Over the past two years, Moldovan farmers have faced a devastating drought, economic hardship and the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, jeopardizing their livelihoods. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with important financial support from the Austrian Development Agency and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, responded promptly to this crisis. Through a joint project with the United Nations Development Programme, FAO provided emergency support to more than 17 000 vulnerable small-scale farmers and households across 23 districts of the country.

The agriculture sector in the Republic of Moldova, a cornerstone of the national economy, faces many diverse challenges. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry of the Republic of Moldova today signed a new project agreement aimed at strengthening agricultural extension and advisory services to make it easier for farmers to receive crucial information, advice and training opportunities.

On 27 February 2025, key stakeholders gathered in Baku for the national inception meeting of the project “Building Capacities on Food Consumption Data for Better Nutrition and Safer Food”. The initiative aims to equip Azerbaijan with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed, data-driven decisions that improve public health and nutrition. By strengthening national data systems, this project will help ensure that the people of Azerbaijan have access to safer, more nutritious food.

The safety of workers in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors worldwide remains a concern. Despite efforts by governing bodies and other responsible entities, the number of accidents in these fields continues to be persistently high globally. For this reason, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan, organized a regional workshop to discuss a draft Code of Practice on Occupational Health and Safety in Aquaculture and Fisheries for Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representation in Armenia and Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) co-hosted the “Enhancing the Visibility of Farmers Offering Agritourism Services” Conference last week. 
The event united key players from Armenia’s agritourism and tourism sectors to foster cooperation and broaden the impact of rural tourism. It was held within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and FAO implemented “Local Empowerment of Actors for Development in Lori and Tavush regions (LEAD)” project and the FAR driven “Poverty Reduction in Tavush Region” project.

To protect the health of people, animals, and ecosystems, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina have launched a joint project titled “SDG Localisation Through Healthy Food Systems Transformation.” Rooted in the One Health approach, this initiative tackles the interconnected challenges affecting human, animal, plant, and environmental health. By focusing on transforming urban food systems in Trebinje, Bijeljina, Kakanj, and Široki Brijeg, the project aims to build local capacity and establish participatory platforms that bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, from government bodies and civil society organizations to the private sector and local communities.

On 20 February an agreement for the project “Enhancing the resilience of Serbian forests to ensure energy security of the most vulnerable while contributing to their livelihoods and carbon sequestration (FOREST Invest)’’ was signed between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in its capacity as an Accredited Entity of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Government of the Republic of Serbia, represented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, as well as two public enterprises “Srbijašume” and “Vojvodinašume”.

Rural women in Georgia make important contributions across the spectrum of activities in agrifood systems, working in food production, processing and sales. Yet, according to the National gender profile of agriculture and rural livelihoods: Georgia by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), they face significant intersecting inequalities, marginalization and discrimination. The report sheds light on gender issues in rural households and family farming, focusing on different agriculture subsectors, fisheries and forestry.

On 17 February 2025, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with the support of the European Union (EU) and in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, is launching a new window within the third cycle of its grant programme that will be focused on supporting aggregation models  in agriculture. The programme will assist small and medium-sized agricultural enterprises in developing aggregation models that would improve the integration of small farmers into specific supply chains, enhance storage and processing capacities as well as improving access to domestic and international markets. Applications can be submitted through the State Agrarian Registry (SAR) until 17 March 2025.

With an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies globally. Kyrgyzstan is not exempt from the compound and complex risks arising from unsafe food. In response, the country has taken steps to increase the effectiveness of its food safety and quality standards across its food and agriculture sector. A new project implemented jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, aims to enhance the effectiveness of the quality and food safety control systems operating in this Central Asian country.

Nino Kavtaradze’s skills and experience processing fruits and making cheeses provided her with income for vital cancer treatment and equipped her to act as Lead Farmer in an FAO initiative. Although she has worked as dairy farmer for 30 years, Nino still gained new knowledge from the FAO Farmer Field School, which she hosted in her home for 30 women farmers.

By helping communities avoid or lessen the impact of disasters, efforts to reduce and manage disaster risk can save lives and protect livelihoods. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) supports countries in developing disaster risk reduction and management systems for their agriculture sectors, not only to respond to disaster impacts but also to increase the resilience of at-risk populations by combining prevention, mitigation and preparedness.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has trained Armenian farmers’ formal and non-formal groups in social media to modernize the way rural communities tell their stories and promote their initiatives. 
The Local Empowerment of Actors for Development (LEAD) project, supported by the European Union and implemented jointly by FAO and the United Nations Development Programme, is strengthening farmers’ groups, and giving them the effective social media tools and skills to reach out from rural Armenia to the world to promote their local products. 

Brucellosis is a disease that primarily affects ruminants in many countries around the world. Due to its zoonotic nature – being transmissible from animals to humans – it often affects farm workers and rural populations. To further prevent brucellosis in Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has organized a three-day workshop, starting today, to assess countries’ status in the progressive control of brucellosis. The event brings together representatives from public health and veterinary authorities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 

Georgian viticulturalists can now gain in-depth knowledge on winter and green pruning in vineyards by accessing online technical video courses. The video courses by Julio Prieto Diaz, FAO’s International Integrated Vineyard Management Expert, were dubbed in Georgian and are available on the web. The online learning platform was developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) support under the IV phase of the European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD IV) funded by the European Union and Sweden.  

From September to December 2024, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Centre for Sociological Research “Zerkalo”, carried out a large-scale assessment in rural areas of Tajikistan to understand smallholder farmers’ interactions with information and communication technologies (ICT), including their awareness, attitudes, the use in farming, barriers to access, and perceptions of the benefits of the technologies.

The second ministerial meeting was held on 18 January in Berlin, Germany on the sidelines of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2025. Speakers included Cem Özdemir, German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ludmila Catlabuga, Moldovan Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, as well as Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader and Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

The Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has launched Digital Technologies for Agriculture in Türkiye showcasing how AgTech solutions – from smart irrigation to traceability and e-commerce – are poised to enhance productivity and sustainability in Türkiye. The publication identifies the most promising AgTech solutions and assesses their current and potential uptake, along with barriers to adoption, and the supporting ecosystem. 

The One Health approach emphasizes the interconnected health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. By fostering collaboration across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and environmental management, One Health aims to tackle complex global health challenges, such as emerging diseases, through integrated solutions. In a bid to enhance national capacities and bridge gaps between sectors, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), known as the Quadripartite, launched a Russian-language version of its One Health course. 

Although agriculture in Turkmenistan has a modest share of the gross domestic product (GDP), the sector holds strategic importance, as a significant portion of the population lives in rural areas and over 40 percent of the workforce is employed in agriculture. One of the gaps in the transformation process after 1991 is the lack of a modern crop monitoring system that provides reliable and timely crop information for informed decision-making, and thus contributes to sustainable land management and enhanced productivity in crop production. To address this need, collaboration has begun between Turkmenistan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to introduce cutting-edge technology and skills in land use monitoring and remote sensing.