Arab country members of the Food-Security Improvement Program (FSIP) are called upon to increase by 20% their grain production to ensure food self-sufficiency, said Mr. Mohamed Solh, Managing-Director of the International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas.
FSIP in the Arab countries, a project kicked off in 2009 by Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Syria and Sudan, aims to develop grain growing in these countries and spare the exhaustion of their financial resources in cereal importation.
This program, co-financed by the Islamic Development Bank, started in 2010.
The second meeting held, on Saturday in Tunis, by the coordinator of the program, in the absence of donors, provided the opportunity to review the results of the 2010/2011 farming season in FSIP member countries and the exchange of experiences and ideas.
The Arab region is the first cereal importer (65 million tons in 2010), reminded Mr. Solh, calling on these countries’ governments, their decision-makers and the fund providers to energize this program and extend it to more countries.
