The project set the framework for implementing the 2030 Agenda for water efficiency and productivity (SDG 6.4) through three major work packages: (i) establishing a robust water accounting system providing the evidence base for the full water budgeting (supply, demand, uses and re-cycling, present and projected) and for monitoring progress in the achievement of the targets while assessing the institutional effectiveness to govern water resources; (ii) implementing a series of interventions to increase water efficiency and productivity in selected farming systems of the countries to advance in achieving the SDG 6.4; interventions will include: introduction/enhancement of good practices and affordable technologies; improvement of decentralized water governance; development of under-exploited value chain rural agro-industry; leveraging on the multiplier effect to increase productivity when accounting for gender dimensions in the adoption of on-farm practices and technologies, in decentralized governance and along the value chain; elaboration of incentive frameworks, adapted to each local conditions, to promote the uptake of good practice and technologies at farm level and to stimulate entrepreneurial initiatives along the value chain (thus generating higher income and higher job opportunity); (iii) ensuring that higher efficiency/productivity achievements for the 2030 time horizon are attained within safe operational boundaries of water use defining the conditions for water sustainability and, therefore, for a sustainable, socially equitable and human-rights based development.

Donor: SIDA (Swedish International Development cooperation Agency) 

Press release: FAO Representative to Iran visits project on water scarcity and water productivity in Qazvin Province 

Press release: FAO boosts Iranian experts' knowledge of agricultural water saving and water productivity

Press release: Crop mapping in Qazvin Irrigation Network in Iran

Press release: FAO empowers Iranian farmers to improve agriculture water productivity and reduce water withdrawal in Qazvin plain 

Flyer: Toward rapid water accounting 

November 2021 - December 2023

The project titled "Boosting Productivity and Unlocking the Full Potential of Dryland/Rain-fed Agriculture," was initiated in November 2021 to address the challenges faced by smallholder producers in dryland agriculture, with a primary focus on improving food and nutrition security, livelihoods, and environmental protection.

It aimed to improve food and nutrition security, increase access to superior varieties and high-quality seeds, promote environmental protection, and achieve economic stability and social equity.

The project implemented in the provinces of Eastern Azerbaijan, Kurdistan, Ardabil, and Hamadan in close cooperation with the Deputy Minister of Agronomy and Field Crop Production, with the following outputs:

1. Policies and strategies on sustainable intensification of cereal-based cropping system are improved and adapted to climate change,
2. Promotion of sustainable and resilient farming in dryland areas through utilizing the best agricultural practices and most suited technologies,
3. Capacity building for governmental extension staff and farmers for rainfed agriculture and dryland management.

Rehabilitation of Forest Landscapes and Degraded Land Project (RFLDLP) is a collaborative effort of Iranian Forests, Range and Watershed Management Organization (FRWO), Global Environmental Facility (GEF) and Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) which supports the efforts of the Government of Islamic Republic of Iran to mainstream environmentally sustainable development approaches through preparation and running community-based and integrated land and forest management (SLFM) initiatives.

The main objective of the project is to remove barriers to participatory integrated SLFM through:

(i) Strengthening capacity of local communities, provincial and local institutions to plan, implement and evaluate participatory and integrated SLFM initiatives at the village and watershed scales;

(ii) Adoption and implementation of the defined plans including sustainable alternative livelihood options with socio-economic and environmental benefits sustaining ecosystem services;

(iii) Enhancing capacity at local and national levels to mainstream these approaches into national plans, policies and processes.

This Project, ongoing since mid Aug 2011 in two pilot sites of Kerman and South Khorasan Provinces, has been designed towards restoration and enhancement of goods and services delivered by the ecosystems as improvement of capacity of degraded lands and forest landscapes in an arid and semi-arid area to be resulted in generation of sustainable livelihoods, further food security and biodiversity as well as desertification control.

The unique specification of the Project is that it simultaneously addresses national priorities and local needs. 

Donor: Global Environment Facility (GEF), Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and co-financed by the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Success story 1: Empowering Iran's desert villagers

Success story 2: How making cookies changed one Iranian woman's life

Success story 3: Tapping into community potential in Iran

Success story 4: In an Iranian oasis, rural women fight to save their village and livelihoods

Brochure: Rehabilitating degraded lands and soils prone to wind erosion in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The severe escalation of water scarcity due to the key drivers such as demographic growth, tendency to increase food self-sufficiency, urbanization expansion, energy demand and overall socio-economic development, further compounded by the negative impacts of climate change and the considerable degradation of water quality resulted in the Urmia Lake (5’000 km2) intense pressure during the last two decades and it is currently in a state of ecological crisis with major impacts on biodiversity and socio-economic conditions.

