Phase 1
Report on the Regional Workshop for West Asia North
Africa (WANA)
Held
at Cairo, Egypt
4-6
February 2002
Organized by AARINENA
Executive summary...........................................................................................................
Overview of the
important characteristics of the WANA region......................................
Foreword............................................................................................................................
Regional report...................................................................................................................
Synthesis
of major issues from the sub-regional reports..................................................
Synthesis of major issues
from the stakeholder papers....................................................
Sub-regional
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis.......
Strategic priorities.............................................................................................................
Sub-regional
strategies.......................................................................................................
Theme areas.......................................................................................................................
Cross-Cutting
Issues...........................................................................................................
Conclusions
and general recommendations.......................................................................
The Agro-Industries and Post-Harvest Management Service
of FAO (FAO/AGSI) with the endorsement of Ph-Action, has launched an
international initiative geared toward facilitating development within the
post-harvest sector in developing countries.
This initiative will be implemented in two phases:
·
Phase
1. Developing a global perspective of the post-harvest
sector, through the planning and implementation of five coordinated technical
regional workshops. The current
workshop on the WANA region was the third to take place, and will be followed in
the next 2 months by the other 2 workshops.
·
Phase
2. Conducting a five-day International Consultation on
Post-Harvest, with the objective of launching a Global Initiative on
Post-Harvest (GIPhT).
FAO/AGSI is fully funding the implementation of phase 1
activities, which is executed in collaboration with the Global Forum for
Agricultural Research (GFAR). Funds
are currently being solicited to implement Phase 2 Activities.
In Phase 1, each of the five regional workshops will
appraise the current status of the post-harvest sector from both institutional
and stakeholder perspectives. The
identification of priorities, potentials and constraints of the sector are
critical, and will provide a basis for initiating the development of an action
plan geared toward facilitating these countries to keep abreast of the changing
requirements of the sector, while fulfilling their fundamental objectives of
maintaining a safe, secure, and stable food supply. It is within this context, that FAO/AGSI, in collaboration
with GFAR, embarked upon the planning and implementation of the five Technical
Regional Workshops.
The objectives of the workshops are:
·
Identify and analyze the problems, potentials and
constrains of the post-harvest sector in each region.
·
Assess the technical, organizational, institutional and
information needs of the post-harvest sector in each region.
·
Identify major areas for improvement and development.
·
Prepare a Regional Strategy for post-harvest.
·
Identify concrete follow-up actions to be undertaken
for implementation of this strategy.
Information derived from the five Workshops will be
used as a basis for the development of a GIPhT
and a plan of action for its implementation.
The development of Concrete Action Proposals by these Workshops is
therefore critical.
Nineteen (members of AARINENA) of the 29 countries in the West Asia North Africa (WANA) region were studied. The WANA region is divided into 5 sub-regions, as follows:
1.
The Maghreb sub-region which includes Algeria, Libya, Malta, Morocco and
Tunisia.
2.
The Nile Valley and Red Sea sub-region which includes Egypt, Sudan and
Yemen.
3.
The Mashreq sub-region which includes Cyprus, Jordan, Iraq, Lebanon,
Palestine and Syria.
4.
The Arabian Peninsula sub-region which includes Kuwait, Oman and the
United Arab Emirates.
5.
West and Central Asia sub-region which includes Iran and Pakistan.
·
Food production in general is very low in the region,
and varies from one country to another. Approximately
35 million metric tons of cereals are produced in the region while approximately
55 million metric tons are consumed. Similarly,
approximately 52 million metric tons of fruits and vegetables are produced,
while almost 80 million metric tons are consumed.
·
The region is “food deficit” and is the largest
“net food importer” among developing countries.
·
About 60 % of the population in the region live in
rural areas and depend on agriculture for their livelihood, and thus the
decreasing agricultural production has a negative impact on food security, as
well on efforts toward poverty alleviation.
·
The region is a vast arid area with extremely poor
water resources.
·
Food consumption in general, including the consumption
of fruits and vegetables, is increasing especially due to increased population
growth and urbanization, but it is still generally low compared to that in other
regions.
·
Post-harvest food losses in the region are very high,
and estimated to exceed 30 %. Post-harvest
food losses are even higher in government and quasi-government companies and
fields due to poor management, lack of technical experience, lack of/or poor
planning, lack of motivation, inadequate maintenance, etc.
·
The post-harvest sector in the region is deficient in
infrastructure and facilities, trained personnel, appropriate technologies,
investment, etc.
