Almost one-third of people in Europe and Central Asia live in rural areas, and in many countries, farm structures are dominated by small family farms cultivating less than 5 ha each. Their resilience and strength are crucial not only for rural development, but also for providing nutritious produce from sustainable sources for the entire region.

As pointed out today during an event at the Thirty-second Session of the Regional Conference for Europe titled “Solutions for youth, employment and developing rural areas in relation to the United Nation’s Decade of Family Farming,” family farms face multiple challenges, including limited access to finance and modern technologies, low input quality and limited labour skills.

Although agriculture remains an essential building block of many economies in the region, people living in rural areas – especially women, youth and other disadvantaged groups – often face limited livelihood opportunities and lowered living and working conditions.