In this context, FAO is implementing the project "GCP/IRA/066/JPN - Integrated Programme for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Urmia Lake Basin", funded by the Government of Japan. The overall goal of the project is to contribute to more sustainable, productive and climate change resilient agricultural and rural systems with a positive impact on the environment in general and on the water balance (inflow-outflow) of the Urmia Lake. The Project is being implemented through an FAO operating and management team, fully integrated within the existing governance of the Urmia Lake Restoration Programme (ULRP) and in close cooperation with different partners, selected on the basis of multidisciplinary requirements.

This project is supporting the national endeavor and to provide technical and strategic assistance in implementing an integrated and sustainable management system for the Urmia Lake and its basin with the following components:

1-      A basin and sub-basin level water consumption monitoring (based on advanced water-accounting methodology) and integrated within a hydrological system to regulate water supply and demand and monitor its impact on Lake Urmia.

2-      A drought monitoring and drought management program linked to Urmia Lake basin water management.

3-      A socio-economic and livelihood programme that enable the successful implementation of sustainable water use practices (in line with Urmia Lake restoration) and at the same insure viable economic outcomes for farmers and locally affected communities and hence guarantees acceptance and uptake of sound technical solutions.

4-      Complementary watershed management practices that contribute to increased water flows to UL, improve land-water dynamics and/or improve local communities’ livelihood.

5-      A capacity development (CD) programme to national and local stakeholders, including technical staff from relevant agencies, including universities, with implementation, monitoring and evaluation mandates and functions related to Urmia Lake restoration. The CD also includes training for trainers to support farmers, farmers groups, associations or cooperatives that participate in UL restoration interventions. 

Donor: Government of Japan 

Press release: FAO supports Iran to strengthen its national agricultural drought monitoring and early warning systems 

Press release: FAO provides an innovative approach for detailed crop mapping of the Urmia Lake basin 

Press release: FAO assists Iran in drought vulnerability and drought impact assessment in the Urmia Lake basin

Press release: FAO boosts Iranian experts' knowledge of agriculture water saving and water productivity 

Brochure: Integrated Programme for Sustainable Water Resources Management in the Urmia Lake Basin

The national readiness programme supports the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran in strengthening the national capacities to effectively access and efficiently manage, track and guide climate financing with particular attention to the requirement of Green Climate Fund (GCF). Guided by Iran national development policies and priorities, the programme will include the preparatory activities to strengthen a National Designated Authority (NDA) and establish a functional coordination mechanism in Department of Environment, strengthen stakeholder's engagement and effective participation, and assist I.R. Iran in developing a gender- responsive country programme including climate change adaptation and mitigation priorities. The accomplishment of above readiness activities will lay the foundation for the Islamic Republic of Iran to kick-start and make concrete steps toward meeting the need for climate financing in an effective and coordinated way.

Donor: Green Climate Fund (GCF)

Press release: FAO supports Iran to strengthen the capacity of national and local stakeholders on climate finance

Press release: FAO takes a step forward to support Iranian experts in developing and appraising green projects

Press release: FAO’s final steps towards the completion of Green Climate Fund Readiness Programme in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Brochure: Green Climate Fund Readiness and Preparatory Programme of the Islamic Republic of Iran

This project under FAO-China South-South Cooperation Programme aims, as a part of synchronized and concerted actions coordinated by FAO, to support the desert locust control in five countries of Pakistan, Kenya, Uganda, Ethiopia and Iran. 

The project’s main objectives are (1) curbing the spread of the desert locust in the selected countries by sharing and applying innovative, effective and low-cost technologies, techniques and proved solutions to fight the locusts; and (2) enhancing local capacities in the targeted countries to control and monitor the desert locust.

To achieve these objectives, the project is focused on:

Press release: FAO provides Iran with additional pesticide sprayers, supporting the country in fighting against Desert Locust  

The project will provide technical support for preservation of Bactrian camel through enhancing both in-situ and ex-situ conservation. Various training courses will empower camel owners, experts, veterinarians and scientists.

