Food loss and waste rarely announce themselves. They accumulate, quietly, across decisions: when to harvest, how to store, what to discard, what cannot be sold. By the time food reaches a consumer – if it does – it has already passed through a series of choices. A new course from the Virtual Learning Center of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) focuses on these choices. “Tackling Food Loss and Waste across the Agrifood Systems,” now available in an open-access format, examines how food loss and waste occur and what can be done to prevent and reduce it.

 

A highly contagious transboundary disease affecting sheep and goats, PPR poses serious risks to food security, trade, and rural livelihoods. Building on the success of the Global Rinderpest Eradication Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and its partners are accelerating efforts toward global eradication of PPR.

Young people are at the heart of agrifood systems across Europe and Central Asia, playing an increasingly active role in the sector. In the region, approximately one quarter of working youth are employed in agrifood — a higher share than among adults — making it a key entry point into the labour market. On 30 March 2026, more than 170 young people from across the region gathered virtually for a regional  Consultative dialogue of youth. The event provided a space to share perspectives and lived experiences ahead of the  35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Flanders have launched a new initiative to support rural communities in Mykolaivska oblast of Ukraine. The project will help restore agricultural production, rehabilitate land damaged by warfare and strengthen the resilience of rural households and small-scale farmers whose livelihoods have been disrupted by the ongoing war.

Marking the International Day of Zero Waste, state authorities, associations, charity organizations and private-sector representatives convened in Tbilisi on 30 March for a national forum on food loss and waste reduction and food donation. The event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD IV), funded by the European Union.

In Kyrgyzstan, a country dominated by mountainous landscapes, issues related to soil fertility conservation are of particular relevance. In the context of a changing climate, the country faces challenges such as soil erosion, degradation, salinization, and loss of fertility. These factors directly affect crop yields and the resilience of agrifood systems. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Kyrgyz Research Institute of Agriculture, has begun the implementation of the FAO’s Global Soil Doctors Programme in the country. 

Declining glaciers, shrinking water sources and increasingly unpredictable weather are threatening the livelihoods of thousands of rural families in the At-Bashy district of Kyrgyzstan – and urgent action is needed. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat conducted a comprehensive field mission to the district, where communities reported a dramatic deterioration in water availability, worsening droughts, and accelerating land degradation over the past five years, calling for immediate climate-resilient solutions.

Rural communities have always found ways to adapt. Through a changing climate, shifting markets and demographic transitions, generations of farmers have persisted through hard work. And today, smallholder farmers, honey producers and mountain shepherds from ten rural communities across Europe and Central Asia are gradually adopting new tools that support their resilience: digital technologies. From simple battery-powered devices to complex sensor networks, from social media pages to advisory platforms powered by artificial intelligence (AI), these tools are helping solve everyday challenges.

Agriculture continues to play a critical role in protecting Ukrainian communities from food insecurity, even as war-related shocks, declining incomes and limited access to inputs place growing pressure on rural livelihoods, according to new assessment released by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The report on food security and agricultural livelihoods in Ukraine, based on interviews with more than 2 800 households across nine front-line oblasts, provides a detailed picture of how rural families are coping with the prolonged impacts of the war.

A delegation from the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye visited Spain from 9 to 13 February 2026 to learn about implementing flexibility measures under the European Union Food Hygiene Package. Spain and Türkiye, both Mediterranean countries, share some climatic conditions and agrifood production characteristics that make them a great fit as learning partners.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has appointed Aghasi Harutyunyan as FAO Representative in Tajikistan, effective 2 March 2026. As FAO Representative, he will lead the planning and delivery of FAO programmes and projects in Tajikistan, working closely with national counterparts and development partners to advance sustainable agrifood systems, strengthen rural livelihoods and enhance food security and nutrition objectives in the country.

For Radoje Marić and his family, fruit growing is both a livelihood and a longstanding tradition. As fourth-generation producers of fruit and certified raspberry seedlings, the Marić family cultivates orchards at 500–600 m above sea level, where generations before them learned to work the land. But in recent years, changing weather patterns have made production increasingly uncertain.

Ministers – including the Prime Minister Alexandru Munteanu –, senior officials and private investors from across the European Union gathered in Chișinău on 5 March for the Agrifood Partnership Investment Forum, a high-level event organized by the Republic of Moldova with support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The forum brought together over 200 participants, including also public- and private-sector representatives from European Union member states and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to strengthen investment in the country’s agrifood sector and advance its European Union accession process.

“Everyone in my family is involved in agriculture. It is the main pillar of our lives. We could do without many things, but not without food and water.” With these words, 19-year-old Đorđe Mićević describes both his upbringing and his future. A former student of the Dr. Đorđe Radić Agricultural and Chemical School in Kraljevo, Đorđe is part of a new generation of young people in Serbia who are learning how to adapt agriculture to climate change.

Sonya Kirgizova is well known in the mountain villages of Tojikobod in central-eastern Tajikistan. Her neighbours admire her greenhouse, her jars filled with pickled Anzur onions and cucumbers, and the buzzing hives behind her home. More than anything, though, they trust her. This trust is what made her a central figure in bringing women farmers into a project that is helping to protect Tajikistan’s rich agrobiodiversity.

The booklet Seeds of heritage: The journey of GIAHS in Europe and Central Asia, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), explores how traditional agricultural landscapes across the region are being recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) – and why they hold vital lessons for building more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Locust species that produce large swarms and travel long distances can damage agricultural production if outbreaks are not contained through timely, well-coordinated action. As locust infestations continue to threaten crops, rangelands and rural livelihoods across the Caucasus and Central Asia, countries are strengthening their cooperation to improve early warning and support efficient and environmentally responsible control measures.

Albania has launched the Agrifood Systems Dialogue Platform to guide policy reform and investment in the country’s agrifood sector through evidence-based dialogue and multistakeholder collaboration. Developed with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the platform aims to support more coordinated, transparent and strategic decision-making as Albania advances its agrifood system transformation and European Union integration process.

Access to adequate food is a fundamental human right recognized under international law. In Europe and Central Asia, realizing the right to food is increasingly critical – not only to addressing hunger but also to ensuring access to adequate, nutritious and diversified diets while responding to growing diet-related health challenges and supporting sustainable food systems. 

Until now, most fish farms in Georgia have relied on paper notebooks to record data on feedings, health treatments and production. This resource-intensive approach limits disease prevention, slows decision-making and makes traceability difficult. That, however, is about to change. Georgia is preparing to integrate its aquacultural sector into the National Animal Identification and Traceability System (NAITS) and the linked Farm Management System (FMS), a move aimed at modernizing fish health management, strengthening food safety and supporting access to international markets.