·
There is excellent potential for export, especially to
the European and Gulf markets. However,
Improvement of the export sector will necessitate major improvements in the
production systems and the post-harvest sector.
·
The region is rich in indigenous plant genetic
resources, but most of its diversity is threatened by erosion, and many other
environmental problems.
·
There is a strong need for the enhancement of
agricultural and rural development in the region through fostering agricultural
research and technology development, and by strengthening collaboration within
and outside the region.
·
The study and the workshop on the WANA region were
organized through collaborative efforts between The Association of Agricultural
Research Institutions in the Near East and North Africa (AARINENA), FAO/AGSI
(Rome), GFAR (Rome), and FAO-RNE (Cairo).
·
During its executive meeting in Kuwait in April, 2000,
AARINENA identified and authorized the names of the regional coordinator, and
the sub-regional consultants as follows:
·
Dr. Elhadi M. Yahia, Regional coordinator and
sub-regional consultant for the Maghreb.
·
Dr. Hesham Allam, Sub-regional consultant for the Nile
Valley and Red Sea.
·
Dr. Najib El Assi, Sub-regional consultant for the
Mashreq.
·
Mr. Khalid Ben Mansour Al-zidjali, Sub-regional
consultant for the Arabian Peninsula.
·
Dr. Mohamed Ali Shahbake, Sub-regional consultant for
West and Central Asia.
·
Formal contacts with the regional coordinator and
sub-regional consultants were accomplished in June 2001.
From then on work was initiated to identify stakeholders, to establish
the venue and date of the workshop, and to finalize the workshop program.
On 5 July the venue and date of the workshop were decided (Alexandria,
11-13 November 2001). An “aide
memoire” and a program for the workshop were prepared and sent to all
participants. However, on 19
October 2001 and due to the problems of 11 September and according to
instructions from FAO, the date of the workshop was postponed.
On 27 October 2001, AARINENA confirmed the new date/venue/host
(Agricultural Research Center, Cairo, 3-6 February 2002).
·
A total of 58 stakeholders from the different sectors
related to food production and handling in the regions (from 18 of the 19
countries to be studied) were contacted and invited. The stakeholders invited included 2 from Algeria, 3 from
Libya, one from Malta, 2 from Morocco, 7 from Tunisia, 12 from Egypt, 2 from
Sudan, 2 from Yemen, 3 from Palestine, 2 from Jordan, 2 from Syria, 4 from
Lebanon, 3 from Cyprus, 4 from Iran, 2 from Kuwait, one from Qatar, 3 from UAE
and 4 from Pakistan.
·
Finally, 16 stakeholders accepted to participate and to
prepare a report on the subject assigned to them according to their expertise.
According to this, a new “aide memoire” and new workshop program were
established again and sent to all participants on 10 January 2002.
·
The Agricultural Research Center (ARC) in Egypt served
as host for the workshop. Dr. Fawzi
Naiem Mahrous (President), Dr. Magdy Madkour (Vice President), Dr. Hesham Allam
(post-harvest expert), and several of the employees of the ARC made excellent
efforts toward the success of the workshop in Cairo.
·
It is important to note that this was the first formal
gathering of post-harvest experts from the WANA region, and indeed a very
positive step toward the development of the post-harvest sector in the region.
Participants were all hopeful for the development of further collaboration as an
outcome of this meeting.
This report describes the
outcome of an FAO-GFAR Workshop conducted in the West Asia North Africa (WANA)
region. The Workshop was organized and implemented by AARINENA.
A Regional co-ordinator, 5 sub-regional consultants, and 17 stakeholders
contributed to the preparation of background papers for the workshop.
The Workshop was convened in Cairo, Egypt on 4-6 February 2002. The Workshop Agenda and list of participants are included in
the Annexes 3 and 4.
The
inputs to the consultation were:
·
Sub-regional reports were prepared by experts for the
Maghreb, Nile Valley and Red Sea, Mashreq, Arabian Peninsula, and West and
Central Asia sub-regions. Only 3 of
these 5 reports were presented at the workshop, since 2 of the sub-regional
consultants were not able to attend.
·
Seventeen stakeholder papers were prepared by experts,
and 16 of these papers were presented at the workshop.
