Improving Food Security in Maghreb Countries

Download Improving Food Security in the Middle East and North Africa (PDF) Related Stories Food Security in the Middle East & North Africa Food Crisis in the Middle East and North Africa Websites World Bank's Food Crisis Website World Bank's Financial Crisis Website

Context
In 2007 and the first half of 2008, a sharp rise in agricultural commodity and food prices triggered concerns about food security, malnutrition and increased poverty throughout the world.
 
Arab countries need to act urgently to improve food security as they import at least 50 percent of the food calories they consume.

The study suggests three pillars to help offset future vulnerability to price shocks:

• Strengthen safety nets, provide people with better access to family planning services, and promote education.
  
• Enhance the food supply provided by domestic agriculture and improve rural livelihoods by addressing lagging productivity growth through increased investment in research and development.
  
• Reduce exposure to market volatility by improving supply chain efficiency and by more effectively using financial instruments to hedge risk.

Some Facts & Data on Maghreb Countries

Examples of Measures to respond to the recent price shock. Arab governments are responding to the recent price shock with a combination of trade policies, wage increases, and safety-net programs that will be difficult to scale back.

Morocco recently reduced wheat tariffs substantially and provided subsidies to wheat importers. It also maintained price controls on wheat, flour, and bread and reduced taxes on food grains.

Tunisia reduced taxes on wheat and is keeping price controls on strategic staples.

A rising population also adds to the growing need for food imports. Arab countries have among the highest population growth rates in the world. The combined population of Arab countries was 73 million in 1950 and, at 333 million, is over four times greater today. It will nearly double again by 2050, increasing to approximately 600 million.

A growing young population requires access to sufficient resources to maximize its contribution to society. However, a rising population also adds to the growing need for food imports.

Demographic trends and widespread access to family planning are already having significant impacts on reducing population growth rates in several Arab countries such as Tunisia, Lebanon, Morocco, Algeria and Egypt.

Water scarcity and Rain-fed agriculture. Increased water use, coupled with growing populations, has made water increasingly scarce in Arab countries. From 1950 to the present, per-capita renewable water resources have fallen by approximately 75 %. They are expected to decrease by an additional 40 % from present levels by 2050. This downward trend will probably be accelerated by climate change.

Countries need to take different approaches to address water scarcity depending on their access to irrigation. In the Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, and Tunisia) the proportion of irrigated land ranges from 7 to 18 % of total cropland.

Despite predominately dry climates, many Arab countries depend mainly on rain-fed agriculture. In Algeria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen, rain-fed agriculture is practiced on more than half of all arable land.

Climate change models indicate that average yearly rainfall could decrease by 10 percent in the next 50 years. Droughts and heat waves will become more frequent as weather cycles speed up. As a result, rain-fed yields will fluctuate increasingly over time, and average yields will begin to trend downward, decreasing by 20 % in Arab countries overall and by almost 40 % in Algeria and Morocco.