Improving productivity, increasing climate resilience of agricultural production, and making better informed policies in North...
Regional Initiatives
As economic reforms in the 1990s shifted land ownership into the hands of private smallholders, family farmers became the predominant source of agricultural production in the region. To address the absence of well-developed institutional support, FAO is implementing a Regional Initiative on Empowering Smallholders and Family Farms for Improved Rural Livelihoods and Poverty Reduction.
While international trade policy is usually implemented at the border, adherence to food safety and quality standards concerns national food safety systems as well as food safety and quality control at the enterprise level. This means that a supportive policy environment for modern agrifood trade encompasses not only border policies, but also policies and institutions at the national and enterprise level.
The impact of climate change can already be felt on food production systems in the region, posing considerable challenges for agricultural production and food security. FAO is helping countries to manage their natural resources sustainably, while also coping with climate change and reducing the risk of disasters affecting agriculture, forestry and fisheries.
Stories from the field
The expansion of pasture areas and use of traditional extensive grazing practices with a growing number of livestock takes its toll on the forest cover of the Kyrgyz Republic. This prohibits the country from increasing carbon sequestration and storage.
At its board meeting on 12–14 November, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) approved USD 50 million in funding (including a USD 30 million grant) to break these trends by introducing an integrated, locally determined ecosystem management approach for rangelands and forest resources.
Livestock keeping has traditionally been a baseline activity for many families in Central Asia. Protecting animal health safeguards rural livelihoods and avoids major negative socio-economic consequences. Two back-to-back FAO meetings in Tashkent this week strive for improvements in animal health.
FAO enters a new phase to assist implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) in Europe and Central Asia through a workshop today in Ankara.