Background Presentations:
·
The stage was set with two presentations by Dr. Rosa
Rolle (FAO/AGSI). In her first
presentation, Dr. Rolle outlined the process that FAO and GFAR are undertaking
for the development of the GIPhT
initiative, while in her second presentation entitled Dimensions of the
Post-harvest Sector, she provided a succinct overview of the different and
diverse aspects of postharvest systems, and the various stakeholders who are
involved in the sector.
·
Dr. Ahmed Goueli, Agriculture economist, former
Minister of Trade and Supply (Egypt) and current Secretary General of the
Council of Arab Economic Unity, presented a lecture on the agriculture food
challenge for North Africa and the Middle East in the New Millenium.
·
Dr. Adel Kader, World recognized post-harvest expert
presented a lecture on the status of post-harvest R & D in the WANA region.
·
Sixteen stakeholder papers on subjects pertinent to the
development of post-harvest in the Region were then presented by Workshop
participants. These background
papers covered a diversity of topics such as food safety, nutrition, the status
of production and handling of crops, post-harvest infrastructure, research and
development, status of the private sector and marketing.
·
Working deliberations followed sub-regional
presentations and stakeholder papers. The
first working group exercise involved the grouping of participants on the basis
of sub-regions in order to conduct an analysis of Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) in each of the 5 sub-regions, and to come up
with strategies for post-harvest development in each region.
·
A card-writing exercise was then conducted in order to
identify thematic areas for discussion and deliberation.
Five major thematic areas were identified:
1.
Infrastructure
2.
Education/research/training
3.
Marketing
4.
Quality standards and policy legislation.
5.
Information and networking
This report briefly reviews the sub-regional reports,
highlighting key issues. The
conclusions of the different working groups are also presented here.
These conclusions highlighted:
·
An agreed goal and purpose for the post-harvest
initiative in the WANA region.
·
Sub-regional strategies to achieve the purpose and thus
contribute to the overall goal.
·
Priority thematic areas, with concrete activities that
can be undertaken by the GIPhT.
·
Sub-regional priorities for the post-harvest
initiative.
In addition to the main body of this report, the Annexes contain the full text of the 5 sub-regional reports, and the 17 stakeholder papers.
Synthesis
of major issues from the sub-regional reports
This summary will focus on the trends and priorities issues that were identified in each of the 5 sub-regional reports. It will not summarize the background information on the current status of each sub-region, which can be found in the Annex 1.
Trends
The five sub-regional reports concur in identifying a number of major trends that are affecting the development of the post-harvest sector in the WANA region. These are:
· Food security continues to be a major issue. Low agricultural production in most of the region, and high post-harvest losses in all the region, and thus the dependence on importation in several countries of the region (especially in the Maghreb and the Arab Peninsula sub-regions) is a major concern, and needs to be adequately addressed.
· Although, continued population growth and very rapid urbanization rates, with changing food habits provide opportunities for up-grading products and for development of more convenience-oriented food products, these demographic factors are of major concern in that they generate an increased demand for food, and increased concerns for food insecurity.
· Food safety is of great concern in the region. Although Quality Standards are developed in many countries, they are rarely practiced. Quality control systems (such as HAACP) are not commonly developed nor practiced in most countries of the region.
· Gender inequality and difficulties faced by women, especially in the rural areas are still posing economical and social problems in the region.
Priority
constraints
· Rare market oriented farming systems due to dominant small-size agriculture holdings, absence of functional farmer’s/exporters cooperatives or associations, and lack of important marketing firms.
· Scarce water resources, poor water quality, and water conflicts are major obstacles for food production.
· Lack of sufficient and adequate infrastructure in the post-harvest sector, inappropriate traditional post-harvest practices, reluctant of producers/distributors in adopting new and improved technologies. This is true in almost all of the countries of the region for research, training, and for commercial handling of food: storage facilities, transport, distribution, communication, etc.
· Poor marketing channels: poor marketing facilities, infrastructure, management, information technology and information sharing, etc.
· Inadequate maintenance of available infrastructure and facilities.
· Poor R & D in post-harvest in the region. Very poor investment in R&D, very poor research, education and training programs.
· Extension systems in post-harvest in the region are not efficient, or totally absent.
· Shortage of trained human resources in all levels of the post-harvest sector: research, education, training, extension, supervisors, technical personal, etc.
· Lack of knowledge among consumers and the public in general regarding the health benefits of consumption of fresh fruits and vegetables, and the potential health risks of the consumption of unclean products.
· Lack of marketing information; lack of marketing orientation in many of the sectors/stakeholders and poorly functioning, fragmented existing marketing systems.
