Convenient portion sizes, uniformity in “use by” and “best before” dates, and new packaging technologies...
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
Greenhouses are opening in rural schools in Armenia’s Ararat region today with the goal of increasing schoolchildren’s dietary diversity and improving their nutrition. All three greenhouses – in the public schools of Vedi, Verin Artashat and Surenavan – are equipped with modern heating, ventilation and drip irrigation systems.
This activity is part of a major project aimed at strengthening food security and nutrition in selected countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia, funded by the Russian Federation and implemented by FAO in technical partnership with the Russian Social and Industrial Foodservice Institute. The FAO pilot will serve as a model that can be replicated to ensure the sustainability of the national school feeding programme in Armenia.
Serbia’s main grain industry stakeholders gathered last month to discuss ways to increase exports, a significant milestone in developing dialogue between public and private institutions in the country.
Players – including grain producers, processors, exporters and the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management – met on 16 May at Dan Zitara, or Grain Day, an event organized by the Serbian Grain Association and supported by FAO and EBRD. The event, which drew over 100 attendees, was part of the 85th International Agricultural Fair held in Novi Sad in Serbia, the largest event of its kind in the Western Balkans.
The occurrence of lumpy skin disease (LSD) in the Caucasus and the Russian Federation highlights the potential for further spread to other countries in Eastern Europe. Belarus, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine make the list of at-risk countries, where establishment of a regional preparedness and response plan is highly needed.