Wheat breeding, the traditional technique for improving yields or producing other desired characteristics, hasn’t gone out of fashion. It still has a role to play in ensuring food security, improving nutrition levels, and coping with a changing climate.

Bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are all becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs. This means that medicines used to treat common infections are less and less effective, or even useless. The phenomenon of antimic

The list of potential food safety hazards is long and varied. Bacteria like salmonella and E. coli, mycotoxins, heavy metals, residues of pesticides and veterinary drugs, even food additives – all can cause illness or even death if present above acceptabl

Next month, some 8,000 farmers in Georgia’s Kakheti region will start receiving free text messages on their mobile phones. The SMS’s will recommend when they should apply treatments to their crops, what kind of how much. The initiative is aimed at reducin

The vast majority of agricultural holdings in the Republic of North Macedonia are less than 2 hectares, made up of multiple parcels – 7 on average. This fragmentation of agricultural land is one of the greatest challenges for the country’s agricultural se

If there’s one thing wheat farmers agree on, it is the importance of sowing high-quality seeds. More than 50 farmers in Tajikistan last week attended an FAO field day where new wheat varieties were introduced – part of a project to improve access to high-

Farmers in the conflict-affected Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine are learning about the legal and financial aspects of operating in cooperatives. In a series of training sessions during May and June, they will also acquire knowledge about efficient

Agricultural producers in seven municipalities of eastern Serbia recently received the final round of European Union assistance to small-scale farms hit by the floods of 2014. Through a partnership with FAO, 600 metric tonnes livestock feed was distribut

A family owns four scattered plots of land, each no bigger than half a football field. Family members use precious time and fuel moving equipment, seeds and fertilizer from one plot to another – often driving across the crops of other families. The combin

Some 1 250 rural households along the contact line in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of Ukraine are receiving seed potatoes this week from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). The help comes as part of FAO’s emergency response prog

From black figs to table olives, Turkey’s Bursa region is famous for its fruits and vegetables. Turkey now hopes to strengthen the reputation of Bursa’s horticultural products at home and abroad, helping to raise producer incomes and building sustainable,

As Turkey extends to Africa an offer of increased cooperation – on food security and nutrition, agricultural development, sustainable natural resource management, youth employment and gender, agricultural trade and investment and other technical areas – F

Currants, raspberries, blackberries, strawberries. Eye-catching and delicious, these and other berries could be a key to greater prosperity for rural areas of Moldova. “Berries of Moldova” – a national conference taking place in Chisinau tomorrow – is or

Optimizing farming under existing soil and climatic conditions in Russia’s main agricultural regions was the focus of a roundtable discussion here today at the Russian State Agrarian University – Moscow Timiryazev Agricultural Academy (RSAU-MTAA). New tec

Mapping the Earth’s surface from above is no longer the exclusive privilege of map producers or the military. Meteorologists can also make good use of satellite images, and channel the data into agricultural planning and production. At a week-long FAO tr

Kazakhstan continued its pursuit of organic agriculture production, certification and marketing this week as it welcomed a group of FAO experts to Astana. FAO investment support officer Kairat Nazhmidenov, senior natural resources officer and key FAO exp

Tajikistan’s roughly 3.8 million hectares of pasture – almost 29 percent of its total land area – feed the country’s meat-producing livestock. But these natural resources, particularly year-round pastures near villages, are being depleted and degraded. S

Integrated community development planning, when applied in a participatory and inclusive way, can reduce rural poverty and lead to sustainable development. That has been the experience of FAO, said Raimund Jehle, Regional Programme Leader for the Organiza

Crop specialists from ten countries of Central Asia, West Asia and the Near East will improve their ability to cope with destructive wheat rust diseases at a week-long workshop opening here today. FAO, the International Center for Agricultural Research i

The current 10-year round of agricultural censuses has just begun and interest is higher than ever. Countries in Europe and Central Asia will benefit from the hands-on guidance they received at a recent week-long regional roundtable in Budapest, organized