Project summary
Egypt, Jordan Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, and the West Bank and Gaza are broadening their supply base as part of a strategy for greater stability for imported food security crops like grain.
CONTEXT
Grains are a staple and a key source of nutrition in most of the southern and eastern Mediterranean (SEMED) region, countries that rely heavily on imports for their supply. When that supply is interrupted, for example, because of the war in Ukraine, it threatens the food security of vulnerable populations – Russia is the world’s largest exporter of grains and Ukraine is the fifth largest, and they are also major suppliers of oilseed, vegetable oil and cereals like barley.
This EBRD and FAO project is supporting Egypt, Lebanon, Morocco, Tunisia, West Bank and Gaza to diversify their suppliers. This is not a straightforward task. Import diversification requires careful technical work and preparation to mitigate risks such as pest-risk analysis, food safety control, and other sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
This project is part of a broader EBRD and FAO initiative to build resilience and reduce food security risks in response to vulnerabilities exposed in several member countries during the war in Ukraine which is having an enormous impact on global food security in the SEMED region.
Other project activities focus on filling food security gaps and increasing resilience in production systems.
Activities
Diversify import sources for main staples with a focus on grain and oilseeds including analysis of health and quality control authorities, relevant sanitary and phytosanitary measures and the identification of risks from pests, food safety and communication between public and private sectors.
Improve import efficiency through enhanced public tender terms, modern storage, and transportation infrastructures, in collaboration with selected public entities and private players involved in imports of food staples.
Explore options for improved price risk mitigation with both public and private trading entities.
