In MENA, household food insecurity, which is closely related to
poverty and undernourishment, is most severe in rural areas and
concentrated within Iraq, Sudan, and Yemen. 25% of the MENA
population may be poor and 7% undernourished. The key to
increased national and household-level food security is pro-poor
growth, driven by export-oriented, labor-intensive sectors.
Agricultural sector policies should be subordinate to the pro-
poor growth goal and not to the goal of food self-sufficiency.
Such a strategy requires conflict resolution; macroeconomic
stability; physical and human capital accumulation; reliance on
markets and the private sector, and diffusion of ecologically
friendly farming practices. International Food Policy Research
Institute (IFPRI)