FAO Regional Conference for the Near East Thirty - Second Session24 – 28 February 2014, Rome, Italy Priorities for FAO Activities in the Region Agenda Item 13: NERC 14/2 ©www.fao.org

1. FAO Regional Conference for the Near East
Thirty-Second Session
24 – 28 February 2014, Rome, Italy
Priorities for FAO Activities in the Region
Agenda Item 13: NERC 14/2
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

2. Outline of presentation
•
Follow-up to the 2012 Regional Conference:
- Agreed regional priorities
- Major achievements 2012-13
- Lessons learned
•
Revised Regional Priorities for the Medium Term
•
Regional Initiatives
- Water scarcity
- Building resilience to enhance food security and nutrition
- Sustainable small scale agriculture for inclusive development
•
Guidance Sought
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

3. Follow-up to the 2012 Regional Conference:
Agreed Regional Priorities
The five regional priorities endorsed by NERC-31:
•
Enhancing food security and nutrition
•
Fostering agricultural production and rural development
for improved livelihoods;
•
Sustainable natural resources management including
fisheries and aquaculture;
•
Responding to climate change impacts and developing
adaptation strategies;
•
Preparedness for and response to agriculture and food
emergencies
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

4. Follow-up to the 2012 Regional Conference:
Agreed Regional Priorities
Within the five regional priorities, NERC-31 identified focus
areas that require special attention:
•
water scarcity and its efficient use;
•
reducing food losses and waste;
•
soil degradation and desertification;
•
transboundary animal diseases;
•
fisheries and aquaculture sustainability;
•
climate change adaptation and mitigation;
•
Supporting vulnerable communities affected by conflicts and
occupation;
•
youth and women empowerment.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

5. Follow-up to the 2012 Regional Conference:
Major Achievements
Guided by NERC recommendations, key areas of interventions
for the period 2012-2013 included:
•
•
•
•
•
delivery of USD 189 million of assistance to countries in the
Region: USD 9.7 million (TCP projects); USD 179.8 million of
extra-budgetary contributions (USD 179.8 million)
assistance to countries covered both development and
emergency activities and included 142 new projects;
New FAO country agreements were signed with Saudi Arabia
and Libya;
no funding from the Region to the Region (NENA-NENA
cooperation) during 2012-13
The regional solidarity trust fund endorsed by the 31st NERC
has registered the first contribution of USD 2 million from the
Republic of Iraq
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

6. Follow-up to the 2012 Regional Conference:
Lessons Learned
Key lessons learned are:
•
The recent political and economic crises in the Region have
shown the crucial need for building resilience to risks and
crises in order to achieve improved food security and
sustainable development;
•
There is an urgent need to adopt initiatives and strategies
that promote work in the regional priorities with focus on
producing impact and results at the country level.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

7. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in
Light of the New Strategic Framework
The Thirty-eighth Session of the FAO Conference in June 2013
approved the Reviewed Strategic.
Global Goals of Members:
•
Eradication of hunger, food insecurity and malnutrition
•
Elimination of poverty and the driving forward of
economic and social progress for all
•
Sustainable management and utilization of natural
resources.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

8. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in
Light of the New Strategic Framework
Strategic Objectives of the New Strategic Framework:
1. Contribute to the eradication of hunger, food insecurity
and malnutrition
2. Increase and improve provision of goods and services from
agriculture, forestry and fisheries in a sustainable manner
3. Reduce rural poverty
4. Enable more inclusive and efficient agricultural and food
systems at local, national and international levels
5. Increase the resilience of livelihoods to threats and crises
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

9. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in
Light of the New Strategic Framework
Based on the new Strategic Framework and drawing on lesson
from country programming frameworks (CPFs), there is a
need to update and review the regional priorities.
Three regional priorities:
-
Water scarcity
-
Building resilience to enhance food security and nutrition
-
Small-scale agriculture
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

10. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in
Light of the New Strategic Framework
Why the regional initiatives?
•
Linking the Strategic Framework to the field work at the
regional and country level;
•
Operationalising the regional priorities through the design of
appropriate programme and implementation mechanisms;
•
Addressing the major challenges facing the region in an
integrated and coherent manner at both the regional and
country levels;
•
Building on success stories within the region and promoting
regional exchange of knowledge and experiences
•
Promoting regional cooperation and solidarity in food
security and agricultural development.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

11. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in
Light of the New Strategic Framework – Regional
Initiatives
The Initiative on “Water Scarcity”
Objective: support countries in the region in identifying and
streamlining policies and best practices that can significantly
improve agriculture productivity and food security in the
region.
Focus areas for support:
• Support countries in strategic planning of water resources
• Strengthening governance and institutions
• Improve agriculture water use efficiency and crop water
productivity
• Support action to enhance the supply-side of water budget,
through the optimal use of unconventional water
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

12. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in Light of
the New Strategic Framework – Regional Initiatives
The Initiative on “Water Scarcity”
Focus areas for support (cont.):
•
Support benchmarking, monitoring and reporting
mechanisms on progress towards the achievement of
agreed national and regional target on water efficiency and
productivity.
Focus countries (in first phase):
Started in 2013 with first phase focusing on 6 countries.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

13. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in Light of
the New Strategic Framework – Regional Initiatives
The Initiative on “Building resilience for enhanced food security and
nutrition in the Near East and North Africa”
Objective: support countries in building resilient food security
and nutrition institutions, markets and production systems
Focus areas for support:
• Improving capacities for policy development;
• Developing efficient evidence-based food security
information and knowledge exchange for effective decision
support systems;
• Promoting the development of efficient and sustainable food
systems with specific attention to reducing food losses and
waste;
• Promoting sustainable access of households to safe, nutritious
and diversified food.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

14. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in Light of
the New Strategic Framework – Regional Initiatives
The Initiative on “Building resilience for enhanced food security
and nutrition in the Near East and North Africa”
Focus areas for support (cont.)
• Building the resilience of institutions, individuals,
households, communities and agro-eco systems to
anticipate, absorb and recover from the negative impacts of
the man-made and natural shocks
Focus countries (in first phase):
• Syria and Syria-crisis affected countries
• crisis-prone countries and countries in transition
• other countries with high exposure to vulnerabilities of
external food supplies.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

15. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in Light of
the New Strategic Framework – Regional Initiatives
The Initiative on “Sustainable small-scale agriculture for inclusive
development”
Objective: to support countries in reducing rural poverty through
a cohesive programme for small-scale agriculture
Focus areas for support:
• Developing evidence based policy and strategies to improve
and enhance the small-scale agricultural sector and the
livelihoods;
• Sustainable improvement of productivity of small-scale
agriculture;
• Building rural institutions and empowerment of small holders.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

16. Updating and Revising Regional Priorities in Light of
the New Strategic Framework – Regional Initiatives
The Initiative on “Sustainable small-scale agriculture for inclusive
development” (cont.)
Focus countries:
The initiative will be implemented in consequent phases, with
a pilot of 5 to 6 countries of the low and medium income
countries in its first phase.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region

17. Guidance Sought
The Conference is invited to:
•
take note of the major actions carried out by FAO to address
regional priorities during 2012-2013, including actions
undertaken in response to the recommendations of the
previous Session;
•
support the three regional initiatives as means to further
focus FAO’s work for impact at country level within the
MTP/PWB and for resource mobilization during 2014-2015.
NERC-32
For a Resilient and a Food Secure Region