Programme priorities for Near East and North Africa Mona Bishay Director of Near East and North Africa Division, PMD April th Replenishment

Two sub-regions: NENA and CEN NENA Region Population: 360 million 14 IFAD eligible borrowing member countries CEN Region Population: 30 million 7 IFAD eligible borrowing member countries 16 middle-income countries (MICs) 5 low-income countries Current IFAD operations in the two sub-regions 43 ongoing IFAD programmes Total on-going IFAD investment: USD 630 million Number of beneficiaries: 12 million 80% of IFAD lending is in NENA

Overview of the NENA region High economic growth (5%) Social indicators improved but did not catch up Overall poverty declined but not rural poverty -Decline in poverty rate from to 31% to 25% (10 years) -60% of the poor live in rural areas -54 million poor rural people -Mostly in rainfed and mountain areas -Smallholders, herders, landless, women and youth High agriculture potential in some countries and skilled labour force

Overview of the NENA region MAJOR CHALLENGES -The driest region in the world (80% of arable land in low rainfalls areas) -Desertification and land degradation -Low rainfed productivity (wheat yields 50% of world average) -High population growth (2.3%) -Region is a net importer of food crops and inputs -High rates of rural youth unemployment Vulnerability to climate change Vulnerability to recent price increases

Achievements of MDGs in NENA Group I: countries with good progress, in line with MDG targets: Egypt, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey Group II: some progress, but below MDG targets: Algeria, Jordan and Lebanon Group III: very little progress: Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iraq and West Bank and Gaza (LDCs) The poorest countries are those with the least achievements All countries have been affected by increasing food prices in 07-08

Thematic priorities in the NENA region Managing land and water resources more effectively -community-based natural resource management -adaptation to climate change: conservation measures and targeted services Increasing small farmers ability to respond to higher agricultural prices -better access to agricultural technology (with CGIAR/NARS) -increased investments in rural infrastructure -linking small growers to commodity supply chains Expanding rural financial services for the poor (women) Moving beyond the farm: addressing rural youth unemployment particularly among women (off-farm SMEs)

Thematic priorities in the CEN region Overview -Declining poverty rates in the last decade -Wide rural-urban divide -Some countries have become EU members and others will join soon Focus of IFAD interventions -Supporting delivery of rural financial services and small and medium enterprises -Linking farmers to markets -Supporting private sector development

Expected results of a higher work programme USD 250 million to 400 million in Stronger focus on increased agricultural productivity and adaptation measures -Stronger support to Group III countries in NENA -Strengthen partnerships with Arab IFIs and private sector -Focus on knowledge management and scaling up innovations -Improved sustainability of the programmes through direct supervision/better implementation support -Achieving larger outreach to the poor: 7 million (15% of the rural poor) estimated beneficiaries -Deeper impact on household food/nutritional security