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The notes collected in this publication were initially disseminated at the “Private Sector Forum on Food Security in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean Region” jointly organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) in May 2015. The notes aim to inform EBRD agribusiness investments in the SEMED and disseminate knowledge on current trends in agribusiness and food security.

The EBRD called upon FAO’s technical assistance to carry out an analysis of key trends in the agribusiness sector of four specific countries: Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan. This process resulted in four country notes with analyses of food consumption patterns, production and trade, as well as agricultural policies.

While the individual notes were mostly descriptive, it was felt that a document providing a comparative analysis across countries would add value to the target audience, namely public officials, development experts, the private sector and members of the civil society. This publication thus sought to reframe the analysis of sector trends in the region into a readily-accessible format in order to contribute to more effective and efficient policies for improved food security and nutrition. While the focus of the publication is on four SEMED countries – Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Jordan - many of its key findings and conclusions will also be of interest in other regional and country situations, where FAO and the UfM are active.