· High costs of production and post-production inputs.
· Very poor and major difficulties in the access to information.
· Unclear, inadequate or inflexible government policies/legislation in support of the post-harvest sector in many countries of the region.
· Poor collaboration in the region at all levels: commercial, research, education, training.
· Managerial constraints, especially in public institutions and companies: poor organization and lack of coordination.
· Very scarce or lack of adequate sources of information on post-harvest, especially in local languages.
Priority
opportunities
· Vast bio-diversity, diverse climates in the region, diversity of products.
· Availability of labor.
· Geographical position, closeness to markets.
·
Priority for
action
Based on these constraints and opportunities highlighted in the sub-regional reports, a number of priorities for future action were identified:
· Increase availability of food by improving the production system and reducing the post-harvest losses.
· Create a more focused market-oriented production. Promote a change from the present supply-driven production to a market-oriented production. This will require certain adjustments in the current production-marketing system to ensure an effective and efficient marketing system. Incentives and assurance of the presence of marketing opportunities for selling the produce will help in convicting producers to adopt such a strategy.
· Improve produce safety and quality. Establishing and implementing safety procedures and quality standards. Intensive and constant/consistent educational programs for consumers related to the nutritional and health benefits of clean horticultural crops, and the possible health risks of contaminated products, are in desperate needs.
· Greater participation of, and collaboration with the private sector.
· Human resource development.
· Upgrading capability.
· Implementing coordinated research programs. Research and development on post-harvest should be promoted and give priority. Universities and research institutes should give priority to applied research programs. Research should cover aspects of direct concerns to producers, consumers and exporters.
· Promote post-harvest education and training, especially for producers, distributors, consumers, exporters, importers, etc.
· Adoption of new governmental policies and legislation for improving agriculture in general with emphasis on the post-harvest sector. Most of the present governmental policies and legislation hinder the development of the post-harvest sector, since most emphasis is placed on the production sector.
· Increase, promote and protect the participation of the public sector investment in food production, preservation and distribution.
· Create credit institutions to provide soft long-term loans for financing marketing infrastructure. The introduction of new production technologies and the establishment and/or the upgrading of present facilities to meet the demand of increasing sophisticated markets require large investment which are beyond the capabilities of most farmers, agribusiness enterprises and exporters. Credit institutions for financing such projects are needed.
· Formulating and implementing an effective export promotion strategy, such as improving the image of regional products in the export markets, developing specific campaigns for single products, imposing quality standards on exported foods, etc.
· Enhance regional cooperation.
· Developing efficient market structures locally and for export. Adequate market infrastructure, and better management and organizations of the local markets are in desperate need.
· Establishing an effective market information/intelligence service. An effective market information service is a key factor in improving the production and marketing decision of farmers, traders, exporters, and consumers. Such a service needs to be organized and managed in a way that ensures the provision of reliable and timely market information that responds to the specific needs of clients and assists them in taking their daily marketing decisions. The system should also be able to identify and address information gaps and respond to future information needs.
· Promote/facilitate access to information, and to communication among all actors of the post-harvest sector in the region: producers, distributors, importers, exporters, educators, researchers, extension specialists, etc, through traditional as well as new communication tools.
· Adequate sources of information in different forms (books, bulletins, leaflets, videos, slides, etc.), especially in local languages are in desperate need. These should cover specific aspects of the post-harvest sector and need to be directed to specific segments of the actors of the post-harvest sector.
· Special and urgent attention should be directed toward improving knowledge and skills for women in regard to nutrition, food preservation, simple food processing techniques, safety measures for handling/consumption of food, hygiene, etc. Promote the active involvement and participation of women in all the post-harvest sector activities (education, training, management, etc).
Synthesis of major issues from the stakeholder papers:
Stakeholder groups represented different sectors from MOA, research institutes, universities researchers and educators, extension centers, policy makers, private sector, food safety agencies and women in agriculture. The main points made in the stakeholder papers and presentations are summarized below. A more detailed summary is available in Annex x.
· Diversity of products.
· High levels of post-harvest losses.
· Poor quality, and poor handling of produce.
· Poor marketing systems, with poor integration, fragmented markets, and poor knowledge of markets.
· Increasing problem with environment degradation.
· Weak R & D.
Constraints
· Production of most crops in the region is low, their post-harvest handling is inadequate, and their post-harvest losses are high.
