©FAO/Giuseppe Carotenuto: Closure of the Conference - Regional Conference for the Near East and North Africa, 34th Session (NERC 34). FAO Headquarters 7-11 May (Red Room).

11 May 2018, Rome - At the closure today of the 34^th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for the Near East, member countries agreed to increase efforts to end hunger in the region.

In a Ministerial Declaration they expressed their deep concern about the increase in food insecurity  and malnutrition in the region which is mainly due to continuing conflicts, climate change and water scarcity.

Some 12 ministers, seven deputy ministers, and other top officials signed the Declaration which acknowledged the vital role played by FAO to develop strategies and policies to eradicate hunger and malnutrition and to build resilience to shocks, crises and conflicts as means to achieve stability and peace.

The member countries also agreed to hold the next FAO Regional Conference for the Near East in Oman, which will also chair the event with Kuwait as vice-chair.

A Declaration for Zero Hunger

Ministers praised FAO’s strategic framework and regional initiatives, recognizing the UN agency’s role in addressing the challenges of food security and nutrition, water scarcity, climate change, agricultural development, youth employment, migration and gender equality.

They called on FAO to step up and update its programmes in the region to support the implementation and achievement of Sustainable Development Goal 2 - Zero Hunger - and to prioritize eradication of hunger and malnutrition in conflict affected countries.

Among other commitments contained in the declaration was to work hand-in-hand with FAO towards achieving the common goals and objectives of sustainable development, at the regional and global levels. Participants also agreed to intensify efforts to tap into international development funding mechanisms, including the Green Climate Fund, to assist member countries address the impacts of climate change. They also expressed support for South-South cooperation and Tripartite cooperation and called for more collaboration with FAO and its sister UN agencies both at a country and regional levels to support the national efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.

A more focused approach towards regional priorities

The Conference’s final report made reference to the contribution of agro-ecology to support the adaptation to climate change in arid areas. It noted that the scaling up of such practices requires mobilization of resources and cooperation between countries that share agro-ecological concerns. In the report, FAO urged member countries FAO to identify and provide incentives for small-scale family farmers in particular.

Agricultural transformation was also deemed necessary by participants and they called for the prioritization of coherent policies aimed at reducing the rural-urban gap.

Member countries also strongly welcomed efforts and actions to develop collaborative strategies to manage the risks of transboundary plant, animal pests and diseases, and to swiftly prevent their spread in the region, including control of Red Palm Weevil and the Fall Army worm.

Moreover, the conference called on member countries to work closely with FAO to devise and implement comprehensive strategies aiming at harnessing the transformative potential of the agriculture value chains to create jobs in the rural sector, close the urban-rural gap in incomes and services and achieve gender equality.

The 34^th session of FAO Regional Conference for the Near East (#NERC34) included 144 participants from 26 member nations of the region.