In 2021, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation (FAO) launched the global Digital Villages Initiative to promote digital innovations to rural communities. Now the initiative is being scaled up in Europe and Central Asia, aiming to improve livelihoods, wellbeing, and social cohesion in this region.

Morning breaks in the village Durmon, a quiet hamlet in the Bukhara region of southern Uzbekistan. There is no bustle of a big city. The only sounds are of chirping of birds and the humming of peaceful nature.

By definition, pesticides are a poison. These chemicals denigrate and pollute the soil, water, air, plants, and other insects and organisms essential to biodiversity of ecosystems; leave residues in foods; and can be harmful to human health.

Biopesticides offer a better, more sustainable solution for Central Asian farmers.

Over 40 FAO Members and other partners gathered at an informal meeting to discuss current issues of food and agriculture in times of multiple crisis

Unique plant genetic resources have been transported over a thousand kilometres from Kharkiv to the west of Ukraine.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) with the financial support from Switzerland’s of USD 421 000, will provide agriculture livelihood emergency relief and shelter assistance to 11 communities impacted by the recent floods. Assistance will focus on the most affected vulnerable people who will receive aid to recover from the impact of the floods and help increase their resilience to future extreme weather shocks.

In February, when the streets of Sachkhere, Georgia are covered with snow and temperatures reach -2 degrees Celsius outside, 39-year-old Shorena Jambazishvili collects her plastic gloves, new syringes, some medicines and a smartphone and makes her way to the farm.

This report is helpful to inform national governments and food system stakeholders in Europe and Central Asia, finding common priority issues and framing regional-level discussions. It can be an essential reading, as part of the countries’ preparations for the first  UN Food Systems Stocktake Moment, next 24-26 July 2023.

Today is a significant milestone in the development of the agriculture sector in North Macedonia, as one five-year undertaking concludes and another begins.

FAO and the Turkish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry convened a meeting of high-level officials from Central Asia to establish a joint Food Loss and Waste Strategy Committee mandated to oversee the development and implementation of the regional food l

Samira lives in a very remote village in Kyrgyzstan with her husband and four children. They grow vegetables in a small greenhouse to feed the family. In addition, Samira works at the bakery with 10 other women – they bake bread for the local school. This

Heavy trucks loaded with food donations queued through central Budapest on the occasion of World Food Day, which aimed to call attention to food waste and the importance of healthy diets. Beyond raising awareness, the joint action of FAO and the Hungarian

Feeling lonely, excited, or strong, or just want to cheer up others? Share your feelings with the healthy fruit and vegetable stickers of FAO, offered starting on 16 October in the Viber sticker market for free! The stickers, available in English, will pr

Gender equality has not been achieved in any country of the world – gender inequality in Eastern Europe and Central Asia, particularly in rural areas, is still an issue. With the International Day of Rural Women today, FAO is raising awareness on the situ

Silk production is as an ancient tradition in Azerbaijan, and spring is silkworm season. The Otharashvili family in Gakh region have a long, enclosed porch that they dedicate to the care and feeding of the distinctive white larvae. Care means maintaining

Farmers in Kazakhstan have been increasing the land area devoted to growing oilseed and pulse crops – and it makes good sense from several viewpoints. An FAO-organized seminar on “Pulses and oilseeds: prospects for development” was held here today, one of

By incorporating the vision of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on digital innovation to prevent and control avian influenza, the FAO Virtual Learning Center for Europe and Central Asia has trained over 240 veterinarians t

At the World Food Forum week, FAO events in the region focused on the potential of youth, and greening of agrifood systems through digitalization, and innovation.

Affordable technologies and efficient techniques transform rural communities.

Earlier this summer, renowned Georgian chef Guram Baghdoshvili prepared khinkali – a traditional Georgian meat-filled dumpling – on an Instagram live hosted by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and FAO.