Highlights
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Events
22/ 7
2025
Empowering youth in agriculture: Strengthening rural advisory services through education and digital learning in NENA
22/07/2025
Rural youth in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region face significant barriers to employment—despite agriculture being a key sector for food security, economic development, and climate resilience. At the same time, access to inclusive, demand-driven rural advisory services (RAS) remains limited, especially for women and youth, who represent the majority of small-scale farmers.
9/ 9
2025
10/9
2025
Hack4safeFood: Tackling food safety challenges
09/09/2025 - 10/09/2025
Led by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Research Network and Food Safety Innovation Hub (RNFSI...
26/ 5
2025
11/8
2025
The Seventh World Food Safety Day - 2025
26/05/2025 - 11/08/2025
Series of Webinars: Date: 26 May – 11 August 2025 (Every Monday) 11.00 – 12.30 (Cairo Time)
Food safety is crucial for agrifood transformation in the Arab region, driven by rapid population growth and increased food demand. Consumers in this region face heightened exposure to contaminated food and foodborne diseases due to several factors such as dry climate, unsafe water supplie...
Regional Priorities
Action Areas
Red Palm Weevil Eradication Programme
The Red Palm Weevil (RPW) Eradication Programme facilitates the coordination of regional efforts to ensure an integrated and sustainable approach to controlling the RPW and reducing its devastating effects on date palm production, the food and income security of rural communities, and the ecology of affected areas.
Youth empowerment
Young men and women have a key role to play in fostering sustainability, equity and resilience of agrifood systems in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. FAO works with youth across the region to improve their access to high quality education and training, decent employment, rural institutions and critical assets and services, in agrifood value chains.
Sustainable and Inclusive Agrifood Value Chains
Sustainable and inclusive agrifood value chains development is a market-oriented and systems-based approach for assessing, understanding and improving the performance of agrifood value chains, to ensure their economic, social, and environmental and climate sustainability.
The UN Decade of Family Farming
The UN Decade of Family Farming 2019-2028 (UNDFF) aims to shed new light on what it means to be a family farmer in a rapidly changing world and highlights more than ever before the important role family farmers play in eradicating hunger and shaping the future of our agri-food systems.
Addressing climate change in agrifood systems
FAO’s climate change activities aim to strengthen capacities of member countries to build resilient agrifood systems, and to plan, implement and report on climate change adaptation and mitigation actions in the agriculture sectors.
Rural advisory services for inclusive transformation in the Near East and North Africa
Rural advisory services (RAS) have a central role in equipping farmers with the knowledge and skills to cope with challenges and empower them to make informed decisions, link to markets and act collectively to improve their livelihoods and claim their agency in inclusive rural transformation.
The Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity for the Near East and North Africa
In order to help NENA countries address the food and water security challenges, the FAO’s Regional Office in the Near East and North Africa and its partners established the Water Scarcity Initiative.
Gender equality and women’s empowerment for inclusive food systems transformation
The Regional Office has a stand-alone programme of work on gender equality and women’s empowerment that addresses gender as a cross-cutting theme in all its regional priorities and initiatives.
One Country One Priority Product: Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products
The Global Action on Green Development of Special Agricultural Products (SAPs): One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) was launched by the FAO Director General in 2021. The initiative will aim to support countries in transforming their agrifood systems to be more sustainable, efficient, resilient and inclusive.
Social inclusion
In NENA countries, poverty is predominantly rural. With small scale producers – including fishers and pastoralists – and landless rural workers facing growing marginalization, rural communities are left increasingly vulnerable to economic, political and environmental shocks. This and the high prevalence of gender disparities, youth unemployment, child labour and other forms of exclusion constitute a significant barrier to more equitable agrifood systems in the region.
Stories
Blogs
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
From sand and dust storms to sustainability: How pastoral communities are reviving rangelands
12/07/2025
Every year on 12 July, we commemorate the International Day of Combating Sand and Dust Storms (SDS), a day that calls for awareness and action against one of the world’s most pervasive yet underrecognized natural phenomena. In the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, the challenge is more pressing than ever.
Technical Expertise
Turning the Tide: Investing in Youth to Transform Agrifood Systems in the Near East and North Africa
01/07/2025
Across the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, a stark paradox is unfolding; while food insecurity and rural poverty are rising, so too is the untapped potential of a young and talented population. With over 60 percent of the population under the age of 25, our region stands at a crossroads, where deep-rooted challenges meet a powerful opportunity for renewal.
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
Advancing the bioeconomy in the Near East and North Africa: A path to sustainability and innovation
25/06/2025
Publications
2024 Highlights Report Regional office for the Near East and North Africa
2025
The Near East and North Africa (NENA) region continues to face complex and interlinked challenges, calling for coordinated efforts and targeted investments. As the region continues to grapple with the compounded effects of climate change and worsening water scarcity,
Financing a resilient agrifood future in Palestine From aid dependence to inclusive investment
2025
Palestine’s agrifood sector is vital for livelihoods and food security, especially after the October 7 crisis, yet it remains underfunded and heavily reliant on donor aid.
Regional Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2027 for the Near East and North Africa region
2025
The new Regional Gender Equality Strategy and Action Plan 2024–2027 for the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region aims to ensure its applicability across the diverse and complex contexts within the NENA region.
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=88e9f5ea_2 "Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=a8ad9034_1 "The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=dfbaa9f2_1 "Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=4eb83e5b_1 "Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=b68ea809_2 "Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=26bd6c6b_1 "Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=2b881a9b_1 "The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=ae3a73a3_1 "Regional Centre on Agrarian Reform & Rural Development for the Near East(CARDNE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=5fad0e0e_1 "Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=adacc503_1 "Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?Culture=en&sfvrsn=8bd62a66_1 "Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)")