More than 14 million adults, and some 4.7 million children in Europe and Central Asia suffer from severe food insecurity - as defined by the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) - the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said in a report released today.

FAO has an important role to play in a new EUR 25-million project to provide support for eastern Ukraine. The recently announced initiative “EU support to eastern Ukraine: Recovery, peacebuilding and governance, 2018–2022” is financially supported by the

Kasim Ibrahim, a Syrian refugee living in Turkey, sees hope for a better future after taking part in an FAO-led vocational training programme this autumn. He and almost 200 other participants in this programme have had a chance to meet with potential emp

In Europe and Central Asia, and particularly in countries not part of the European Union, food loss and waste have major implications on food nutrition and security through inefficiencies in the food value chains. FAO is now working with four southeastern

For nearly as long as the civil war in Syria has been ongoing, 36-year-old Sena Hamad has been living in a refugee camp with her three daughters and husband on the outskirts of the city of Osmaniye in southern Turkey. Today, she is among the first group of 25 trainees to have been selected for training on greenhouse vegetable production. In all, the FAO pilot project will train 150 refugees to grow vegetables in a newly established greenhouse next to the refugee camp, which hosts 15 000 people.

Capitalizing on macroeconomic stability in 2016 and 2017, many post-Soviet countries scaled up programmes and strategies to diversify agricultural markets, given the view that export growth is lucrative and can be a potential driver of the sector’s overal

Old and unique Georgian manuscripts, documents and illustrations depicting the use of forests and the history of hunting in Georgia are presented in a unique album from FAO titled “Hunting and Forest Management Customs in Ancient Georgia.” “This album is

Rail Baltica, the largest infrastructure project of the century in the Baltic region, plans to integrate the Baltic States with the European rail network. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2019. Crossing through farmlands, the project challenges rural

Given the many threats to the Earth’s water supply, the role of forests has never been more important.The role of forest ecosystems in preserving water quality is largely underestimated. To ensure healthy water, strategies for optimizing purification, reg

Locusts are an ancient enemy of agriculture, and the goal in managing them is to reduce the threat they pose. Due to their migratory nature and voracious feeding habits, locusts affect not just individual countries but rather entire regions, damaging fiel

Recently, FAO delivered 37 sets of camping equipment to the “Locust Control Expedition” entity of Tajikistan’s Ministry of Agriculture. The sets include water tanks, electric power generators and large tents that will help improve the living and working c

An FAO workshop on 19 November in Yerevan, Armenia, provided an opportunity for the country to kickstart its efforts towards developing a national e-agriculture strategy. Nowadays, agriculture is much more than farming; it has become more and more integr

A one-week training workshop on organic production, certification and marketing starts today in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, for selected extension specialists. It is part of an FAO project begun in April 2018 that helps public and private extension service provi

A statement from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) Sub-Regional Representation for Central Asia, and the World Health Organization

The Serbian Grain Association hosted a round-table discussion yesterday at Global Grain Geneva to promote Serbian grain and the country as a top exporter, given that Serbia is now regularly ranked among the ten largest wheat and corn exporters worldwide.

Freshwater ecosystems accommodate 40 percent of the world’s fish species and contribute directly to the food security of rural households. With 11.47 million tonnes per year, inland fisheries account for 12 percent of the global fish catch, according to t

Consumers want food to be not only accessible, tasty, and nourishing, but primarily safe and healthy. Therefore, relevant state bodies and authorities – the guardians of food safety – must remain up-to-date to be able to meet the challenges arising day by

Today, a number actors in Montenegro’s fruit and vegetable value chains – including producers, retailers, and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development – came together at a workshop in Podgorica, Montenegro, to discuss the benefits of agricultural

The continental debut of capsicum – better known as the pepper – was an instant success. Since the late 15th century, the pepper has gradually become an irreplaceable building block of European cuisines. Countries of the Balkan Peninsula, for example, turn it into ayvar – their signature savory spread. Peppers come in many different colours and shapes, but for ayvar you need a sweet, red pepper with shiny skin. According to FAO estimates, about 13 percent of total pepper production in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is grown by smallholder farmers.

Agriculture is one of the key sectors defining the sustainable development of Armenia. The Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Armenia, which is responsible for implementing and monitoring the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) related to food an