At least nine countries in the region stand united on the need to restore limited soil resources and stop alarming soil degradation trends. The “Izmir Communique’” and a related draft five-year implementation plan for the Eurasia region were adopted at the Second Plenary Meeting of the Eurasian Soil Partnership earlier...

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC magazine teamed up with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to produce a year-long series of stories and photos about food in 2014. Starting next week, Budapest will be host to an exhibition of photos and graphics from ‘ ‘The Future of FOOD’ looks at food from...

Key elements of FAO’s work in Europe and Central Asia – combating land and soil degradation, addressing the needs of family farms, boosting nutrition through agriculture, and studying rural people’s access to social protection schemes – were affirmed by the Organization’s members this week. The 39th session of the European...

Many innovations led by women are based on agroecological principles such as increasing diversity, using fewer pesticides, or building new relationships with consumers. Through small experiments women learn, get organised and strengthen their autonomy. They gain increasing recognition and visibility in their communities and increase their self-esteem. This positive spiral...

An international film festival in the Slovak Republic bucks that stereotype, bringing agricultural production into cinemas and making it understandable and entertaining for everyone. Now in its 31st year, Agrofilm provides an opportunity to see feature films, documentaries and short videos on agriculture, rural development and nutrition topics. Audiences gain insights...

Les travaux sur l’Agriculture familiale sont nombreux. Un certain nombre d’entre eux se sont intéressés aux pays méditerranéens. Dès 1984 en effet le Réseau Agricultures Familiales Comparées (Rafac) était créé à Montpellier, à l’Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen, du Centre International des Hautes Etudes Méditerranéennes1.Les publications du Rafac sur l’agriculture familiale furent...

Kazakhstan has a new law on organic agriculture, in line with the country’s recently acquired membership in the World Trade Organization. The law, signed by Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev in late November, outlines the institutional and regulatory framework for organic food production. Organic production is a development priority for Kazakhstan –...

The four Central Asian countries mentioned are heavily agrarian societies and have a low income per capita, except for Turkmenistan due to its large oil and gas revenues. The region is characterised by mountainous terrain and dry areas. The climate is continental, with cold winters and dry, hot summers. There...

Farmers in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are constantly innovating, adapting their farming techniques to cope with unfavourable weather or environmental conditions. But their efforts are far from systematic, and there is little government support for what they do. A discussion at the 39th session of the European Commission on Agriculture,...

Globalization and increased regional trade among countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States has meant a shift – from foods produced and consumed locally to greater food diversity and more foods traded internationally. As a result, countries are eager to increase their knowledge of international food safety standards and procedures. To...

With a relatively new history of membership at the Eurasian Economic Union, Kyrgyzstan believes that joining the Russia-backed economic club has garnered confidence in the nation’s economic stability. Kyrgyz President Almazbek Atambayev, who is the primary supporter of his country's accession to union, believes that Kyrgyzstan's EEU membership will take the...

The aim of the Ministry of Agriculture with the conference is to present the current situation of family farms internationally and in the Carpathian-basin, and to seek appropriate tools and methods which could successfully support family farms.

Loin de renvoyer uniquement à des espaces marginalisés, les territoires ruraux des pays du sud de la Méditerranée sont le théâtre d’initiatives et d’innovations aux formes multiples qui contribuent à dynamiser les économies nationales, et en particulier le secteur agricole. Dans cette perspective, l’amélioration des politiques publiques qui accompagnent ces...

More than 55 percent of adults in Europe and Central Asia are overweight or obese. Millions are anaemic, or suffer from iodine, zinc and Vitamin A deficiencies. In children, malnourishment persists at alarming rates in many countries, leading to stunted growth and other problems. An FAO paper published in advance of...

Traditional fisheries involving fishing households (as opposed to commercial companies), using relatively small amount of capital and energy, relatively small fishing vessels (if any), making short fishing trips, close to shore, mainly for local consumption. In practice, definition varies between countries, e.g. from gleaning or a one-man canoe in poor...

An ambitious five-year project on integrated natural resources management in drought-prone and salt-affected areas is on its way to take-off, thanks to US$ 11 million in financing from the Global Environment Facility (GEF). The FAO project will assist Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan in tackling challenges related to desertification, land...

program is implemented by Agency for development of agricultural cooperatives 

Eighteen months after floods washed away the livelihoods of thousands of farm households, Serbian agriculture is getting back on track – thanks to help from the European Union and FAO. A second phase of assistance for central and western Serbia started in the summer and is now close to completion. More...

FAO – Georgia is implementing technical assistance project to develop the capacities of the Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia. The film represents several components of this project: 1. Cooperative Development 2. Seed Certification 3. Statistics 4. Farm Registry Aforementioned components are implemented in frames of ENPARD funded by EU and ADC.

Agriculture plays an important role in social stability of the Kyrgyz Republic. More than a half of the population lives in rural area and their income is strongly linked to agricultural activities. The level of poverty among the rural population (41.4 percent) is much higher than urban areas (28. 5...