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Highlights

IPC Global Initiative - Special Brief

GAZA STRIP: Famine is imminent as 1.1 million people, half of Gaza, experience catastrophic food insecurity

On the ground in Gaza

Hostilities in the Gaza Strip have caused catastrophic levels of acute food insecurity.

Gaza: Every day, more and more people are on the brink of famine-like conditions

12/02/2024

Conflict and hunger are inextricably linked to one another. Conflict often leads to severe humanitarian crises, resulting in heightened levels of hunger...

FAO expresses deep alarm over acute hunger in the Gaza Strip

21/12/2023

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is deeply alarmed by the deteriorating food security situation in the Gaza Strip,...

Statement by the Director-General on the food security situation in Gaza

12/11/2023

''I join the Secretary-General and my colleagues in the IASC in calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire''

Regional Priorities

Priority 1: Rural transformation and inclusive value chains

Priority 2: Food security and healthy diets for all

Priority 3: Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action

Priority 4: Building resilience to multiple shocks

Action Areas

Red Palm Weevil Eradication Programme

The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) Eradication Programme facilitates the coordination of regional efforts to ensure an integrated and sustainable approach to controlling the RPW and reducing its devastating effects on date palm production, the food and income security of rural communities, and the ecology of affected areas.

Youth empowerment

Young men and women have a key role to play in fostering sustainability, equity and resilience of agrifood systems in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. FAO works with youth across the region to improve their access to high quality education and training, decent employment, rural institutions and critical assets and services, in agrifood value chains.

Sustainable and Inclusive Agrifood Value Chains

Sustainable and inclusive agrifood value chains development is a market-oriented and systems-based approach for assessing, understanding and improving the performance of agrifood value chains, to ensure their economic, social, and environmental and climate sustainability.

The UN Decade of Family Farming

The UN Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF) aims to shed new light on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world and highlights more than ever before the important role family farmers play in eradicating hunger and shaping the future of our agri-food systems.

Addressing climate change in agrifood systems

FAO’s climate change activities aim to strengthen capacities of member countries to build resilient agrifood systems, and to plan, implement and report on climate change adaptation and mitigation actions in the agriculture sectors.

Rural advisory services for inclusive transformation in the Near East and North Africa

Rural advisory services (RAS) have a central role in equipping farmers with the knowledge and skills to cope with challenges and empower them to make informed decisions, link to markets and act collectively to improve their livelihoods and claim their agency in inclusive rural transformation.

The Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity for the Near East and North Africa

In order to help NENA countries address the food and water security challenges, the FAO’s Regional Office in the Near East and North Africa and its partners established the Water Scarcity Initiative.

Gender equality and women’s empowerment for inclusive food systems transformation

The Regional Office has a stand-alone programme of work on gender equality and women’s empowerment that addresses gender as a cross-cutting theme in all its regional priorities and initiatives.

One Country One Priority Product: Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products

The Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products (SAPs): One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) was launched by the FAO Director General in 2021. The initiative will aim to support countries in transforming their agrifood systems to be more sustainable, efficient, resilient and inclusive.

Stories

Towards Risk-Informed Response to Natural Disasters in Conflict-affected Communities

27/03/2022

“Creating a better environment while making a living through green jobs” in Anjar - a small model town in Lebanon

31/12/2020

Landscape restoration through co-efforts from Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon

31/07/2021

Blogs

Opinions

Leveraging Water for Peace: FAO’s Experience in Yemen

by Hussein Gadain - 03/04/2024

To leverage ‘Water for Peace,’ we urgently need to fully understand the water governance systems, how resources are extracted, used, shared and replenished. Our experience in Yemen has shown glaring gaps between policy and the ultimate use of the precious commodity. Another gap is limited funding to replicate best water management practices which have been piloted and proven effective.

FAO Assistant Director- General

Innovating today for a greener tomorrow: FAO's initiatives in the Near East and North Africa region

by Abdulhakim Elwaer - 21/03/2024

As we approach the International Day of Forests on 21st March, it's crucial to recognize the significance of forests, especially in dryland regions like the Near East and North Africa (NENA). With the region's population soaring, demands on land and water are escalating, making initiatives for greening agriculture, water scarcity, and climate action critical priorities for FAO.

