Part of FAO’s regional project, “Collaborative Platform on water productivity of the regional initiative on water scarcity for the Near East and North Africa,”, this conference will allow researchers, innovators and policy makers to discuss the status of water productivity in the NENA region, the challenges facing the agricultural sector and the available solutions. The conference is also supported by the FAO regional project “implementing the 2030 agenda on water efficiency, productivity and sustainability in the NENA countries” funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

This conference will allow experts to debate how improvements in Water Productivity (WP) can reinforce agricultural sustainability, promote economic development, maintain social stability and protect the environment in rural areas and cities.

The conference is open to scientists, farmers/practitioners, NGOs, civil society and farmers’ associations. It will therefore cater only for a limited number of participants. Registration is now open and till November 10^th 2019 through the online registration form .

Photo contest

The organizers have also launched a thematic photo contest around the issues and challenges related to irrigation water. Amateur as well as professional photographers from the countries of the NENA region are invited to participate and send in their best photos. Interested photographers can participate and upload their submission here by November 15^th 2019.

Youth Participation

The conference will also be an opportunity to showcase innovative software solutions developed by young university students in Tunisia. The student software developers took part in a “Hackathon” launched on October 1^st 2019 at the Technopark of Manouba University during a seminar on “Smart Irrigation”. That event was attended by researchers, professionals, students and technology start-ups. Eight student groups -around 40 students- from various universities are competing in the Hackathon and have the opportunity to develop their ideas at the co-working space Al-Gazala Incubator Park of the Technopark. The results of their efforts will be evaluated by a special jury, including FAO experts, who will announce the winners during the conference.

This conference and associated projects are part of the Regional Initiative on Water Scarcity launched by FAO in 2013 to support the countries of the NENA region to address two of their most urgent challenges: food security and water security for sustainable economic and social development in a context of water scarcity.