Ukraine has deposited its instrument of accession to the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture with the Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and will become the 156th Contracting Party (member) of the International Treaty.

For generations, table grapes have been one of the most important agricultural products in the Republic of Moldova. The country produces over 130 000 tonnes a year, exporting roughly 60 percent of its harvest to markets across Europe and beyond. But in recent years, the farmers behind those numbers have been caught between rising agricultural input costs, disrupted export routes, and the growing demands of EU market standards — a combination that has left many struggling to keep pace.

On 25 June, David Songulashvili, Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture of Georgia, and Raimund Jehle, Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Georgia, signed the new Country Programming Framework (CPF) 2026–2030. 

“You can’t keep cows just for profit. You have to love the animal. You have to love the land. You have to love the work itself.” 
For 39-year-old Vitalie Vrabie, these words capture everyday life as a small-scale dairy farmer in the Republic of Moldova. A former migrant worker who left for the Russian Federation at 16, Vitalie spent years working abroad, returning home only briefly between jobs.

Experts, policymakers, researchers and forestry practitioners from across Europe and Central Asia gathered in Kyrgyzstan from 9 to 11 June for the Annual Meeting of the Forest Invasive Species Network for Europe and Central Asia (REUFIS), advancing regional efforts to address shared forest health issues and invasive species threats.

Agricultural economics has a critical role to play in preventing conflict-related shocks from deepening, said Raimund Jehle, Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), during a panel discussion at the three-day IAMO Forum 2026 in Germany. Agricultural economics has the potential to support reconstruction after conflicts, Jehle said, and help countries build more resilient food and agriculture systems.

Representatives from across Europe gathered in Tartu, Estonia, on 3–4 June 2026 for a technical workshop on the European Union’s LEADER approach and its contributions to the sustainable transformation of agrifood systems.
The event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Tartu County Development Association, a local action group.

The medieval, hilltop town of Sermoneta straddles the bright blue Tyrrhenian Sea in the distance to the west and the Lepini mountain chain of the Apennines, rearing dramatically to the east. The twisting cobblestoned streets and imposing castle have changed little over past centuries, and against this medieval tableau of grey stone crenelated fortress walls, towers and arches, one bright treasure glows yellow in the warming sun.

An international treaty to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing is now in force in the Republic of Moldova, linking the country to a global control system and aligning it with international and European standards.

The CACFish meeting marked an important step towards establishing a practical, regionally harmonized data collection mechanism to support evidence-based fisheries management across Central Asia and the Caucasus.