In the countries of Europe and Central Asia, about half of the population lives in rural territories, with those people who produce the food we eat among them. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and addressing the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the impacts of the ongoing war...

To address the impacts of the war in Ukraine on the global agricultural sector, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new $17 million project to help Ukrainian farmers save the upcoming harvest in July-August while ensuring export of critical agricultural goods to international...

Life in rural areas has its beauties and hardships. Yet, Qyaram Khachatryan said he would never want to exchange his village life in northern Armenia for living in a city, even after he lost virtually everything in the devastating earthquake of 1988. Lost everything but his good spirit and hope,...

The first UN Food Systems Summit will have a long-lasting impact on a global scale, despite the other historic events of 2021. This echoes across Europe and Central Asia, giving an impulse to a side event at the Regional Forum on Sustainable Development on the role of sustainable food systems in building back better in Europe...

The war caught Larysa Zueva while she was working a shift at a psychiatric hospital in Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine. She spent more than a month with her grandson in the hospital's shelter with about 200 other people. Despite the attacks, her work at the hospital continued. When the gas...

Sustainable fisheries management starts with scientific research – and an enormous amount of it is taking place across the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, supported by the GFCM. Small-scale fishers have a central role to play in the monitoring and data collection activities that inform the work of fisheries scientists,...

FAO experts have been visiting farms across Montenegro this week, to collect up-to-date information and data to be fed into the Farm Accountancy Data Network (FADN) system. Established by the European Union in 1965, the Farm Accountancy Data Network allows farm managers to keep track on their transactions at farm level...

There is growing momentum behind a shift to ‘regenerative’ agriculture in the UK, which can help to mitigate the climate crisis, say leading experts in the sector. “More and more people are seeing other farmers doing it [regenerative farming] and are happier for it,” said John Cherry, who founded Groundswell, the UK’s...

CZU mobiLAB (developed at Czech University of Life Sciences Prague) represents a complex solution that enables the application of state-of-the-art molecular detection methods in remote or inaccessible areas. The principal advantage of the proposed solution is the concept of a mobile laboratory, which is unique in terms of its size...

The aim of this report is to analyse recent agricultural policy developments in the countries/territories of the Western Balkans (WBs) and Turkey and their state of harmonisation with the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) of the EU. The report provides both comparative cross-country analyses and a more detailed assessment in the...

This facilitator’s guide for sheep-related Farmer Field Schools (FFS) has been developed for the FAO project UTF/AZE/009/AZE, “Development and application of sustainable sheep production and food value chains”, in Azerbaijan. In Azerbaijan, small ruminant production plays an essential role in the livestock sector as it provides income for rural families...

Explore the diverse work done by the FiBL Group (FiBL Switzerland, FiBL Germany, FiBL Austria, FiBL France, the Hungarian ÖMKi and the Brussels based FiBL Europe) performs on both national and international level. Engage with FiBL experts, giving insights into their activities and latest developments on organic and sustainable production,...

We connect universities and research institutions! The platform aims to strengthen the capacities and cooperation of young teachers, researchers and masters and doctoral students at selected Ukrainian universities by creating a platform – AgriSciences Platform for sharing information on Agrarian Sciences.

The dossier explains the basics of organic farming and shows how they are applied in practice. The publication is a valuable source of information for farmers interested in conversion to organic farming. It also serves as a guide for the private sector, government representatives, non-governmental organisations and other interested parties...

This leaflet is one of the communication products developed by FAO and the Cabinet of the Deputy President of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia in charge of Economic Affairs, in its role as National Designated Authority (NDA) to Green Climate Fund (GCF) in the frames of the...

This event was by invitation only, applied through an open call for expression of interest. This interactive event was dedicated to networking and sharing existing experiences among projects addressing innovative solutions, farm systems and practices contributing to the optimisation of carbon balance in the European farming systems. The topic of the...

The city of Përmet is known as the city of flowers, wine, jams, and a compote called gliko. Local products such as these are important drivers of sustainable development and agrotourism, in how they enhance potential and opportunity for farming families. In this context, an FAO project on effective natural‑resource management has...

Since 1990th Azerbaijan which in the past supplied tomatoes to the whole Soviet Union has been flooded with a wave of imported tomato varieties. Never mind that the tomatoes didn’t have a refined taste, the main criteria were beautiful appearance and transportability, so prized in the market. But my family...

This report presents the results of IFAD’s stock-take on agroecology. It assesses to what degree IFAD is supporting agroecology throughout its in-country portfolio across the five IFAD regions to the benefit of small-scale producers and sustainable food systems. It also identifies gaps and opportunities for scaling up and scaling out...

The cross-country online meeting for the project “Research, innovation and technology transfer in the agri-food sector in the Western Balkan countries, Phase II” took place on 11 and 12 May. It gathered around 80 participants including representatives from research and education institution, relevant ministries’ representatives, advisory services, private sector from...