2nd Meeting of the Arab Forum for Rural Advisory Services (AFRAS)

Cairo (Egypt), Hybrid Event, 25/08/2025 - 27/08/2025

Rural Advisory Services (RAS) play a pivotal role in driving rural transformation—the broad and systemic process aimed at improving rural livelihoods through enhanced and sustainable productivity, increased commercialization and market integration, diversified income sources, improved access to services and decent employment opportunities, and more inclusive participation in policy and decis...

FAO-IPPC regional workshop 2025 for the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region

Salalah (Oman), 08/09/2025 - 11/09/2025

Background

The 2025 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) - International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) regional workshop annu...

E-learning course on agriculture in trade agreements

05/10/2025 - 30/10/2025

The Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) and Markets and Trade Division (EST), in partnership with United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR) are launching the first edition of their joint online course titled "Agriculture in Trade Agreements" from October 5 - 30, 2025. Conducted exclusively in Arabic, the course aims to enhance the capacity of stakeholde...

Empowering youth in agriculture: Strengthening rural advisory services through education and digital learning in NENA

22/07/2025

Rural youth in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region face significant barriers to employment—despite agriculture being a key sector for food security, economic development, and climate resilience. At the same time, access to inclusive, demand-driven rural advisory services (RAS) remains limited, especially for women and youth, who represent the majority of small-scale farmers.

LAC–NENA Family Farming Interregional Dialogue

Cairo (Egypt), 07/07/2025 - 08/07/2025

Background

Family farming is the backbone of global food systems — producing most of the world’s food and supporting the livelihoods of over 2.5 billion people. In both the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) and Near East and North Africa (NENA) regions, family farmers play a vital role in food security, rural development, and cultural heritage.

Yet they also ...

Hack4safeFood: Tackling food safety challenges

09/09/2025 - 10/09/2025

Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Research Network and Food Safety Innovation Hub (RNFSI...

Opening remarks through a video message from FAO Director-General - 9:00 Rome time

03/06/2025 - 05/06/2025

Interpretation available in all six FAO official languages

All colleagues are welcome to attend in-person (Green room)
The Grand Opening can also be followed via 

The Seventh World Food Safety Day - 2025

26/05/2025 - 11/08/2025

Series of Webinars: Date:  26 May – 11 August 2025 (Every Monday) 11.00 – 12.30 (Cairo Time)

Food safety is crucial for agrifood transformation in the Arab region, driven by rapid population growth and increased food demand. Consumers in this region face heightened exposure to contaminated food and foodborne diseases due to several factors such as dry climate, unsafe water supplie...

Engaging cities

Hybrid Event, 08/10/2023 - 09/10/2023

Context

FAO at COP28

Hybrid Event, 30/11/2023 - 12/12/2023

FAO at COP28 - The 2023 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28) hosted by the United Arab Emirates in Dubai will take place between 30 November and 12 December. The Conference is set to be a landmark event in the global effort to combat climate change and ensure food security for present and future generations.

Exploring FAO’s Food Loss Application (FLAPP): Tackling food loss in the Near East and North Africa

12/05/2025

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing a virtual webinar on Monday, 12 May 2025, from 10.00 to 11.30 AM (Cairo Time), to explore challenges and opportunities for deploying the Food Loss App (FLAPP) in countries of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. The event, titled...

Extending social protection to rural populations: key insights from farmer registries in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region

Cairo (Egypt), 20/05/2025

The Near East and North Africa region is facing rising poverty and food insecurity, driven by climate change, economic shocks, and prolonged conflicts. These challenges hit rural areas hardest—where most poor people live and where access to services, resilient infrastructure, and decent employment opportunities remains limited.

Rural Advisory Services in times of crisis: Collective efforts for rehabilitation and building resilience in NENA Region

20/05/2025

Rural Advisory Services (RAS) play a vital role in enhancing the resilience of rural communities. In times of crisis, these services become lifelines—offering critical support that help smallholders maintain livelihoods, access resources, and adapt to rapidly changing conditions. Crises come in many forms: natural disasters, economic shocks, disease outbreaks, conflict and forced displacement. ...

Youth Action Leadership for Agrifood Awareness & Systems Transformation (YALA FAST)

Rabat (Morocco), 30/06/2025 - 04/07/2025

Food insecurity and malnutrition are persistent challenges in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. It is a daunting challenge as 60% of the population is under the age of 25, 40% of the region’s women are unemployed, and 40% of the population lives in rural areas with high unemployment rates and lower wages. 

The Regional Workshop on One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) in the Near East and North Africa Region

Cairo (Egypt), 17/02/2025 - 19/02/2025

FAO launched the Global Action on “One Country One Priority Product” (OCOP) in September 2021 to contribute to the implementation of the FAO Strategic Framework 2022–31 and ultimately achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. 

Co-Creation Workshop for Establishing the Regional Food Safety Research Network and Innovation Hub

Cairo (Egypt), Hybrid Event, 19/02/2025 - 20/02/2025

Background

Food safety is crucial for the agrifood transformation in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region due to the rising food demand driven by rapid population growth, expose the region to vulnerabilities in global supply chains. For a range of reasons, consumers in several countries in the region face high exposure to contaminated food and foodborne disease...

Workshop on Integrated Fire Management: Good Practices and Knowledge Sharing in the Near East and Mediterranean Countries

Virtual Event, 12/02/2025 - 15/02/2025

The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is increasingly vulnerable to wildfires due to climate change, unsustainable land use, and growing environmental pressures. To strengthen regional collaboration and improve wildfire prevention, response, and post-fire restoration, RNE, in partnership with Silva Mediterranea and the National Agency of Water and Forestry of Morocco, is hosting this wor...

FAO at The Third Arab Land Conference

Rabat (Morocco), 18/02/2025 - 20/02/2025

The Third Arab Land Conference, hosted by the Government of Morocco in Rabat from 18–20 February 2025, will focus on “Land solutions for investments, resilience, and innovation.”

Strategic Dialogue on Cooperative Development for Rural and Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Near East and North Africa Region

Casablanca (Morocco), 28/01/2025 - 30/01/2025

FAO has been a longstanding partner in supporting cooperatives, cooperatives, producer and professional organizations (PPOs), and water user associations (WUAs), and other forms of collective action in the NENA region through a variety of activities, including consultative processes, capacity building, advocacy, knowledge sharing, and contribution to creating enabling environments. A major f...

Investment pathways for ecosystem restoration in the Near East and North Africa region at the third Arab Land Forum

(Morocco), 18/02/2025

The NENA region faces pressing environmental challenges with significant socio-economic impacts, yet restoration efforts have struggled to deliver transformative results. While countries have set ambitious goals under the 3 Rio Conventions—targeting land degradation neutrality, biodiversity conservation, and climate change mitigation—many lack the technical and financial resources to translate ...