Next week, ministers of agriculture from the Near East and North Africa region will meet in Rome for the 32nd session of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) regional conference for the Near East, a momentous occasion for the advancement of understanding, regional dialogue and action on the most pressing and crucial priorities related to food security and agriculture in the region. The conference comes at a time of unprecedented challenge for the region. The last few years have seen complex factors prompt demands for social and economic changes, while stagnation among OECD economies, the recent food price hikes, and protracted conflicts have brought to the fore the vulnerability of the region to food insecurity. The Near East and North Africa region imports over 50 per cent of the cereals it consumes and is the only region, along with the Korean Peninsula, that will not be able to feed itself in the foreseeable future. The expensive import bills the region pays will likely grow in the future and, with them, its vulnerability to food price shocks. Several countries in the region have lost confidence in the international market due to the export bans that accompanied the 2008 food price hikes. While its overall food security indicators are not dramatic, the region suffers from the double burden of malnutrition: nearly one quarter of its children are stunted due to chronic under-nutrition, and, at the same time, one quarter of the population suffers from obesity. However, the resilience shown by the region in the face of the crisis has been remarkable. Countries have invested in building food reserves, expanding social safety nets, introducing new agricultural technologies, improving water productivity, and increasing the added value in agriculture, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture production. Reducing food insecurity has been recognised not just as an emergency issue, but also as a long-term imperative for the stability of the region. Several countries have managed to reduce food insecurity, while others have succeeded in halving the proportion of hungry people ahead of the timeline set by the Millennium Development Conference and the World Food Summit. Governments are now coming to a broader understanding of the fact that efforts towards inclusive development will not succeed if food insecurity and malnutrition are not eradicated. Eliminating all forms of malnutrition and ensuring sustainable agricultural development will not be an easy task. The Near East and North Africa region may be facing the most severe intensification of water scarcity in history in the coming decades. Per capita water availability is set to decrease by 50 per cent by 2050 as a result of population growth, rapid urbanisation, and climate change. Nearly 90 per cent of the region's land resources are subject to degradation, with a significant amount of land no longer available for agricultural use as a result of urban sprawl, inappropriate land-management practices and desertification. The challenges the region is facing are enormous, yet so are the opportunities. Across the region, there are many success stories that unequivocally illustrate the potential of the agriculture sector as an engine for growth and employment. Agriculture still contributes an average of 13 per cent of regional GDP and provides jobs and incomes for 38 per cent of the region's economically active population. To name just a few examples, Egypt already exports US$2 billion per year of horticulture products, enough to cover its massive wheat import bill, Tunisia is a world leader in olive oil exports, and Morocco is a major exporter of citrus and tomatoes. Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world, has a dynamic agro-industry sector. We must build on the achievements made by countries in recent decades. But we need to go further. The region needs to embrace more widely the paradigm of sustainable agricultural production, in order to promote an ecosystem approach to agricultural development that saves water and makes the best use its natural resources. It needs to invest more in smallholder productivity and in livelihoods and employment creation for youth and women, and it needs to implement viable social protection measures to ensure that the most vulnerable people have access to the food they need. In this International Year for Family Farming, decision-makers across the region need to pay more attention to small-scale farmers, herders and fishermen who represent the bulk of the producers in the region. Family farming is key to agricultural development, and it can help bring about more sustainable food systems, with less damaging environmental footprints. Action will also need to be taken to shift patterns of food consumption that are relying heavily on high calorie intake towards the consumption of more nutritious food. Reducing food losses along the value chain can greatly help in closing the food production and consumption gap. During the last year we have learnt invaluable lessons from regional dialogue with governments, civil society and other partners on food security and nutrition, land and water management, family farming, gender equality, and the drafting of the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of Land, Fisheries and Forests. It is often in times of adversity that innovative ideas and long-lasting reforms can see the light. Now is the time to work for a resilient and food-secure Near East and North Africa region. The writer is director-general of the FAO
