The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) has received concurrence from the Member States on the Programme Priorities for the 2024-25 biennium, focused on accelerating the transformation of  regional agrifood systems to ach...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the Global Forum on Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), have launched today the Arab Forum for Rural Advisory Services (AFRAS), working towards the acceleration of Rural Advisory Services (RAS) and inclusive and sustainable rural transformation.

“Today, FAO and the private sector have a shared goal – to explore innovative, scalable, and sustainable solutions for the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region,” said Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, during an interactive dialogue held today by FAO with key private sector players to collaborate, share insights, and collectively shape the future of agrifood systems in the region.  

Prior to the Ministerial Segment of the 37th session of the Near East Regional Conference (NERC37), FAO is organizing an interactive dialogue with the private sector on “Engaging the Private Sector in Accelerating Agrifood Systems Transformation in the Near East and North Africa”.

Amman, Jordan 4-5 March 2024
The importance of transforming agrifood systems to embed more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable systems that promote better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Egyptian Agency of Partnership for Development (EAPD) have signed today a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at strengthening efforts in promoting south-south and triangular cooperation (SSTC) to boost the transformation of agrifood systems, improve food security, and support the global efforts towards the 2030 Sustainable Agenda.

The last quarterly bulletin in 2023 focuses on the critical importance of increased investments in the transformation of regional agrifood systems. FAO was a strategic partner in organizing the 2023 World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi last October, with nine sessions dedicated to the theme “Investing in Transforming Agrifood Systems”.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is deeply alarmed by the deteriorating food security situation in the Gaza Strip, where the entire population of about 2.2 million people is now facing acute hunger, according to a new report published on Thursday by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) global initiative.

AFRAS is dedicated to promoting networking, cross learning, experience sharing and knowledge management on extension and rural advisory services (RAS) in the Arab region. The forum is envisaged to operate under the umbrella of the Global Forum for Rural Advisory Services (GFRAS), hence joining the array of existing regional networks of RAS across the globe. 

FAO organized the technical meeting to strengthen national capacities for surveillance and managing the cactus cochineal in the Mediterranean region, as well as the general meeting of the FAO-ICARDA International Technical Network on Cactus (CactusNet) in Marrakesh, Morocco, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Maritime Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and forests, Morocco, and the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University. 

A new study from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Investment Centre in collaboration with the World Bank and launched during a virtual event today, unveils a variety of climate-smart policy actions and investment options set to shape Egypt's agrifood system's future.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) sounds the alarm about the escalating food security crisis in the Sudan, urging immediate and collective action to avert an impending humanitarian catastrophe.

During a dedicated COP28 side event, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) launched a new study on the links between Climate change, migration and rural adaptation in the Near East and North Africa region. The study provides an evidence base for policymakers and practitioners working across the Near East and North Africa (NENA), by reviewing and synthetizing empirical evidence on the climate-migration-adaptation nexus in the region.

According to the report, the number of undernourished people was 59.8 million in 2022, or 12.9 percent of the population, well above the world average of 9.2 percent. This represents a 75.9 percent increase since 2000. Hunger was the highest in low-income countries and the least developed Arab countries, where almost every third person suffered from undernutrition. Undernourishment in conflict countries was almost four times higher than in non-conflict countries. 

To enhance strategic thinking and actions to transform agrifood systems towards a sustainable, resilient and inclusive future, our regional office is engaging in a Regional Foresight Exercise (RFE). It will contribute to regional and country-level programming exercises, providing a forward-looking framework to support policy-making processes of Members in the region; and enhancing institutional capacities on strategic foresight exercises at regional, sub-regional and country level. It builds on the FAO global strategic foresight exercise and its findings, which are contained in the recent FAO flagship report  The future of food and agriculture – Drivers and triggers for transformation. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Office for the Near East, in collaboration with the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD),  held a virtual meeting for the members of the Arab Forum for Rural Advisory Services (AFRAS) on December 6, 2023. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched today the Water Scarcity Initiative (WSI) in the Near East and North Africa Region, which has been collectively developed and will be implemented jointly with five international core partners, namely, ESCWA, ICARDA, ICBA, IWMI and UNICEF. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is conducting a 5-day training workshop for technical officers in charge of Desert Locust control from East Africa and the Middle East, aimed to enhance preparedness of their countries to effectively respond to desert locust outbreaks and invasions. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) will hold its next Regional Conference for Africa in Rabat, hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco. The 33rd Session of the Regional Conference for Africa (ARC33) is a major opportunity for African countries to discuss practical solutions for food security and improving agricultural production.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has convened today the 12th Session for the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, which will continue for three days.

The RECOFI leverages its core strengths to promote the development, conservation, rational management and best utilization of living marine resources and improving the sustainable development of aquaculture in the member countries. The Commission continually reviews the state of these resources, including abundance and the level of fisheries exploitation.