Geographical indications (GIs) refer to products with specific characteristics, qualities or reputations resulting from their geographical origin. This differentiates products based on unique local features, history or distinctive characteristics linked to natural and human factors, such as soil, climate, local know-how, and traditions. GIs are recognized as intellectual property rights...

Aida Baimakova is only 27 years old, but already a year has passed since the Slow Food congress elected her international councilor for Belarus, the Caucasus, Central Asia, Russian Federation, and Ukraine. On the eve of Slow Food’s annual “Terra Madre” event in Torino, Italy, FAO communication specialist Olga Grebennikova...

Ideas that might have sounded naïve or unrealistic just a few years ago are now firmly planted in the public conversation about food and agriculture. How to make the best use of digital technologies? How to eliminate food waste and loss? How to ensure that agriculture works together with nature? What...

When the announcement was made that FAO regional offices around the world would each receive an additional US$ 1 million to advance food and agriculture priorities, the technical team in Budapest wasted no time in putting forward proposals for Europe and Central Asia.

Smallholders and family farms are strongholds of food production, food security, and rural development. Without innovation, their important services cannot be secured for the long term. Representatives of governments, academia, civil society, and private sector and international organizations from Europe and Central Asia are meeting for four days in Hungary to...

Agribusiness representatives and agricultural trade experts from post-Soviet countries gather here this week for three days dedicated to agrifood trade. First up is the FAO-organized regional workshop on World Trade Organization (WTO) instruments, where they’ll learn about a variety of instruments to protect their interests in trade and to promote their...

While wheat is the most consumed crop in Ukraine, domestic demand is slowly decreasing. Ukrainians consumed on average about 101 kg of wheat in the form of bread, flour, pasta, groats and other processed grain products in 2016, which is 18 percent less than ten years ago. With increased grain production, the...

Global study elaborated by the WCC (World Coordinating Committee) of the IYFF+10 and coordinated by the WRF that analyzes and highlights the common and global challenges faced by rural youth from all 5 continents.

This course will critically review a broad spectrum of water-energy nexus issues, including technical and management solutions, tools to support decision-making, sustainability assessment methodologies and pathways for improved policy and governance. By the end of the course participants will: – Gain deep insights into the complex challenges surrounding the water-energy...

This course will provide knowledge on the processes underlying GHG emissions and soil C sinks, measuring methodologies and modelling tools in cropping systems. Methods for national GHG inventories and mitigation options analysis, including socio-economic assessment, will be presented. Practical work based on real case studies in Mediterranean conditions will also...

Six out of ten international migrants reside in Asia and Europe, and a large share of them are from rural areas. Often, when these migrants settle into urban areas and find work, they send money back home to the families they’ve left behind. The connections among migration, agriculture and the situation...

Il suolo è la base della produzione agricola. In questo video, Sandie Masso di Agridea vi presenta cinque strumenti di diagnostica del suolo che sono sia semplici sia rapidi per l'agricoltore: - metodo della mutanda - slake test - metodo del té verde e roiboos - test della vanga -...

Fisheries experts convene today in Sofia, Bulgaria – to take stock of progress towards sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in the Black Sea and propose actions to maintain the momentum. All Black Sea countries signed the landmark Bucharest Declaration in 2016, with the goal of a sustainable future for fisheries and aquaculture in the...

As one short-term FAO intervention on food safety ends in Belarus, another will soon begin. This is what governmental representatives agreed upon this week in Minsk during five days of talks to conclude the previous project and set priorities for future work. FAO has been working in Belarus to understand the...

Managing natural resources sustainably while also coping with climate change is the focus of a new FAO initiative for food and agriculture in Europe and Central Asia. The initiative was endorsed by FAO’s regional governing body when it convened last month in Voronezh, Russian Federation. The FAO Regional Conference for Europe...

Red pepper is the most important type of produce for the Macedonian food industry, with some 70 000 tonnes processed every year. Ajvar is usually prepared in late summer and early autumn. It is a regular element of the winter menu because the ingredients are available in abundance, and it...

Representatives of three major organizations gathered in Kyiv recently to tackle issues of food safety and sanitary service in Ukraine. Hosted by Volodymyr Lapa, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the meeting was attended by Marta Everard, head of the World Health Organization...

The Soviet Union collapsed nearly 30 years ago, but its effects linger in the fragmented farm structures and market channels that plague food value chains throughout Europe and Central Asia. A series of FAO publications is dedicated to improving this issue by revealing a path forward to a system that is...

In the past 50 years, the population of the Central Asia region has tripled. With the need to feed a larger number of people amid increasingly limited water resources and highly vulnerable climatic conditions, the region faces serious food security challenges. A newly launched regional project from FAO and the Global...

The Value Chain Gap Analysis Report on Azerbaijan is meant to fill the “gap” in professional literature via providing a snapshot on how the government, the private sector and donor organizations work on creating an enabling environment to support value chain (VC) development. The report won’t answer any particular questions...