It was recently, in 2015, when the infectious lumpy skin disease first entered the Balkan Peninsula and started its rally by infecting cattle in several countries. Measures to control – or possibly eradicate – the disease differed in various countries, and a new FAO study assesses approaches in three of...

To spur progress in the development of organic agriculture in Kazakhstan, FAO continues to support the Kazakh Government in establishing and piloting a rigorous traceability and certification system. Framed by a multiannual effort to support the development of organic agriculture in the country through the establishment of a trusted organic guarantee...

As a landlocked country infused with rivers, springs and freshwater lakes, including the world’s second-largest high-mountain lake, Issyk-Kul, the Kyrgyz Republic has an abundance of freshwater resources for aquaculture. Having realized this, the country has been making its path, with the help of FAO, to develop this to a full-scale...

Green protein from clover-grass or alfalfa is considered a valuable protein source for poultry and pigs. By concentrating the protein fraction from grass clover crops grown locally in Denmark, and by using biorefining technology, one expects to obtain a vegetable protein and amino acid source that can optimize feed formulation...

Farm Hack is a community-led approach to the development, modification and sharing of designs for farm tools, machinery and other innovations. It emphasizes a farmer-to-farmer approach to learning and creates platforms for farmers to come together to ‘hack’ and apply their collective ingenuity in the development of technologies appropriate for...

Discarding food appropriate for human consumption is a waste of resources that negatively impacts the climate and the environment. Yet, there is a set of proven solutions that could help tackle food waste – provided that all actors in the food supply chain are ready to get involved and that...

In parts of Asia, where animal transport often happens quickly through unregulated and remote border areas, animal diseases are especially difficult to control. Because of this, and because livestock play a major role in economic growth in the region, it is important to address animal diseases that have the potential to...

Some 5 000 northern Montenegrin farmers still make the traditional dried beef Crnogorska Goveđa pršuta, which, along with the Montenegrin dried and smoked sheep meat Crnogorska Stelja, is poised to receive geographical indication (GI) status, an origin-based label that signals quality, authenticity and tradition. This development is the result of work...

FAO in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources of Uzbekistan organized the International Conference on Development of Organic Agriculture in Central Asia during 22-24 August 2017 within the framework the project TCP/UZB/3501. The major objectives were to bring together experiences in Central Asian and neighbouring countries, discuss...

Over 2.5 million hectare of forest landscape will be restored by countries in the Caucasus and Central Asia under the Bonn Challenge by 2030. The commitment was made by Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan at the first Ministerial Roundtable on Forest Landscape Restoration and the Bonn Challenge in...

A team of experts from the National Sanitary Veterinary and Food Safety Authority of Romania (NSVFSA) participated this week in the first workshop of a series of activities aimed at strengthening the national capacities of the Republic of Moldova in assessing risks related to food safety. The five-day workshop is one...

Fish and fish products are among the most widely traded food commodities in the world, with trade totaling around US$ 145 billion per year. Demand is especially strong in Europe. Market access and regional trade in fish products in Eastern Europe – especially with regard to the World Trade Organization...

Civil society organizations want to influence the future work of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Europe and Central Asia. With this in mind, a two-day consultation opens in Budapest today, with some 50 participants from several countries of the region. The Consultation will aim to concentrate positions among...

Montenegro is building on its rich cultural and food heritage and well-preserved natural beauty to become a destination for sustainable tourism. The country’s fast-growing tourism industry already accounts for nearly a quarter of Montenegro’s gross domestic product, with most of that tourism concentrated along the Adriatic coast. Keen to attract visitors...

La diversité des contributions fournies par les systèmes d’élevage s’appuyant sur des races locales, au côté de la production de biens alimentaires et non alimentaires, est rarement abordée de front, bien qu’elle soit essentielle pour comprendre les modalités de gestion de ces races. Ce travail de recherche fait le point...

As part of the publication “Strengthening the role of women in rural and agricultural areas: obstacles and opportunities” (September 2018) and the conference “Women4Mediterranean Conference 2018 – Women build inclusive societies” (Lisbon, Portugal, 10- 11 October 2018), during which the “Empowering Women in Rural and Agriculture Areas” (UM-CIHEAM) workshop will...

Agroecological symbiosis (AES) is a new, transformative model for adaptive and resilient localized food production and consumption. An AES is formed by farms, small and medium-scale food processors, and bioenergy producers working as one system, in close proximity to each other. The physical proximity is dictated by the ecological necessity...

In Europe and Central Asia, and particularly in countries not part of the European Union, food loss and waste have major implications on food nutrition and security through inefficiencies in the food value chains. FAO is now working with four southeastern European countries to develop strategies for food loss and...

For nearly as long as the civil war in Syria has been ongoing, 36-year-old Sena Hamad has been living in a refugee camp with her three daughters and husband on the outskirts of the city of Osmaniye in southern Turkey. Today, she is among the first group of 25 trainees to...

Last March in New York the sixty-second Commission on the Status of Women (CSW62) took place with a priority focus on ‘Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls’. The Commission recognized in its conclusions «the crucial contributions of rural women to local and...