Food insecurity and poverty are long-lasting issues in the agricultural sector. As the world’s population...
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 Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the Government of Japan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency, and the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Tajikistan will continue to collaborate in the second phase of a regional project to enhance locust management in Tajikistan.
The agreement of the project for improved locust management was signed today by Takayuki Miyashita, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan, Oleg Guchgeldiyev, FAO Representative, and Tanabe Hideki, Chief Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency.
A new FAO project catalyzing the efficiency and sustainability of Azerbaijan’s hazelnut sector "HAZER" was virtually launched in June, under the FAO-Azerbaijan Partnership Programme.
Another round of vocational trainings are about to start in Bursa, İzmir, and Şanlıurfa provinces to support selected Syrian refugees under temporary protection and Turkish citizens in launching micro-scale agrifood businesses. The FAO project, funded by the Government of Japan, will provide useful vocational and entrepreneurship skills, technical support services, as well as basic tools and equipment.