Publications
FAO Knowledge Centre
- AGORA : an exceptional digital collection in the fields of food and agriculture.
- The FAO Knowledge Portal Beta : The Organization's open archive providing access to all of its publications.
- About FAO publications : Statistical yearbooks, analytical reports, global assessments, projections relating to its areas of expertise, guidelines, manuals, and specialized studies.
- David Lubin Library : The FAO Library offers resources on food security and preserves 500 years of agricultural heritage, including rare books and historical archives.
To promote market orientation and inclusive transformation
2023
Small-scale family farmers are central to rural life in the NENA region, yet they make up about 70% of the region's poor due to structural challenges and limited resources. They face barriers such as low productivity, poor market access, and high input costs. Women farmers are especially disadvantaged due to persistent gender-based inequalities.
State of Land and Water Resources for Food and Agriculture thematic paper
2023
This report, part of the SOLAW-NENA background paper series, explores the extent of soil degradation and fertility loss in the region, analyzes the underlying drivers exerting pressure on land and soils, and reviews existing technical responses, assessment tools, and monitoring frameworks to address these critical challenges.
Climate change, migration and rural adaptation in the Near East and North Africa region
2023
Migration has always been an integral part of people’s lives and livelihoods in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. At least some of this migration is partly driven by a deterioration in environmental conditions and an increase in the frequency of weather extremes (e.g. drought, sea level rise, extreme heat and increasingly unpredictable rainfall patterns) that have important implications for rural farming livelihoods.
Guidelines for action on food loss and waste reduction in the Near East and North Africa
2023
The Guidelines for action on food loss and waste reduction in the Near East and North Africa provide support to Member Countries to implement the Voluntary Code of Conduct for Food Loss and Waste Reduction, an international instrument designed to guide FLW policymaking and interventions at global level.
Near East and North Africa - Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2023-Statstics and trends
2023
The Overview presents the food security and nutrition situation in the Arab States for 2022 when the effects of the war in Ukraine and record-high food and fertilizer prices hit the region that was just recovering from the economic and social shock caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.Consequently, hunger in the Arab States has reached its highest level since 2000.
Trade as an enabler for food security and nutrition
2023
The 2024 report highlights growing food insecurity and malnutrition in Arab States, with rising undernourishment, child wasting, and adult obesity—double the global average. Over half of the region’s population cannot afford a healthy diet, a situation worsened by the Ukraine crisis and the pandemic. This edition focuses on trade as a key enabler of food security, emphasizing both its benefits and vulnerabilities.
Rural Transformation - Key for Sustainable Development in the Near East and North Africa
2019
The report on food security and nutrition in the Near East and North Africa reveals worsening hunger since 2011, with 11% of the population (50.2 million people) undernourished. Conflict is a major driver, with undernourishment rising to 26% in affected countries. The report also links slow economic growth to persistent food insecurity and highlights rural transformation as a pathway to boost growth, employment, and food access through stronger rural-urban linkages and agricultural productivity.
Morocco - Investing in collective action: opportunities in agrifood cooperatives
2018
This study explores how cooperatives can support agricultural and rural development in Morocco. It analyzes their characteristics, assesses existing policy support, and identifies key opportunities to create a more enabling environment. Aimed at policymakers, development partners, and investors, it highlights priority areas to strengthen the role of cooperatives in the agricultural sector.
Your Guide to FAO
2018
What is FAO? And what do we do? Did you know that FAO is present in 130 countries around the world? We encourage youth to join us in the discovery of FAO and its important mission: Zero Hunger.
Building resilience for food conflict and crisis: a perspective from security and nutrition in times of the Near East and North Africa region
2017
The 2017 report on food security in the NENA region highlights the theme of resilience in times of conflict. It tracks progress toward SDG 2, noting that conflict is the main driver of rising food insecurity and malnutrition. The report stresses how violence deepens regional disparities and weakens countries’ ability to improve living conditions and food systems.