Under the theme “Our actions are our future,” World Food Day 2018 brought into focus...
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
Agriculture is an important sector in the national economies of Caucasus and Central Asian countries, and locusts can cause severe damages.
However, technology developed by FAO allows anti-locust services to view online locust data collected in the field. These data can be used to establish forecasts and aid in decisions on operations to limit harm from locusts on crops and pastures.
A refresher course on this technology – an automated system for data collection and a customized Geographic Information System (GIS) – has been organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Forests are complex ecosystems that provide not only food, fuel and income opportunities for locals, but also provide important services at the global level as well. Recognizing this, FAO and the Czech Republic have been working together for more than ten years to help countries in Central Asia manage their forest resources.
A workshop last week in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, provided another opportunity to review the progress achieved since 2015 and to identify future needs for improvement in forest management.
Selected countries in Europe and Central Asia participated with international experts in the event, which was organized by FAO, the Czech Republic and their local partner, the National Association of Mongolian Agricultural Cooperatives, and held from 10 to 15 September.
When the announcement was made that FAO regional offices around the world would each receive an additional US$ 1 million to advance food and agriculture priorities, the technical team in Budapest wasted no time in putting forward proposals for Europe and Central Asia.