As part of his visit to Baghdad, Iraq, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Mr. QU Dongyu, together with key Iraqi ministries, today launched the Green Climate Fund (GCF)-funded project titled "Strengthening Climate Resilience of Vulnerable Agricultural Livelihoods in Southern Iraq" (SRVALI)".

Less than five percent of the Gaza Strip’s cropland area remains available for cultivation, according to the latest geospatial assessment carried out by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Satellite Centre (UNOSAT), further deteriorating food production capacity and exacerbating  the risk of famine in the area.

As part of his official visit to Algeria, Mr. Abdelhakim El Waer, Assistant Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and Regional Representative for the Near East and North Africa, held a series of official meetings on Monday, 20 May 2025,

The world needs to act with speed, scale and determination to tackle the growing threat of water scarcity and climate shocks, the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), QU Dongyu, today told the 5th Baghdad International Water Conference.

Officials and experts from Algeria, Botswana, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malawi, Tanzania, Tunisia, Yemen, and Zimbabwe gathered in Hammamet from 12-16 May for an inter-regional workshop focused on advancing integrated, evidence-based approaches to land and water management in drylands.&...

In a milestone for youth empowerment and sustainable development, the World Food Forum (WFF) National Youth Chapter in Egypt was officially launched today at King Salman International University. This event showcased Egypt’s commitment to mobilizing young people as leaders in shaping inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems.

In a region grappling with high levels of food insecurity, poor diet quality, and rising health concerns linked to malnutrition, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) hosted a timely and high-level webinar exp...

FAO Director-General QU Dongyu marks International Day of Plant Health at NENA conference

In a significant step toward advancing Jordan’s agricultural sector and enhancing food security, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Jordan, the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), officially signed two groundbreaking projects in a ceremony attended by the Minister of Agriculture and the Director General of NARC.

The Food and Agriculture Model (FA Model), a independent youth-led initiative that has transformed the landscape of student engagement in agrifood systems across Egypt, is now taking a major leap onto the regional stage. With the support of FAO, FA Model was established in Cairo University in 2018 and has now expanded to over 24 universities across Egypt with more than 2,000 active student volunteers. The FA Model is now launching in eight additional countries across the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region: Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Palestine, Sudan, Morocco, and Yemen.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially become the 81st Party globally (representing 107 states) to join the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations’ (FAO) Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), the first binding international agreement that focuses exclusively on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. It is the 6th country from the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region to join, alongside Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman and the Sudan, and the second member of the Regional Commission for Fisheries (RECOFI) to accede.

The recent outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease (FMD) in Europe and the introduction of an exotic virus strain into the Near East underscore the urgent need for early detection and enhanced biosecurity measures to minimize the impacts of the disease, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), represented by the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Central Region and the Commission for Controlling the Desert Locust in the Western Region, in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources of the Sultanate of Oman, concluded the second demonstration trial of the Micron Spray Drone for ultra-low volume (ULV) pesticide application in desert locust control.

The recent Food Policy Monitoring Bulletin, issued quarterly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), offers a snapshot of food security dynamics, policy shifts, and ecosystem restoration efforts in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region, one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing a virtual webinar on Monday, 12 May 2025, from 10.00 to 11.30 AM (Cairo Time), to explore challenges and opportunities for deploying the Food Loss App (FLAPP) in countries of the Near East and North Africa (NENA) region. The event, titled "Exploring FAO’s Food Loss Application (FLAPP): Challenges and opportunities for support tackling food loss in the Near East and North Africa (NENA) Countries," will bring together representatives from FAO headquarters and regional offices, government institutions, research and academic institutions, and food value chain actors including farmers, producer organizations and agribusinesses.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for the Near East and North Africa (RNE) actively participated in the Arab Forum for Sustainable Development (AFSD) and the UN Food Systems Summit +4 (UNFSS+4) Regional Preparatory Meeting, held in Beirut, Lebanon from 14 April to 17 April 2025.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new regional project aimed at bolstering the fight against transboundary plant pests and diseases across the Near East and North Africa (NENA). The project, funded under FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), is set to run from January 2025 to December 2026.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), represented by Mr. Thaer Yaseen, FAO Regional Officer for Plant Protection, FAO RNE, participated in the Workshop on Pesticide Risk Reduction held in Cairo from 15 to 17 April 2025. The event was organized in collaboration with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation in Egypt.

Under the patronage of H.E the Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq Mr. Mohammad Shiaa Al Sudani, represented by His Excellency the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Abbas Jabr Al-Maliki, and in close partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) concluded its participation in the 16th Agricultural Week held at the Baghdad International Fair from 15 to 20 April 2025.