Seventy percent of food worldwide is produced by smallholders, including family farms and private households. Connecting those small producers to processing facilities and markets can be a challenge but it is possible, as an international conference in Astana last week made clear. In Kazakhstan, the country’s 1.6 million private households and...

Tajikistan’s roughly 3.8 million hectares of pasture – almost 29 percent of its total land area – feed the country’s meat-producing livestock. But these natural resources, particularly year-round pastures near villages, are being depleted and degraded. Since 2013, FAO and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) have been working with...

Following the first workshop on this topic in December 2016, FAO is convening a broader circle of countries to discuss agriculture’s place in the 2030 Agenda on sustainable development. The overall objective of the event is to help member countries nationalize the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to raise awareness amongst...

The burning Autumn sun is rolling on the cretes of Anatolia. On the arid outskirts of the village of Tahtacıörencik, the hens of the Kır Çocukları eco-project are witnessing curious activities. A group of about 40 visitors, including 12 foreigners, is invading the poultry breeding farm.  Perched on the fence,...

Rural development has an important role to play in the sustainable development of Georgia. Evidence from the experience of European Rural Development Programmes confirms the role that rural development can play in terms of increasing the welfare of rural populations and reducing the economic imbalance between rural and urban areas....

Currants, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries. Eye-catching and delicious, these and other berries could be a key to greater prosperity for rural areas of Moldova. “Berries of Moldova” – a national conference taking place in Chisinau tomorrow – is organized with technical support from FAO. The event will bring together donors, international experts,...

The forest sector has a great potential to generate jobs and income, support livelihoods and contribute to rural development by suppling goods and maintaining forest ecosystem services. The forest sector is expected to play an important role in the emerging green economy in the pan-European region. The transition to a...

Kazakhstan continued its pursuit of organic agriculture production, certification and marketing this week as it welcomed a group of FAO experts to Astana. FAO investment support officer Kairat Nazhmidenov, senior natural resources officer and key FAO expert in organic Nadia Scialabba, and organic legislation expert and legal consultant Raushan Zhazykbayeva were...

With consumer demand for organic foods on the rise, FAO is working with Central Asian countries to develop their capacities for organic agriculture. A three-day international conference on the topic opens here today, with leading experts and other players taking part. Organized by Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources in...

Viticulture, the science of growing grapes, dates back as far as 8 000 years in Armenia. The country has a favourable setting for grape production and it is a lucrative business even today. But not paying enough attention to preserving genetic resources and maintaining healthy vines could jeopardize future good prospects...

The Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of the Republic of Uzbekistan in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (UN FAO) is organizing an International Conference on development of organic agriculture in Central Asia during 22-24 August 2017. The theoretical sessions of the Conference will be...

The Kick-off Meeting of the Regional Expert Advisory Working Group (Agro-Biodiversity in the SEE countries was held in the period 13th -14th, July 2017 in Skopje, Macedonia. The kick-off meeting served as a preparatory meeting for setting up the structure and technical framework of the Regional Expert Advisory Group on Agro-Biodiversity...

Raising awareness, understanding and interest in land consolidation is the objective of a nationwide campaign being conducted here by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Economy. Since the start of November, three public awareness workshops on land consolidation have been held, in the cities of Gostivar, Bitola and...

Four agricultural service cooperatives in the conflict-affected Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine today are receiving agricultural equipment for land cultivation – to improve production of cereal, forage, and oil-bearing crops. The distribution is the latest stage in FAO’s project to support farming cooperation in eastern Ukraine. A chronic lack of...

We are glad to echo a news that highlights the strength that Family Farming is acquiring in Eastern Europe, and is that Macedonia has officially formed its NCFF and one of its first steps has been the elaboration of a study of characterization of Family Farming (In Macedonian) in the...

Mobile phones, satellites, radio, remote sensing, internet connection, Big Data – a non-exhaustive list tools that have revolutionized our lives in many ways. They could have the same effect on agriculture and food production. This is the rationale behind an FAO-organized regional e-agriculture forum that starts here today, targeting the countries...

Ministers of Agriculture and Food from South Eastern Europe (SEE), Heads of Delegations and representatives of the national bodies in charge of animal health, gathered on 25th of January 2017 in Podgorica at the extraordinary ad-hoc meeting organized under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development...

For centuries, rural people in Azerbaijan have produced honey. The country's mountainous regions allow for the production of high-quality, natural, mountain flora honey that has a high market value. Native Caucasian bees -- naturally resilient to the environment and to parasites -- make it possible to achieve good productivity rates. Today...

On the 6th September 2016, DG AGRI presented the Cork Declaration “A better life in rural areas”. The discussions organised with the stakeholders during this 2-day conference fed the final declaration in a bottom-up approach. For the moment, no real Action Plan for the implementation of the Cork Declaration has been...

Wheat is the world‟s most widely cultivated cereal. By 2050, global demand for wheat is projected to increase by 60%. In the CWANA region which ICARDA is tasked to serve, wheat is the basic staple and food security crop, contributing over 60% of people‟s daily calorific and protein needs. Due...