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), 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.

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) 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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concluded the Senior Officers’ Preparatory Meeting of the 38th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC 38) with a renewed commitment to advancing resilient, inclusive, and sustainable agrifood systems across the region.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) yesterday convened the Senior Officers’ Meeting (SOM) of the Thirty-eighth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East, bringing together senior government officials and partners from across the Near East and North Africa region at a critical moment for agrifood systems and food security.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today scaled up conditional cash assistance to support reactivation of local crop production by an additional 1 000 farmers in the Gaza Strip.

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.

The Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the Near East and North Africa participated in the 20th session of the Commission on Phytosanitary Measures, held at FAO headquarters in Rome from 9 to 13 March 2026.

Under the patronage of H.E. Saeb Khreisat, Minister of Agriculture, the Government of Jordan and the United Nations today launched the “Local financing solutions to support Jordan’s agri‑food system transformation” Joint Project during a virtual inception workshop. The event brought together national institutions, municipalities, producer organizations, and UN agencies, including UN Resident Coordinator Sheri Ritsema‑Anderson, FAO Representative Nabil Assaf, and UNIDO Country Representative Sulafa Madanat.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in the Near East and North Africa commemorated International Women’s Day 2026 with a regional webinar titled “Women Farmers in the Near East and North Africa Region: Advancing Visibility, Knowledge and Inclusion.” The event was attend...

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.

Mauritania is taking important steps to modernize its agriculture and livestock sectors through a more coordinated and nationally anchored approach to digital transformation. From 2 to 6 February 2026, specialists from FAO’s Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa joined colleagues from FAO Mauritania in Nouakchott to support structured dialogue with national authorities and development partners on strengthening digital agriculture in the country.

Countries across the Near East and North Africa face mounting pressures from land degradation, water scarcity, climate change and rising food insecurity. In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is intensifying efforts to mobilize investment and strengthen country-driven action for ecosystem restoration. Within this context, FAO has launched a series of national consultations to introduce and refine a new regional programme proposal entitled “ReInvest NENA – Restoration and Investment for Ecosystems, Sustainability and Transformation in the Near East and North Africa.” The consultations were recently held in virtual format with Tunisia, Algeria and Lebanon.

Amid growing climate challenges and increasing water scarcity in Iraq, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Iraq, in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and local governments in Muthanna and Najaf governorates, inaugurated model projects aimed at improving irrigation efficiency and promoting sustainable water use.

 

The National Agriculture Strategy of the Syrian Arab Republic 2026-2030 will capitalize on agriculture as the country’s strategic sector to recover from more than fourteen years of crisis. Under the generous patronage of the General Secretariat of...

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a Regional Consultative Technical Meeting (RCTM) this week as part of the preparatory process for the Thirty-eighth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (NERC 38), which will take place in 2026.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened a two-day Stakeholder Validation Exercise in Cairo on 4-5 February 2026 to review and refine the initial prototype of the regional dashboard “Towards Healthy Diets from Sustainable Agrifood Systems” for the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region.

Hammamet, Tunisia 29 January 2026, FAO officially launched the two-year regional project Greening Agroforestry Economies Strengthening Non-Wood Forest Product Chains and Smallholder Cooperatives on 29 January 2026 in Hammamet, Tunisia. The launch took place in the context of a regional gathering bringing together country focal points and partners from across the Near East and North Africa region.