Agroforestry - a land use management system in which trees or shrubs are grown around or among crops or pastureland - has varied benefits, including increased biodiversity and reduced erosion. The combination of agriculture and forestry in the Mediterranean is deeply rooted in a culture of tradition and niche production...

How can rain-fed crops grow without rain? That is the question facing farmers in water-stressed regions where rising temperatures, prolonged periods of drought and other impacts of climate change threaten food security and livelihoods. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), climate solutions hold answers to...

 Food systems stakeholders in Albania, Jordan, and Morocco have gotten a boost from a project funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to operationalize their food systems transformation pathways. “SFS-MED: a multi-stakeholder...

The multispecies (spp.) plant genus Opuntia (commonly referred to as cactus pear) plays a significant socioeconomic, environmental and nutritional role for many countries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, which comprises 18 member countries of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Opuntia spp....

Food system transformation is needed to address the hundreds of millions of people without adequate access to food or water for a healthy life. Nutrition and malnutrition are closely linked to water for food, sanitation and hygiene. With 30 percent of the world’s population living in water-stressed environments, the impacts...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) launched  pioneering project to provide capacity building and technical support for the Integrated Agri-Aquaculture (IAA) farming systems in Jordan.In line with a technical cooperation agreement signed between the two parties in early January, FAO...

The purpose of this project is to empower decision-makers to plan for and manage the impacts of droughts on food and water security under current and future climate conditions.

Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan was once a rural town of 12,000 inhabitants. It is now home to at least 120,000 refugees - most of whom have fled the conflict in Syria. This sudden increase in population created competition for already limited resources. But investments in agricultural production and access...

The conference will bring up local as well as international researchers, senior scientists, policymakers, and other stakeholders from all over the world dealing with water resources management in arid lands. The conference will serve as a wide-ranging forum for exchange of innovative approaches and novel knowledge and experience in water...

The Project “Implementing the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability in NENA Countries” has been conceived and formulated to set the proper framework for implementing the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency/productivity and water sustainability (SDG 6, Target 6.4). This Inception Workshop of the Project brings beneficiary countries and...

The program aims to improve, among other things, dialogue and cooperation among three riparian countries of the Euphrates and Tigris rivers through increased access to information and knowledge transfer regarding water management in the region. The riparian countries have different levels of development, and capacity, in managing water on national...

Quinoa, once a staple food of only the indigenous people in the Andes, has become a darling of food aficionados around the world in recent years. So popular it has grown that even some fast food restaurant chains have now dishes and salads with it on their menus. Its exceptional...

Agriculture is an important part of the Jordanian national economy. The majority of the rural population in Jordan is involved in agriculture, and many livestock farmers live in areas close to the border with Syria, from where hundreds of thousands of refugees, many with their livestock, have fled since 2011....

The rationale of this project is to reduce vulnerability of the rural Jordanian and the disadvantaged communities in the context of water scarcity for agriculture, increased demand for food and livelihood provision from growing populations, and rising energy demand. To this end, the project pilots a three-pronged, community-based approach, combining...

Jameed is an important dairy product in Jordan that has been produced in the region for centuries and used as a main ingredient in popular traditional cuisine called Mansaf. Jameed is a hard dry skimmed yogurt, mainly processed using sheep milk using a small scale labor-intensive process. Jameed processing is...

Urgenci, the international network of Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agroecology between producers and consumers (LSPA) and Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). As part of the 3-year mutual commitment, the Mediterranean network, including members...

Between November 22 - 25, 2017 Lebanon hosted the 2nd Learning Journey on LSPA: Local Solidarity Partnerships for Agro-ecology between producers and consumers. Around 20 facilitators from 11 Mediterranean countries (Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria) participated and shared their experiences through meetings and site...

The scarcity of water resources, even for supplementary irrigation, small and fragmented landholdings that cannot support an average family, and dwindling productivity: these are some of the challenges facing farmers relying on rainfed agriculture in Jordan’s Southern Highlands region. Forced to buy water for irrigation, smallholders resorted to reducing their...

Water harvesting is an important technique to collect rainwater that can be used for different purposes in agriculture or stored and made available for the dry season. This practice describes the three main components of water harvesting systems, namely which are the catchment area, the storage area, and the target...

The overall objective of this Regional Initiative is to reduce rural poverty by promoting and supporting inclusive small-scale agricultural development, with special attention to governance and institutions, including improving access of smallholders to social protection, rural services and markets, strengthening the capacities of producers’ organizations and promoting youth employment and...