Upon the request by the 8^th Ministerial Conference on Food Security and Agricultural Development (MCFSAD), SESRIC and the Islamic Organization for Food Security (IOFS) jointly prepared an analytical study to identify complementarities among the OIC Member States in the domains of agricultural resources, food production and trade. The report, titled “Agricultural Production and Trade: Complementarities among OIC Member Countries”, was presented during the 9^th MCFSAD, held in Doha, Qatar during 1-2 October 2023. The research study is also in line with the OIC Programme of Action 2025’s prioritizing agricultural productivity as a key development objective for member countries and aiming to enhance economic growth, reduce poverty, and improve the well-being of their populations.

The significance of agriculture is recognized as playing a vital role in economy, and also being instrumental in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, particularly Goal 2 on ending hunger by 2030. In this connection, the report examines the potential for increasing food security and decreasing reliance on imports through optimising the use of available agricultural resources, increasing food production, and strengthening the agro-food industries. Furthermore, it explores the potential for intra-OIC trade in agro-food products as a catalyst for economic growth and development.

The report also emphasizes the tremendous potential for development within the agro-food industry, which has significantly contributed to global economic growth, particularly in developing countries. It also sheds light on the comparative advantages and potential complementarities in agricultural production and trade among OIC countries.

The report concludes that there is considerable potential for OIC member countries for collaboration and leverage their efforts to enhance food security and economic development. To this end, it presents thirteen potential areas of cooperation among member countries, which fall under four cross-cutting themes: finance, research and extension services, governance, and rural development and resource quality improvements.

Online Electronic Version

• Agricultural Production and Trade: Complementarities among OIC Member Countries (English) (Arabic) (French)