Director-General

Accelerating the transformation of agrifood systems in the NENA region

by QU Dongyu, Director-General, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - 27/02/2024

The MENA region faces severe water scarcity and climate shocks. As a result, we must prioritize the adaptation to climate change, as well as mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

Technical Expertise

Success Story on collaboration

by Nouf Alayyadhi - 13/11/2023

As a follow-up to a successful workshop held in 2021, RNE-HR Team took initiative once again to organize an event in June of this year, in collaboration with various HR counterparts and the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience, this time to highlight the critical role of Human Resources in emergency and crisis contexts.

Opinions

COP28 in Dubai: Seizing the Opportunity to Achieve Global Food Security and Sustainable, Healthy Nutrition

by Mohamed Alaidaroos Alhashimi - 30/09/2023

As we prepare to host the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) in Dubai, it is crucial to underscore the significance of this global platform for advancing the sustainable development agenda in the Arab region and worldwide.

Technical Expertise

Urgent need for a Regional Strategy for Sustainable Management of Transboundary Plant Pests and Diseases (TPPDs) in the Near East and North Africa

by Thaer Yaseen - 07/09/2023

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is challenged by the continuous threat of transboundary plant pests and diseases, the introduction and spread of which is facilitated by increased trade activities,

Partnerships & Cooperations

The Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Unit (SPRM)

by Kayan Jaff - 14/08/2023

The Strategic Partnerships and Resource Mobilization Unit (SPRM) is designed to promote a more systematic use of partnerships in the Near East and North Africa Region (NENA), and to provide practical guidance to FAO units and partners to facilitate the selection, prioritization, development and management of new or renewed partnerships.

FAO Assistant Director- General

How Arab world can overcome food and nutrition crises

by Abdulhakim Elwaer - 14/08/2023

The Arab region is facing unprecedented challenges in its efforts to end hunger and all forms of malnutrition and ensure that everyone has access to adequate and affordable healthy diets. This is due to multiple challenges and factors beyond the actions and controls of Arab countries.

Technical Expertise

Advancing Water Action for Food and Climate Security

by HEBA AL-HARIRY - 09/08/2023

In June 2022, FAO launched the interregional Water Scarcity Platform (iRTP-WS) as a "Centre of Excellence" that brings together experts and stakeholders from various regions, drawing on their collective knowledge, in an action and result-oriented partnership to accelerate the achievement of water, food and climate security, as well as sustainable development in the various regions.

Publications

Food policy monitoring in the Near East and North Africa region. 1st Quarter 2024 | Bulletin

2024

Global food prices have continued their downward trend in recent months, falling back almost a third from their peak in 2022 by February 2024. International wheat and corn prices have also eased, though they still remain above their pre-COVID levels; however, international rice prices have been climbing to new heights recently.

Food policy monitoring in the Near East and North Africa region. 4th Quarter 2023 | Bulletin

2024

Global food prices have continued to drop at a slower pace in recent months; however, they are still well above the price levels observed in 2020. Commodity prices are set to fall gradually in 2024 and stabilize in 2025.

Climate-smart policies to enhance Egypt's agrifood system performance and sustainability

2023

Highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, heat waves in Egypt are increasingly severe and frequent, raising the already high evaporation rate, accelerating crop transpiration, increasing soil aridity and elevating water requirements for both human and agricultural consumption in a country where water is imported.

Multimedia

International Day of Forests 2024: Forests and innovation – new solutions for a better world

31/01/2024

Innovation is unlocking the forests’ long-kept secrets and allowing us to use trees in ways we never imagined possible. Materials derived from forests...

FAO Syria Acting Representative’s statement on World Water Day

20/03/2024

On World Water Day, the FAO Acting Representative in the Syrian Arab Republic stresses on the importance to restore water for irrigation as a key element...

FAO Lebanon trains potato farmers on environmentally sustainable Good Agricultural Practices

02/03/2023

This movie falls under the project “Promotion of Good Agricultural Practices, including Integrated Pest Management to reduce agrochemical pollution...