Highlights
Exhibition
From Seeds to Foods
Events
18/10
2026
Mycotoxins in NENA Staple Foods: Bridging Data Gaps for Codex Risk Assessment and Trade Compliance
18/10/2026
Background and Rationale
Mycotoxin contamination of staple foods, particularly cereals and other widely consumed commodi...
19/10
2026
23/10
2026
CCCF19 - Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods
Cairo (Egypt), Hybrid Event, 19/10/2026 - 23/10/2026
The 19th session of the Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods will be held in Cairo, Egypt, from 19 to 23 October 2026. The opening session will begin at 09:00 UTC+03:00 on Monday, 19 October 2026. The Session will be conducted in Arabic, English, French and Spanish.
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: leaving no one behind in agrifood system transformation
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
.tmb-th600x400.jpg?sfvrsn=a534b87d_1 "UF1CBON (26)")
Blogs
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
International Day of Rural Women - Recognizing the knowledge of rural women farmers and strengthening their opportunities
15/10/2026
Every day, rural women help feed their communities, sustain family livelihoods and care for the land. They preserve traditional crop varieties, conserve biodiversity, manage natural resources and find ways to keep farms productive in the face of changing environmental conditions.
Technical Expertise
From burden to solutions: Advancing food safety across the Near East and North Africa
07/06/2026
Every meal should nourish, not harm. Yet millions of people continue to suffer from preventable foodborne illnesses every year, highlighting the urgent need for stronger food safety systems across the globe.
Categories: blog
Greening agriculture, water scarcity and climate action
World Bee Day 2026
20/05/2026
Bees have long been part of life across the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. From the mountains of Morocco to the plains of Iraq, beekeeping is deeply connected to biodiversity, food production and rural livelihoods. Yet today, this centuries-old practice is under pressure from climate change, pests and diseases, habitat degradation, unsustainable pesticide use and weak market systems.
Technical Expertise
New governance pathways for food security in the Near East and North Africa
01/04/2026
Food security has become a central policy concern across the Near East and North Africa (NENA). Population growth, limited natural resources, high import dependence, and exposure to global market shocks have pushed governments to treat food security as a strategic priority.
Publications
Food policy monitoring in the Near East and North Africa region, 3rd Quarter 2026 | Bulletin Financing anticipatory action for agriculture: From pilots to policy instruments
2026
The third quarterly bulletin provides an overview of key developments affecting food and agriculture in NENA during the third quarter of 2026, covering global and regional food prices, production conditions, food insecurity and major policy and investment measures.
Guide to integrated fire management governance assessment
2026
The Guide to Integrated Fire Management Governance Assessment sets out a process to assess integrated fire management (IFM) governance. Developed with the support of the Global Fire Management Hub and following the phased approach outlined in the FAO Governance Framework, it brings together analysis of the IFM problem, mapping of stakeholders, and understanding of political economy factors to support the identification of an agreed theory of change for transformative change to address IFM needs.
Beyond indicatorsUnpacking the greening agriculture agenda in the Near East and North Africa region
2026
The publication provides a Near East and North Africa (NENA)-specific analysis within the broader global framework for greening agriculture, examining progress, persistent gaps and the particular conditions shaping agricultural transformation across the region.
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=88e9f5ea_3 "Association of Agricultural Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=a8ad9034_2 "The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=dfbaa9f2_2 "Inter-Islamic Network on Water Resources Development and Management (INWRDAM)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=4eb83e5b_2 "Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=b68ea809_3 "Economic Cooperation Organisation (ECO)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=26bd6c6b_2 "Arab Gulf Programme for Development (AGFUND)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=2b881a9b_2 "The Arab Maghreb Union (AMU)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=ae3a73a3_2 "Regional Centre on Agrarian Reform & Rural Development for the Near East(CARDNE)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=5fad0e0e_2 "Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=adacc503_2 "Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)")
.tmb-th600x400.png?sfvrsn=8bd62a66_1 "Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC)")