While the digital revolution is reaching rural areas in many developing countries, the rural digital divide continues to present considerable challenges. The problem is even more acute for women, who face a triple divide: digital, rural, and gender. A ne

Six out of ten international migrants reside in Asia and Europe, and a large share of them are from rural areas. Often, when these migrants settle into urban areas and find work, they send money back home to the families they’ve left behind. The connecti

Viorel Gutu, former FAO representative in Tajikistan, takes up his duties this week as the Organization’s Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Turkey and Uzbekistan. Gutu succeeds Yuriko Shoji who was appointed recently as De

A survey of agricultural producers in Ukraine has revealed a low level of participation in state support programmes. The survey found that just 20.3 percent of small- and medium-sized agricultural enterprises, including farmers, applied for state support

Representatives of three major organizations gathered in Kyiv recently to tackle issues of food safety and sanitary service in Ukraine. Hosted by Volodymyr Lapa, the head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection, the meetin

Food safety and public health authorities in Moldova continue to upgrade their ability to protect consumers from food safety hazards. At a workshop taking place here today, Salmonella and Campylobacter were in the focus, along with the evolution of drug r

Key forestry leaders in Ukraine began deliberations today on a series of critical natural resources issues challenging the country, including climate change, forest resilience, and Ukraine’s climate policy. The talks provide the region’s first major oppo

Wheat stem rust is making advances in Europe, Africa, and Asia, threatening food sources and livelihoods for more than one billion people. Carried by wind, wheat rust spores can spread rapidly over long distances, causing crop losses of up to 100 percent

Prior to 2016, no country in the Caucasus or Central Asia had developed indicators to monitor sustainable forest management on a national level. Two years later, five countries – Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan – are on board wit

Food safety and quality have become salient topics in Kazakhstan’s dairy industry since all milk products are now required to meet food safety and quality standards, regardless of the size of the farm or processing enterprise. Following a gradual process

Reliable information on forest resources has become critical for national planning and decision-making, and it is especially important for those countries working toward fulfilling their pledges under the Paris Climate Agreement and Agenda 2030. With a w

Restoring and developing small-scale farming has become a priority in Ukraine’s agricultural policy. FAO’s emergency response team in Ukraine is working to bring modern farming technologies closer to rural residents in the conflict-affected Donetsk and Lu

The sustainability of fisheries and aquaculture is the focus of an agreement signed here this week by Georgia and FAO. The letter of agreement was signed for Georgia by Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture Levan Davitashvili. FAO Deputy D

Yuriko Shoji, FAO’s former Subregional Coordinator for Central Asia and FAO Representative in Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan, takes up duties this week as Deputy Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia. Shoji, a national of Japan, joined

Georgia, as part of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA), is open to imported dairy products from the European Union (EU), but is unable to export dairy products to the EU because of food safety and milk quality concerns. For the last few y

Two groups of advanced traditional crafts masters from Hungary are in Bishkek and Tashkent, the capital cities of Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, to conduct craft trainings for rural women. It’s the first such crafts training taught by Hungarian masters in Cen

It is known as the biggest flying bird in the world, with a weight ranging from 5 to 15 kilograms. Great bustards, which favour agricultural landscapes or steppes, are known as farmer-friendly animals that feed on unwanted insects. Unfortunately, great bu

FAO’s lumpy skin disease (LSD) field manual for veterinarians is now available in six languages to aid in the prevention and control of the cattle disease that has established a large foothold in Europe since 2015. This complements well the recently concl

With the help of new equipment and training, the Ukrainian pork sector is taking further steps to enhance its monitoring and containment of African swine fever (ASF). In recent years, ASF – a deadly swine disease not transmittable to humans – has put the

Promoting Serbian agricultural exports, modernizing the country’s water management systems and developing food quality labelling and geographical indication schemes were at the heart of a three-way meeting today in Serbia. At the meeting, Serbia’s Minist