FOREWORD

This workshop has been an excellent example of growing cooperation between the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, who are faced with the absolutely unique challenge of transforming their economies from centrally planned to market oriented ones. This process by itself is not an easy one, but is even more complex due to the additional task of accession to the European Union. With closer integration into Western Europe where the environment, food quality and animal welfare are already prominent in the agenda of public concerns and are more and more included into agriculture and rural policies, the countries of Central and Eastern Europe will have to pay far greater attention to these matters.

One fundamental issue very much related to the present changes taking place in Central and Eastern Europe, but also important in the global context, is the sustainability of agriculture. Many countries in Central and Eastern Europe are producing, or have the potential to produce, a surplus of some agricultural products which require sound long-term policies and strategies. Those policies and strategies have to be founded firstly on a reliable knowledge of intensive but sustainable production systems and secondly, on human capacity and on institutions needed to develop sustainable agricultural sectors of national economies. Therefore, sustainable agricultural development remains a cornerstone of food security in a given region and has been recognized as one of the priorities of FAO assistance in the Subregion.

One of the ways to assist in the area of sustainable agricultural development and building on past FAO initiatives, is to support the networks on sustainable agricultural development and sustainable intensification. I hope that the Central and Eastern Sustainable Agriculture Network will facilitate collaboration and help in both the collection of and the use of, knowledge concerning the compatibility of transition strategies and the idea of sustainable agricultural development in the participating countries.

This workshop was an example of excellent co-operation initiated by Mr Stjepan Tanic, Farming Systems Development Officer, during the mandate of my predecessor, Mr Zbigniew S. Karnicki, between the most prestigious agricultural research institutes from the region and the FAO, in particular the Subregional Office in Budapest. This is not only a good sign and a serious commitment, but also implies a responsibility to find ways in providing knowledge which could be transformed into strategies and policies leading to sustainable agriculture in the Subregion.