gribusiness is a profitable sector in the Russian Federation, which is rapidly gaining in popularity. Attracting generous state support in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, grants and land allocation, this is an area that is destined to grow, with strong potential for the country’s economy, as well as for...

From baking sweets to raising chickens, the members of Arzu Women’s Group in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan have found a variety of ways to improve their income while gaining new knowledge in farming, innovative technologies and business planning.  The group, formed in Sumagalli village under the Agro Action of Azerbaijani Women Project with income generated by the women...

The region of Europe and Central Asia is an economic and agricultural powerhouse that boasts diverse cultures, agri-food systems and climatic zones, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today. This diversity, he added, provides opportunities to share experience and good practices within the region and beyond, but to tap this potential...

The two main dock species broad-leaved dock (Rumex obtusifolius) and curly dock (Rumex crispus L.) are a problem for many organic farms in most areas. Although docks are not specifically an ‘organic’ problem, management on organic farms without recourse to herbicides can be particularly challenging. To date, there is no...

With the aim to ensure inclusive economic growth by supporting the most vulnerable families in rural areas of Tajikistan, the signing ceremony of the matching grant agreements and cash distribution takes place these days in Tajikistan’s western Yovon district. The initiative was supported by FAO and the local authority of...

Two half-days of intense discussions started yesterday aiming to present and receive feedback on the draft Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' Empowerment in the context of food security and nutrition. More than 20 countries of Europe and Central Asia joined the virtual regional consultation, organized by...

Aided by FAO, multiple events took place in recent weeks in Albania to help the country fight climate change and its consequences. In the past decades, the country has been facing floods and droughts and further weather extremes, as well as invasive marine species. To address these issues, FAO, in cooperation...

Post-harvest food loss is a leading cause of food insecurity for millions of people across the world. In 2019, 690 million suffered from hunger and the situation has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, everyone involved, including farmers, handlers, traders, and governments, are part of the solution to prevent...

The countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe are taking bold action with the commitment to restore more than 4 million ha of land by 2030 under the Global Bonn Challenge. This was announced today at the Ministerial meeting organized by UNECE and FAO as part of the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Today,...

Olga Babayeva, a 52-year-old farmer from Samukh region, in northwestern Azerbaijan, is a well-recognized businesswoman in her community. Apart from being the biggest producer of vegetable seeds for onions, coriander, dill, radishes, and parsley, among others, she is also known for her strong support of women’s engagement in farming.  She was...

One of our food system's main challenges is the inadequate relationship between the cost of production and production factors as a whole. Therefore, food production and distribution systems are often at a disadvantage to local producers. New research reveals the benefits for farmers and growers, local suppliers, citizens, and the environment...

According to experts, overuse of pastures, as well as undergrazing, have a negative impact on the environment. If placed evenly throughout the pasture area, drinking wells for livestock can mitigate these negative consequences. However, many wells in desert and semi-desert pastures have become unusable over time, and their restoration is a...

FAO has finished delivering a series of trainings at various locations in Kosovo1 on detecting and preventing African swine fever (ASF) in pig farms.  The disease was first detected in 2019 in Serbia, with its first incursion into the Western Balkans. As the disease is still present in the country, the risk...

With the main aim to improve the animal health and production practices of smallholders and reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance, FAO published an animal health and production strategy for Europe and Central Asia. Available in English and Russian, A wake-up call for impact urges both the private and public sectors to...

In late 2015, the world pledged to transform our future by committing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which foresees reforms providing women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, in accordance with national laws. This gave further...

This video shows how to manage pastures so that the cows have good grass throughout the growing season. The farm is set up for fully grazing a herd of Kiwi-Cross with seasonal calving.

For a long and healthy life, we all need good quality air, food and water. Unlike air and water, to be available and consumable, food needs to be produced, processed, and often transported and traded – a chain of actions that constitute the ‘food system’. We stand ready to transform...

On the International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste, FAO, Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and the Regional Coordination Centre for Food Security of the Economic Cooperation Organization held a conference to reflect on existing challenges pertaining to food loss and waste in Azerbaijan, Central Asia, and Turkey...

Natural resource management requires cross-sectoral policy integration because the scope of current environmental and sustainability issues surpasses traditional sectoral boundaries. While the emergence of policy networks in such cases has been observed in the policy integration literature, little is known about how these networks are formed and how they influence...

This country study is an important output of the regional FAO project on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms. This report aims to analyse the development trend and current state of smallholders and family farms in the country and to study the current political priorities and policies affecting smallholders and family...