Enhancing farm biosecurity to safeguard ruminant livestock production across the Western Balkans and Eastern Europe was the focus of a specialized workshop attended by regional policymakers, researchers, and international experts. Organized by Mendel University (MENDELU) in Brno, Czechia in close collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the multi-day event provided a vital platform for knowledge exchange and discussion on biosecurity.

Azerbaijan has completed a pilot food consumption survey, marking an important step towards developing nationally representative data on what people consume. Conducted by the Azerbaijan Food Safety Institute (AFSI), a public legal entity subordinate to the Azerbaijan Food Safety Agency (AFSA), with technical support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the pilot tested the methodology that could underpin a nationwide survey to inform food safety risk assessments and nutrition policies.

Where ancient Roman chariots once raced, visitors gathered to discover how farmers, food producers, researchers and young innovators across Europe and Central Asia are shaping the future of food. At Rome’s historic Circo Massimo, the Europe and Central Asia Pavilion of the ’From Seeds to Foods’ exhibit brought together agricultural traditions, local knowledge and cutting-edge technologies, showing how the region’s rich food heritage can help build more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Nana Nikuradze changed her approach to farming after joining an EU- and Sweden-supported FAO Farmer Field School. For the first time, she is turning crop waste into compost, letting it break down into a biofertiliser. 

At the World Food Forum (WFF) in Rome in October 2026, young farmers, pastoralists, innovators and youth leaders brought their perspectives into conversations with Viorel Gutu, Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for Europe and Central Asia. Their exchanges offered a closer look at the choices, uncertainties and expectations behind the broader debate about agriculture's future.

More than 50 tonnes of donated food helping vulnerable Hungarian families. Twenty-one years of partnership between civil society, government and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). A culinary journey across food cultures and rural areas of Europe and Central Asia. And a series of events organized by academia, international organizations, and the private sector. This is how Hungary marks World Food Day in 2026.

Shemsije Shabani never imagined that farming would become such an important part of her life. More than 20 years ago, after meeting her future husband, she moved from the city to Lubovec/Ljubovac, in Kosovo’s  municipality of Skenderaj/Srbica. There, she began helping with the family’s daily work, such as growing vegetables for household use and caring for chickens. As she became more involved with the farm, Shemsije began to see how they could make better use of the land and the work they were already doing. 

Women farmers often cultivate land for years without having the power to own it, decide how it is used or benefit from the resources and income it generates. That gap between working the land and controlling it was at the centre of a interregional exchange convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 29 September. The event brought together nearly 90 participants from sub-Saharan Africa, the Near East and North Africa, and Europe and Central Asia to exchange experiences and examine what it takes to close the gap between rights recognized in law and rights women can exercise in practice.

“I love planting these seeds because they represent more than harvests. They connect us to our traditions, support our communities and remind us that agrobiodiversity begins in farmers’ fields.”
In Shahristan district, in Tajikistan’s northern Sughd region, where farming families rely on every harvest, agrobiodiversity often survives because of the dedication of individuals. One of them is Gulbar Mirmahmedova, a 46-year-old mother of two and a farmer whose fields have become a living repository of traditional crops.

Restoring freshwater habitats, strengthening climate resilience and supporting sustainable freshwater aquaculture through innovation and effective management emerged as key priorities at the 2026 International Symposium of the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC), a statutory body of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

Under the auspices of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO), and with guidance from the Codex Secretariat, countries from across Europe and Central Asia gathered in Berlin for five days of discussions hosted by Germany’s Federal Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Regional Identity (BMLEH). Key topics included strengthening food safety, communicating risks more effectively and supporting healthier, more sustainable diets.

Organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), a workshop held in early September in Minsk helped explore how Belarus could further develop its geographical indication system to support local producers and rural development. As part of the FAO project on strengthening sustainable food systems through geographical indications, discussions focused on the main barriers to wider registration and use and on practical measures to strengthen producer cooperation, quality control and promotion. 

Shete Kemoklidze has been around hazelnuts for most of his 31 years.
"I grew up with hazelnuts," he says. "I was 13 when my father was planting this orchard. In winter, he would get me up at five in the morning, and we did all of it together."

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the National Agency for Land Improvement (ANIF) and with scientific support from the National Institute for Applied Research in Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (IP INCAAMV), has launched a soil sampling campaign at six permanent soil monitoring sites in the districts of Orhei and Rezina. The activity is part of the land degradation neutrality project, implemented by FAO and funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF).

For years, Mukambarxon Umarova’s family depended on their greenhouse, but every growing season brought uncertainty. Today, she manages the entire production cycle herself – from preparing the soil and selecting seeds to protecting the plants and harvesting the crop.
The turning point came in 2022, when Mukambarxon joined an initiative supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). The project called “Smart farming for the future generation”, is implemented by FAO and the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, with financial support from Korea.

The Regional Laboratory Network on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) in Food and Agriculture in Eastern Europe, the Caucasus and Central Asia concluded its fifth annual consultation meeting in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, marking another milestone in a regional initiative that has grown into an established platform for technical cooperation on AMR surveillance and laboratory capacity.

Creating a new generation of farmers requires more than encouraging young people to enter agriculture. It means ensuring that they can build viable livelihoods, access land, finance and markets, and see rural areas as places where they can build their future. FAO Director-General QU Dongyu opened the High-Level Ministerial Conference on Generational Renewal in Rural Areas alongside David Vlajčić, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Croatia. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the State Association of Livestock and Poultry Industry of Turkmenistan have launched a new project to strengthen cattle breeding and expand access to reliable, high-quality artificial insemination services across the country. The project aims to increase the number of pedigree cattle in Turkmenistan and to increase national capacity to provide effective and high-quality artificial insemination services to support the widespread introduction of livestock breeding methods using modern digital technologies. 

Today, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) opened the joint Seventeenth International LANDNET Workshop and Second Interregional Dialogue on Family Farming, convening policymakers, land professionals, researchers and representatives of civil society and the private sector to identify practical solutions for more equitable access to land and improved land governance.

Chestnut trees provide food, income and environmental benefits to communities around the world and are an important part of many forest ecosystems. They are an important species across Europe and Central Asia. Yet these valuable trees continue to face a major threat from chestnut blight, a devastating plant disease that has transformed chestnut forests in many regions. To raise awareness of this disease and support its diagnosis and management, the Virtual Learning Center of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a new self-paced online course on chestnut blight: Understanding, identifying and managing the disease.