· Demographic growth. The region is characterized by a high population growth rate amounting 2.5% per annum, which is higher than the world rate (1.7%), and the industrial countries rate (0.7%). The high rate of population generates greater need and demand for food.
· Conflicts in the region. Conflicts in the region are creating major constraints on stability, investment, development and growth.
· Technology gap between the region and the industrial world is expanding. This is mainly due to reliance of the region on imported technology and low level of expenditure on R & D.
· Malnutrition, poverty and poor education level, especially for rural populations, although nutritional figures do not reflect the incidence of poverty.
· Aridity dominates most of the countries of the region.
· Scarcity of water constitutes the most formidable challenge to agriculture in most of the countries in the region.
· Food insecurity. The region is “food deficit” and “net food importer”.
· Contamination of horticultural crops by organic chemicals has become a pressing problem in many countries in the WANA region.
· Lack of food safety and quality regulations.
· Absence of national and/or regional pesticide registration system, and absence of national or regional programs on monitoring of contaminants in the market food.
· Lack of accredited laboratories, quality control, quality assurance and reliable analysis.
· Lack of knowledge of application of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP), Hazard Analytical Critical Control Points (HACCP), and Good Agricultural Practice (GAP).
· Lack of strong and efficient Food Control Laws and Consumer Protection Laws.
· Lack of understanding of the World Trade Organization agreements, i.e. Sanitary and phyto-sanitary Agreement (SPA), and Technical Barriers in Trade Agreement (TBT).
· Poor investment in facilities, R & D, etc.
· Lack of marketing orientation, lack of marketing assessments and use of cost/benefit analysis, lack of market information.
· Fragmented landholdings in some countries.
· Underestimation of the cost of the private sector related to implementation of post-harvest innovations. The private sector can and will adopt advanced post-harvest practices only if they understand the economic benefits and if they are properly and practically educated.
· Very little coordination between post-harvest researchers.
Opportunities
·
Increasing demand for higher quality produce both within the
region (for higher income and more urban consumers), and in export markets.
·
Many countries in the region are located at crossroads connecting
East and West, as well as Europe and Africa.
·
The climate conditions along with the most favorable growing
conditions in the different agro-ecological zones of some countries in the
region makes it ideal for producing a wide range of good quality horticultural
crops.
·
Availability (in countries outside of the region) of technology
packages for improved production and improved handling of food.
Priorities and
recommendations
· Production should be market oriented.
· Improve food safety and quality. Implement control measures to reduce pesticide use, and awareness programs to increase food safety for human consumption and a reduction of contamination. Reduce the use of pesticides to the minimum possible and increase the application of IPM programs, alternatives, and biopesticides.
· Greater support is needed for post-harvest R and D, including extension systems. Increase resources devoted to R & D.
·
Promote more investment in facilities: grading, packing, storage,
transport, marketing, training, research.
·
Training on HACCP and GMP for the different actors in the
post-harvest sector.
·
Initiate a regional monitoring program for contaminants in food. Establishing Regional Maximum Limits for the contaminants
in food.
·
Elaborate Risk Analysis (assessment, management, communication) on
food contaminant of interest in the region.
·
Establish consumer protection laws and encourage consumer
protection associations to participate actively in decisions related to food
safety.
·
Female employment is needed in agriculture and in the non-farm
activities, to contribute to the reduction of poverty and for food security.
·
Intra-regional cooperation and integration is needed to contribute
to development and economic stability in the region.
·
Free trade agreements with Europe, Pan- Arab and bilateral must be
continuously assessed to ensure benefits and harmonization with WTO regulations.
·
Countries of the region may consider buffer stocks especially for
cereals and wheat to face seasonal food shortage and emergencies.
·
Upgrading of trade infrastructure and expansion of food processing
and handling contribute to food security in the region.
·
Market information is a crucial service to allow farmers and
traders to make knowledgeable decision about what to grow, when to harvest, to
which market produce should be sent and whether or not to store it.
·
Adequate policies and legislation are needed for effective
functioning of marketing systems.
·
Marketing research need to be enhanced.
·
Solutions to many existing problems in the post-harvest handling
system require use of available information and implementation of appropriate
technologies.
· Establishing post-harvest working group in each country can be very useful in providing a forum for communication among all those concerned with post-harvest biology and technology research and extension. A link then is needed to be established among the various post-harvest working groups in the region to facilitate exchange of information on training and other areas of mutual interest.
