Page 11 - AA 2024

Editorial

• The United Arab Emirates is another dairy products in the country. dependency on imports, and governments
prominent market for dairy products. In- are taking various steps to support and
creasing demand for flavored and organic • Other countries like Kuwait, Oman, Bah- promote local production. Thus, the con-
dairy products due to the growing ex-pat rain, Qatar, Iran, and Iraq also contribute sumption of dairy products in these coun-
population and changing consumption significantly to the market’s growth. These tries is expected to increase at a higher
patterns are driving the consumption of countries are focusing on reducing their rate during the forecast period.

Arab countries need to scale up innovative

financial resources to transform agrifood systems

The last quarterly bulletin in 2023 focuses on the critical impor-
tance of increased investments in the transformation of regional
agrifood systems. FAO was a strategic partner in organizing the
2023 World Investment Forum in Abu Dhabi last October, with nine
sessions dedicated to the theme “Investing in Transforming Agri-
food Systems”.
The lack of adequate public and private investments necessi-
tates scaling up additional private and public investments in the
region. “Existing agricultural subsidies should be redirected to-
wards more sustainable and nutritious agricultural products”, em-
phasized Dr. Abdulhakim Elwaer, Assistant Director-General and
Regional Representative. “Furthermore, additional, SDG-aligned,
inclusive financial resources should be scaled up”, he added, “in-
cluding innovative financial mechanisms, blended finance, and ing smart farms, vertical farming, carbon footprint measurement
other instruments that lower the risks of agricultural investments”. and methane-reducing technologies, and increasing local produc-
tion of dairy; regional initiatives included supplying drought-resis-
Regarding recent developments in the region, although the food tant seed varieties to Libya.
consumer price index was still the highest in the Near East and
North Africa region, compared to other world regions, food prices
show a steady or decreasing trend in most regional countries. The
majority of the crop plantings were carried out in November 2023
with favourable initial conditions.
Besides the tremendous human suffering, the Israel-Palestine
conflict has immensely deteriorated the food insecurity in the
Gaza Strip, where about 2.2 million people are facing acute hun-
ger and farm production suffers a 1.6 million USD daily loss. FAO is
mobilizing vital agricultural supplies, fodder, water, veterinary kits
and fuel to Gaza, once access is made available.
In the broader region, Djibouti, Lebanon, Mauritania, Palestine,
the Syrian Arab Republic and Yemen are expected to have a wide-
spread lack of access to food, while Libya and Sudan are experi-
encing severe localized food insecurity.
Monitoring recent food policies in the region reveals that coun-
tries are diversifying towards cheaper wheat import sources,
boosting food reserves and local production of food and fertil-
izers. The United Arab Emirates continues to develop a wide net
of free trade agreements and plans to build a new trade corridor
connecting Europe to the Near East and Asia. Trade restrictive
measures in the region included the introduction of an export ban
on olive oil in the Syrian Arab Republic, followed by Morocco.
One of the significant focuses of regional food policies continues
to be reducing water stress and fighting climate change by mea-
sures such as constructing dams to harness rainwater, investing in
drought-resistant crops, and water-saving irrigation. In addition,
a genetic resources bank was set up in Saudi Arabia to safeguard
the genetic diversity of plant resources. Countries also benefit
from international cooperation and best practices in implement-
Arab Agriculture 2024 9