In the Republic of Moldova, creating a single online trading platform for small-scale agricultural producers could improve sales and market access, thus increase growth and economic competitiveness. Returning migrants could benefit, too, and become agents of change thanks to their digital skills, as well as inspire other farmers who are...

Following a by the Government of Ukraine, FAO is supporting the country create a foreign agricultural attaché infrastructure. The idea behind this is to help Ukrainian agrifood producers enter foreign markets, through increased awareness of the country’s food-production potential, and by providing professional in-market support to Ukrainian suppliers and future...

It is estimated that the total number of small farms in Southern European (SE) countries has decreased by 33% between 2010 and 2019. This loss is despite the widespread acknowledgement and appreciation of the important role that small farms play in supporting rural livelihoods, conserving biodiversity and maintaining traditional landscapes,...

Paternal behaviour of stallions was revealed in the study of our team members in collaboration with colleagues from the University of South Bohemia, which was recently published in the prestigious journal Animal Cognition. Unique long-term research was conducted in the Czech Republic in the semi-feral Exmoor pony harem herds living in...

An FAO webinar, focusing on Europe and Central Asia, was held to exchange and promote new practices for facilitating vulnerable groups’ access to food and tackling food waste through the development and adoption of innovative solutions. A recording of the virtual event, “Food waste prevention and reduction in times of...

Kazakhstan, seeking to comply with Eurasian Economic Union standards, is looking to Croatia for inspiration. Croatia successfully upgraded its dairy industry to meet stringent European Union quality and food safety standards – a move resulting in greater industry efficiency, inclusiveness, and dairy exports. FAO and the European Bank for Reconstruction and...

Infloweb s’intéresse aux principales mauvaises herbes rencontrées dans les grandes cultures françaises. Le site fournit des connaissances de base indispensables pour aider au raisonnement des stratégies de désherbage compatibles avec les objectifs de la profession agricole.

Many farmers in Europe and North America are burdened with debts due to the heavy investments they have made over the years to buy farm machinery. A new tractor easily costs 100,000 Euro or more. New agricultural policies often force farmers to change as well.

In Montenegro, smallholder farmers rely heavily on traditional agriculture practices for their livelihoods. So much so, that a poor blueberry harvest or honey season can have devastating impacts on rural households. That’s why the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and...

The background for conducting country study on the challenges, needs and constraints of smallholders and family farms in the Republic of Serbia has been a wish to further strengthen the Regional Initiative on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms and develop it towards a stronger programmatic approach at both the regional...

The Serbian Government has recently approved hygiene bylaws on food products of plant origin, in line with EU legislation, that include flexibility measures and derogations for traditional food products. Under this new legislation, Serbian producers can continue following traditional methods for making and selling food products based on fruits, vegetables and...

According to the FAO Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS), cereal production in 2019 and the estimated closing stock in 2019/20 are both near record highs and supplies in Europe and Central Asia (ECA) and around the world are estimated to be sufficient. As a result, global cereal markets...

During the past 10 years, between 2010-2019, SALSA’s Eastern European (EE) countries lost an estimated 1.1 million small farms (23%). This is the equivalent of 350 small farms disappearing each day (based on EUROSTAT 2016 data).

This publication aims to provide an overview of actions and initiatives on Agroecology in Europe and Central Asia countries.  There is enough evidence that agroecology contributes to more sustainable food systems, in particular to delivering food production while respecting natural resources, ecosystem services and social processes. However, to assure agroecology can...

As countries report mounting cases of the COVID-19, the outbreak presents them and the global community with unprecedented challenges in recent times. FAO monitors the experience of those heavily affected by the pandemic looking at the immediate impacts and the mitigation measures of countries in responding to the crisis. Drawing...

Introduces key debates and concepts about pastoralism, and explores the varying ways that pastoralists respond to uncertainty around the world. Based on the work of the PASTRES programme, the course is aimed at students, practitioners and policy-makers. It is divided into 13 parts with a lecture, suggested readings and questions in...

Altogether almost 4.3 million people work across the forest sectors of North America, Europe, and Central Asia according to a new study published by FAO and UNECE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. The majority is in Europe (51 percent), the United States and Canada (29 percent), the Russian Federation (14...

The farm structures in the countries in Eastern Europe and Central Asia are highly diverse, but in most of the countries are still largely dominated by smallholders and family farms. Supporting smallholders and family farms is one of four priorities for the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations...

Esta herramienta revisa las malas hierbas y las fuentes de forraje que se utilizan tradicionalmente para alimentar a los cerdos. Todas las plantas son especies silvestres y válidas para agricultura ecológica. Esta lista es útil para agricultores y técnicos tanto orgánicos como convencionales. La mayoría de las especies están ampliamente...

Wakelyns Agroforestry, surrounded by a sea of large-scale conventional arable production, is an oasis of trees, alive with bird song and insects. Integrating trees for timber, energy and fruit production into an organic crop rotation, Wakelyns was established by the late plant pathologist, Prof. Martin Wolfe, to put into action...