Sub-regional
Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Analysis
As a strategic planning tool, a SWOT analysis was conducted at the sub-regional level by workshop participants. Five groups were constituted, corresponding to the areas in each of the sub-regional reports: Maghreb, Mashreq, Nile Valley and Red Sea, Arabian Peninsula, and West and Central Asia. Each working group was asked to identify the major strength and weakness of the post-harvest sector in each of the sub-region (internal factors), and external opportunities and threats that are bearing on each sub-region. This analysis is an aid to the identification of strategic priorities in later stages of the workshop. The development of the SWOT analysis by working groups allowed for additional inputs, and for a joint prioritization process, where the group were asked to prioritize the key 5 points for each component of the SWOT.
The Maghreb
Internal
strengths
· Proximity to markets. The countries of the sub-region have excellent geographical location, and proximity and easy access to important markets especially in Europe.
· Adequate land resources. Although there are shortage of water, desertification and drought, but there are sufficient land resources for production.
· Adequate labor. Good supply of trained labor in the Maghreb sub-region is available, and requires employment. Employment in the agricultural and post-harvest sector (rural areas) is needed to reduce poverty and immigration to urban centers and outside of the sub-region.
· Adequate communication. All the Maghreb countries are on the Mediterranean Sea, which allows for excellent and easy access. In addition, roads, especially around urban cities are of reasonably good conditions.
Internal
weaknesses
· Shortage of water supplies. Shortage of water supply, and droughts are a major obstacle for the food production the sub-region.
· Lack of political will. Although the Maghreb countries (in North Africa) had established more than one unity agreement (the last has been established since 1989), but series of obstacles are still facing adequate cooperation.
· Lack of R and D programs.
· Gender inequalities. Women in the sub-region still suffer from inequalities, especially in education and job opportunities. This is a major obstacle toward the development of the sub-region.
External
opportunities
· Shipping and air communication. Closeness to the European market and being on the Mediterranean Sea provides the countries of the Maghreb with excellent communication.
· Joint programs (EU). Most of the countries of the sub-region have established bilateral agreements with individual European countries or with the EU, which is promoting the cooperation in the region.
· Use of European languages. The common use of European languages in the sub-region facilitates communication and contacts with export markets.
External threats
· Globalization.
· Brain drain of experts. Many skilled and unskilled immigrants from the sub-region are in different parts of the world, especially in Europe, which leaves the sub-region with certain disadvantages in some developmental sectors.
· Health problems. Nutritional and health problems are still a problem, especially in rural areas, which are affecting negatively on the development of the sub-region.
· Dependence on imports (lack of food security). The sub-region is a “net importer”, especially of cereal grains, which puts a heavy burden on the economy and the development of the sub-region, and increases food insecurity.
The
Nile Valley and Red Sea
Internal
strengths
· Good geographical location in relation to other markets. The sub-region has excellent location in relation to important markets in Europe and the Gulf.
· Climate/labor force/land/water production knows how. The sub-region is blessed with excellent climate for agricultural production, plenty of good productive land, plenty of good quality water (especially along the Nile Valley), and sufficient labor force.
· Common cultural heritage. The countries of the sub-region have developed a historical common heritage and culture, which can be used very positively for development and cooperation.
Internal
weaknesses
· Lack of education, especially for women. The region still suffers from high percentage of illiteracy, especially in the rural areas, and especially among women. This problem is hindering the development of the whole sub-region.
· Management practices. Lack of info/communication.
· Lack of short-term and long-term problem-oriented strategies.
· Lack of market-oriented practice, information/management.
· Fragmentation of agricultural land.
External
opportunities
· Develop inter-regional market system.
· Exchange of information experience and technology.
· Building institutional links of research and collaboration.
· Enhance extension work.
· Participation in government organizations.
External threats
· Water resources and conflicts.
· Lack of sustainability in food production, losses and policies.
· Desertification.
The
Mashreq
Internal Strengths
· Geographical location. The sub-region has excellent location in regard to very important markets especially in Europe and the Gulf.
· Off-season production.
· Wide variety of produce.
· Low level of illiteracy.
· Technology transfer in progress.
Internal
weaknesses
· Extension and training R and D.
· Facilities for testing.
· Gluts and lack of outlets.
· Poor quality.
· Coordination and collaboration.
External
opportunities
· Relative low cost of production.
· Accessibility to EU and Gulf markets.
· High value crops.
· Regional and international agreements and conventions.
· Added value products.
External threats
· Water shortage, and conflicts. Water conflicts is a major concern in the sub-region.
·