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Background Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - IRAQ ˝Agriculture currently provides about 8 percent of Iraq’s GDP and 20 percent of employment, and supports a rural population of 7 million people. The sector has declined since the 1980s and is underperforming. Over the last fifteen years, agricultural production dropped by an average of 1.1 percent per year, and per capita agricultural production declined by about 3.9 percent per year. Productivity of the main cereal crops—wheat, barley, and rice—has fallen dramatically. Over half of the country’s total food requirement is imported. Under the sanctions regime, a Public Food Distribution System (PFDS), which provided food rations to all Iraqis, attempted to support food security at the household level, but fell short of ensuring adequate nutrition to most of the population.” United Nations/World Bank Joint Iraq Needs Assessment, October 2003
FAO’s emergency role in Iraq FAO is the UN sector team leader for agriculture, food security, environment and natural resource management. Operating from its relocated country office in Amman, FAO works in partnership with other UN agencies to provide support to the Iraq government, setting up activities with researchers, universities, extensionists and farmers. To date FAO emergency activities in Iraq have received USD 95 million in funding from the multi-donor Iraq Trust Fund (ITF).
The focus areas of FAO’s work are:
From Emergency
To
Development: Medium-Term Strategy For FAO Assistance To Iraq
The report, "From
Emergency to Development - Medium Term Strategy for FAO Assistance,"
was prepared by the FAO
Iraqi
Marshlands Initiative: FAO/MOSM Joint Programming Strategy
The medium
term
Joint Programming Strategy
between Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations in Iraq
The workshop was attended by Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary General (Humanitarian, Reconstruction and Development) for Iraq – Mr. David Shearer and high level participation from the Iraqi Ministry of State for the Marshlands Affairs (headed by HE the Minister), Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture, Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources, University of Basra, Donors community (including EC, Norway, Italy and JICA), the Canadian Iraqi Marshlands Initiative, FAO HQ, FAO-Iraq team and other UN agencies.
Additional Information:
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This site was launched on 22/08/2008 Copyrights Reserved 2008: Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO Iraq) |
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Iraq team in early 2008 in intensive
consultation with Iraqi Government officials. Its purpose was to
take stock of ongoing policy, economic and social developments,
review the emergency work done so far by FAO to help in the
rehabilitation of the agricultural sector of Iraq and design a
flexible medium term strategy for FAO assistance to the sector in
the transition from emergency to development. The report was
endorsed at a Validation Workshop held in Amman in April 2008 with
the participation of Iraqi authorities, UN and FAO representatives.
Iraq in partnership with the international community has recognized
the importance of agriculture for the substantive role it plays in
the overall economic and social development of the country. The
(FAO-Iraq) and the
Ministry of State for the Marshlands Affairs (MOSM) was
discussed and endorsed during the Validations Workshop that was
held in Amman over 11 and 12 March 2009. The Joint Programming
is the result of all the discussions that took place over a
number of meetings and communications between the technical
staff from both FAO-Iraq and MOSM. It expresses the agreement to
join efforts to assist the Iraqi Marshlands people and support
the agriculture production and post production activities in the
area; mainly in the sectors of Fisheries, Horticulture,
Livestock, agro-industries, GIS Applications and Food Safety. 