The project's impact is to achieve environmental and human wellbeing through the sustainable management of soil resources by raising understanding of soil conditions in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region and the benefits of Sustainable Soil Management (SSM) to increase the soil water storage capacity and addressing soil salinity. This project will contribute to the countries' actions to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially SDG1, 2 and 15 and provide capacity development support.

This FAO funded interregional Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project, aims at strengthening an evidence-based understanding of Sand and Dust Storms and their impacts on agriculture in six countries of Algeria, China, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait and Mongolia.

Located on the so-called Sand and Dust Storms “risk belt,“ these countries are either or both: a major contributor to and a victim of dust emissions and face significant drawbacks in terms of sustainable development, if no immediate action is taken to counter Sand and Dust Storms.

The principal objective of this multi-country project is the formulation and development of a large-scale programme to address Sand and Dust Storms in the affected areas, proactively.

To achieve this objective, the project is focused on:

Press release: FAO, FRWO partners to enhance resillience against sand and dust storms

This FAO funded Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) project, is the Phase II of the project Building Capacity toward Sustainable Intensification of Oilseed Crops in Iran addressing the Soybean Value Chain with below intended outcomes:

• Augmenting Soybean breeding which includes juvenile genes and use of single seed descent populations for multi-location selections.
• Importing elite breeding lines of 5 oilseed crops to expand genetic base for crop improvement.
• Training and mentoring for National Project Agronomist with emphasis on conservation agriculture, including machinery components and water-use efficiency.
• Selecting and acquiring no-till grain drills, planters (local), and crop sprayers (imported) for use in Golestan and Khuzestan.
• Augmenting plant protection capacity on soybean and other oilseed crops.
• Identifying and importing elite oilseed crop germplasm.
• Multiplying imported seed samples under appropriate protected conditions and put them in.

Brochure: Capacity building toward sustainable infestation of oilseed crops in the Islamic Republic of Iran

This project will enhance the technical capacity of the Plant Protection Organization (PPO) of the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad (MAJ) in early warning, controlling and monitoring desert locust as the most important migratory pest in Iran. This capacity building shall control the expected outbreak in late spring and mitigate its destructive effects.

Press release: FAO supplies Iran with more desert locust equipment, supporting the country in containing the pest invasion 

Press release: FAO delivers the first batch of desert locust control equipment to Iran

Brochure: Urgent action for capacity building to control desert locust infestation in the Islamic Republic of Iran

The 2019 devastating spring floods in the Islamic Republic of Iran drastically affected agriculture sector in Lorestan, Golestan, and Khuzestan provinces. The Government requested FAO to assist the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad in the rehabilitation in these provinces. FAO and the Department of Water and Soil of the Ministry of Agriculture Jahad jointly assessed the status of flood damages in the agriculture sector and the project restored soils and water resources. The overall risk management capacities of local and national stakeholders will be strengthened. 

The main impact of the project is the improvement of food and nutrition security of flood affected agricultural community with enhanced resilience of the agriculture system and communities against climatic disasters through improved knowledge and capacities for soil and water management.

Press release: FAO funds a project to increase the resilience of local Iranian communities against climate change and natural hazards

Press release: FAO kick-starts project on improvement of Iranian agro-rural capacities for disaster risk management 

Brochure: Supporting water and soil rehabilitation for improved climate resilience in the Islamic Republic of Iran

Due to climate change and sharp decline in precipitation (0.64% decrease of precipitation per year since 50 years ago or in other words 59% decrease compared to long-term average amount) in Iran during recent years and thereby shortage of available freshwater, marine cage culture has been a key priority for government to supply animal proteins, healthy food and alternative livelihoods. Due to the many difficulties/problems, the projected productions in the FYNDP have not been fulfilled till now, i.e. total cage production in 2017 was 14,050 tons while it should have been 50,000 tons according to FYNDP, implying that achievement of expected goals in current situations is unattainable. Therefore, the government of Islamic Republic of Iran has requested for FAO’s technical support through FAO Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP) to improve marine cage culture capacities and achieving the long-term goals in this sector.

Press release: FAO, Iran Fisheries Organization ink agreement to support the sustainable development of marine cage culture

Brochure: Supporting marine cage culture development in the Islamic Republic of Iran