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Water is part of every step in the food value chain, from food production to processing and consumption. A dependency that is hampering food security in a water scarce region such as the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Water is part of every step in the food value chain, from food production to processing and consumption. This dependency is hampering food security in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Comprising 11 of the 17 most water-stressed countries in the world, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is considered the most water-scarce region in the world, according to UNICEF.

Recycling water could supplement, or substitute water needs in sectors suffering from water shortage, reduce groundwater pumping and alleviate the use of freshwater in the agricultural sector, researchers of the "Water reuse in Middle East and North Africa: A sourcebook” have reported.

Only 4% of Egypt’s arid landscape is cultivable. Irrigating this land mass requires a disproportionate 86% consumption of the country’s total available fresh water (FAO, 2016). Irrigation efficiency in the country’s water resources management was necessitated by the introduction of cotton by the colonial British administration, which was a turning point in the country’s agrarian political economy.

The ReWater MENA project has been working since 2018 on expanding the safe reuse of water in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), with a focus on Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon. After four years of many learnings, dialogues, collaborations and knowledge production about water reuse in the region, the closing workshop will be the occasion to synthesize the key learnings and practical outputs of the project.

Water scarcity and pollution are major threats for human development in the Middle East, and Lebanon is no exception. Wastewater treatment and its reuse in agriculture can contribute to addressing the increasing water crisis in the region. But, what is the actual potential of water reuse as a solution for agriculture in Lebanon?