The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in cooperation with Beit Al‑Asala Al‑Turathi and in collaboration with national and resource partners, marked World Bee Day with a Honey Harvesting Event in Jerash, highlighting the vital role of bees in food security, biodiversity, and sustainable livelihoods.

Natural disasters are becoming more frequent and severe, with profound consequences for food systems and public health. Floods, earthquakes, droughts, wildfires and volcanic events can disrupt supply chains, damage infrastructure, contaminate water sources and compromise food storage. While restoring food supplies usually dominates the immediate response, food safety risks cannot be overlooked, as unsafe food and water in the aftermath of a disaster can prove as deadly as the disaster itself (i.e., cholera outbreaks). 

National Convenors and stakeholders from across the Arab region convened in Cairo, Egypt, for the Arab Region Food Systems Transformation Meeting, part of the 2026 regional meeting series led by the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub in collaboration with the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for West Asia (ESCWA), the League of Arab States, and the regional offices of FAO and WFP.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE), convened the first virtual meeting of 2026 of the Strategic Dialogue on Cooperative Development Network, bringing together ministerial representatives, cooperative leaders, colleagues from FAO country offices, regional, and  headquarters teams, and partners from the International Cooperative Alliance. The meeting marked the official launch of the regional initiative “Building Resilient, Inclusive and Business-Oriented Cooperative Ecosystems for Agrifood Systems Transformation in the NENA Region”. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in strategic partnership with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture (MEWA), King Saud University (KSU), the National Livestock and Fisheries Development Program (NLFDP), and Saudi REEF, organized a highly...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Japan, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, signed an Exchange of Notes to launch a new project aimed at enhancing food production capacity for vulnerable farmers in River Nile State, Sudan.

FAO convened a regional technical meeting on child labour and family farming in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region on 4 May 2026, bringing together FAO country offices and technical experts to strengthen understanding and identify coordinated actions to address child labour in agriculture.

Under the patronage of His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Saeb AlKhreisat, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) organized a national consultative workshop that brought together national, regional, and international stakeholders in Amman to participate in the First National Consultative Workshop on Strengthening Rural Advisory Services. The workshop represents a key step toward establishing the Jordan Forum for Agricultural Extension and Advisory Services (JFAAS), with regional and international participants also joining remotely. 

Held under the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026, the first in a series of cross-regional webinars explored how the Voluntary Guidelines for Gender Equality and Women’s and Girls’ Empowerment (VG-GEWGE) in the context of food security and nutrition; can help turn commitment into action across agrifood systems, with a focus on the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.

More than 2 000 herders in the Gaza Strip – every herding household with at least one sheep or goat that survived the conflict – have received conditional cash assistance from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to sustain remaining livestock, FAO announced today.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launches the second phase of consultative sessions aimed at promoting climate-smart agriculture in the Dead Sea Basin governorates—Madaba, Karak, Tafileh, and Ma’an. These sessions are part of the project “Building Resilience to Cope with Climate Change in Jordan through Improving Water Use Efficiency in the Agriculture Sector (BRCCJ),” funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and being implemented by FAO, in cooperation with the Ministries of Water and Irrigation, Agriculture, and Environment, and in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

A recent report issued by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Crop and Food Supply Assessment Mission (CFSAM) in Sudan revealed a sharp decline in cereal production due to the ongoing conflict, rising agricultural input costs, and disruptions to livelihoods and markets, further exacerbating food insecurity across the country. 

 The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in coordination with the Ministry of Education, launched an awareness program on rainwater harvesting and water consumption rationalization in the governorates of Al-Karak, Tafila, and Ma'an. This initiative is part of the project “Building Resilience to Cope with Climate Change in Jordan through Improving Water Use Efficiency in the Agricultural Sector (BRCCJ)” funded by the Green Climate Fund.

Le conflit de 2026 au Moyen-Orient exerce une pression supplémentaire sur les systèmes agroalimentaires fragiles et les chaînes d'approvisionnement mondiales, menaçant la disponibilité, l'accessibilité et l’abordabilité des denrées alimentaires, a déclaré le Directeur général de l’Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture (FAO), QU Dongyu, lors de la 38e session de la Conférence régionale de la FAO pour le Proche-Orient (NERC38), qui s’est tenue lundi au siège de l’Organisation à Rome, à un «moment critique» pour la région NENA. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through its Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO RNE), participated in a high-level technical meeting hosted by Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation to explore opportunities for advancing phytosanitary systems through the use of advanced digital technologies and strengthened international cooperation.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Rotterdam Convention Secretariat, held a regional virtual training titled: “Enhancing Capacities for the Implementation of the Rotterdam Convention and Promoting Sustainable Alternatives to Hazardous Pesticides in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Region.” The training brought together more than 70 experts and representatives from national plant protection organizations and pesticide registration and management authorities across the region.

Private sector entities and development partners convened today for a dialogue on “The Role of the Private Sector in Agrifood Transformation and Climate Resilience in the Near East and North Africa,” bringing together leading voices to examine how businesses can accelerate sustainable agrifood systems transformation in a region facing mounting climate pressures and complex, overlapping crises.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the Regional AI Dialogue for Agrifood Systems in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, beginning with its first webinar on “Data Ecosystems for AI in Agrifood Systems.”

The Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (FAO-RNE) convened a high-level side event on 24 March 2026 to advance plant health systems across the region. The event brought together senior officials, technical experts, and regional partners to promote coordinated action against transboundary plant pests and diseases and to safeguard crop heritage and agrobiodiversity.

FAO participated in the first Annual Meeting of the EU-FAWREADY (Enhancing Europe's Readiness for Managing Fall Armyworm, an Invasive Pest Threat) project, held in Milan, Italy, in early March 2026. Mr. Yaseen shared FAO's extensive experience in managing Fall Armyworm (FAW) across the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, drawing on nearly a decade of field-tested interventions, capacity building, and regional coordination.