This Arab Human Development Research paper is prepared by the United Nations Development Programme to examine the state of the agriculture and food systems in the Arab region and identify the challenges facing them so as to map policy pathways for improving food security for the region’s people. These countries are among the most food insecure in the world, with scarce arable land and water, with many countries highly vulnerable to food import shocks. At the UN Food Systems Summit +2 Stocktaking Moment (UNFSS, 2023), the UN Secretary-General stressed that “global food systems are broken—and billions of people are paying the price.” It is in this context that this paper was developed to help elucidate the links between the economy, the environment and the productivity of the region’s agri-food systems (AFSs) in order to offer a detailed analysis of various factors that can contribute to enhancing these systems and thereby improve food security and human development in the Arab States. The paper identifies, models and prioritizes various policy interventions aimed at developing more sustainable and resilient agri-food systems.