The urgent need for a positive impact on the livelihoods of livestock keepers is elaborated in this Regional Strategy for Animal Health and Production for FAO Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (REU). This strategy aims to present the main aspects of REU’s work on livestock and includes three pillars – animal health, animal production, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – along with seven cross-cutting issues, among them gender, environmental sustainability, community farming as a business, and coordination with other international organizations. 

This regional publication provides an overview of the development of organic agriculture in eighteen (18) countries in the following ECA sub-regions: Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan); Eastern Europe (Belarus, Republic of Moldova, the Russian Federation and Ukraine); South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia); and South Eastern Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Turkey).

The report includes an in-depth analysis of how these countries have achieved the current state of organic agriculture regarding legislative and policy frameworks, governance systems, production, key actors, marketing, opportunities and challenges, and future strategies.

The aim of FAO project TCP/RER/3604 was to elaborate breeding goals and plans for breeding and breed development of Caucasian Brown Cattle in Armenia and Georgia and Carpathian Brown Cattle in Ukraine. As a first step, information was collected about the breeds themselves and the environments in which they are kept. Approximately 300 phenotypic pure cows and 20 pure bulls were selected in each country, and phenotypic information was recorded. The assessments were carried out under the guidance of Tamas Szobolevszki, with support from each country’s national consultants and service providers. Genetic material was collected, genotyped, and used for a study on the genetic background of the breeds by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna (FAO/IAEA, 2019)

The COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardizing human health and disrupting the food systems that are the foundations of health. Unless we take immediate action, we could face a global food emergency of severity and scale unseen for more than half a century.

FAO is calling for USD 1.2 billion in initial investments to finance FAO’s COVID-19 Response and Recovery Programme that aims to provide an agile and coordinated global response to ensure nutritious food for all both during and after the pandemic.

This manual on safety at sea for small-scale fishers aims to contribute to a culture of safety awareness among fisherfolk, reduce the number of accidents and increase the chances of survival if accidents occur. The manual provides guidance on safety matters related to the work on a small-scale fishing vessel (e.g. fire safety, deck safety, lifesaving equipment, lighting and ventilation), personal safety and navigation safety. Checks and procedures to be performed before a fishing trip, as well as guidance for survival at sea, are also included in this manual.

This manual provides technical information on broodstock management and identifies the main problems and challenges for the application of modern techniques for breeding management of the broodstock of common carp and Chinese herbivorous fish in the Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The manual was prepared as part of the programme of work of the Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish)