
livelihoods of the rural poor in the NENA region, held in July 2007. IFAD’s operational,
technical, and policy experience in NENA for the past 10 years was another crucial
source of knowledge used in the preparation of this paper.