Highlights
Events
26/1
2026
28/1
2026
Building a Shared Vision for Sustainable Rangelands and Pastoral Communities in the Near East and North Africa
Hammamet (Tunisia), 26/01/2026 - 28/01/2026
The International Year of Rangelands and Pastoralists (IYRP) 2026 NENA Regional Conference will bring together regional partners, government representatives, technical experts, researchers, and pastoralist organizations to strengthen collaboration and advance sustainable rangeland management acro...
Regional Priorities
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.
Social inclusion
In NENA countries, poverty is predominantly rural. With small scale producers – including fishers and pastoralists – and landless rural workers facing growing marginalization, rural communities are left increasingly vulnerable to economic, political and environmental shocks. This and the high prevalence of gender disparities, youth unemployment, child labour and other forms of exclusion constitute a significant barrier to more equitable agrifood systems in the region.
Stories
Blogs
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
Empowering women for climate resilience: financing the future of sustainability
19/11/2025
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
The WEFE Nexus approach in fragile and dry landscapes
06/11/2025
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is defined by vast drylands that shape its environment, economies, and cultures. Often wrongly perceived as barren, these landscapes host vibrant communities, unique biodiversity, and essential agricultural systems. Yet, they face mounting challenges.
Technical Expertise
From reaction to anticipation: Building agricultural resilience in the Near East and North Africa
26/10/2025
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is navigating an increasingly complex landscape of risks that threaten its agricultural systems and rural livelihoods. Droughts, floods, heatwaves and other climate extremes have become more frequent and severe, colliding with protracted conflicts, economic shocks, and disruptions to global food supply chains.
Opinions
Hack4SaferPlates:Catalyzing innovations for food safety in the NENA region
18/09/2025
In the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, food safety is key in the transition of our agrifood systems. Millions of people around the world suffer from foodborne diseases annually and over 32 percent of the cases affect children under the age of five years (WHO and World Bank).
Publications
Mapping and proposal of action plan to promote investment for the transformation of agrifood systems in the Near East and North Africa region
2025
The transformation of agrifood systems in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region is critical to addressing food security, environmental sustainability, and economic resilience. This report analyzes the enabling and hindering factors shaping investments in the sector, identifies policy and regulatory gaps, and proposes actionable recommendations with a phased action plan to attract investment and foster innovation.
Near East and North Africa – Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2025 Statistics and trends
2025
The 2025 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition reveals a stark deterioration in food security across the Arab States in 2024, where hunger reached its highest level in more than two decades, affecting nearly 77.5 million people – 15.8 percent of the population.
Regional mapping of anticipatory action capacities in the Near East and North Africa agricultural sector
2025
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region faces a growing number of complex, overlapping and compounding hazards that are undermining livelihoods, deepening food insecurity and slowing economic development. Increasingly frequent and severe climate extremes – such as droughts, flash floods, heatwaves – are converging with transboundary plant and animal diseases, protracted conflicts and economic volatility.
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=88e9f5ea_2 "Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=a8ad9034_1 "The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=dfbaa9f2_1 "Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=4eb83e5b_1 "Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=b68ea809_2 "Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=26bd6c6b_1 "Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=2b881a9b_1 "The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=ae3a73a3_1 "Regional Centre on Agrarian Reform & Rural Development for the Near East(CARDNE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=5fad0e0e_1 "Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=adacc503_1 "Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=8bd62a66_1 "Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)")