The Future of Food Security in Arab Countries (The Dialectic of Self-Sufficiency and Dependency)

Abstract

This study examines the future of food security in Arab countries from a forward-looking perspective. Through its three chapters, it presents future scenarios that review scenarios of the status quo, failure, and success in achieving food security for Arab countries. The study concludes that Arab countries are making tangible efforts to achieve food security, reflected in its development indicators. However, these efforts remain insufficient and do not match the magnitude of the challenges posed. The performance of Arab countries in some indicators remains weak, with regard to sustainability, research and development, technological progress, and agricultural infrastructure. Achieving food security poses a major challenge that cannot be left to internal and external political, economic, and social variables. Therefore, the problem of achieving a secure and sustainable future for food requires sustainable and rational solutions, effective policies, and the utilization of human energies and natural resources, which Arab countries possess, in cooperation with the private sector, and the strengthening of inter-economic partnerships in the field of food production, to achieve the highest levels of food sufficiency.