In Europe and Central Asia, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the outbreak of the war in Ukraine put food security and healthy nutrition under enormous pressure. Food prices peaked, posing a challenge for decision makers to ensure that no one is left behind.

Acknowledging the negative impacts of climate change on agriculture and food production, ministers from the five Central Asian countries discuss today potential solutions for addressing regional and global food and climate change challenges. The meeting was fostered by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).

The first set of systematic and in-depth National Food Systems Assessments in Central Asia show that consumer food preferences are changing. Agrifood systems are becoming industrialized and globalized. Increasing numbers of people live in cities and personal income levels are rising. These developments bring not only immense opportunities but also multiple challenges, such as unbalanced diets, increased incidence of food safety issues, transboundary animal and plant disease outbreaks, and significant levels of food loss and waste.

Nestled in the vast plains of Georgia, in the shadows of the snow-covered Caucasus mountains, Malika Machalikashvili’s farm in Pankisi Gorge was once pretty traditional. She and her family shared the day-to-day work of caring for the livestock and poultry, gardening the vegetables and taking care of the hazelnut orchard, along with a few fruit trees and berry bushes. She used to bring the produce to the local market or sometimes even the one in the country’s capital, Tbilisi. Today, on top of the farm’s new additions, such as a greenhouse and modern irrigation, perhaps the most novel change is that she now sells her produce using a smartphone.  

Digital innovation and technology can transform agrifood systems into environmentally and economically sustainable systems that will promote better production and enhance more equitable rural livelihoods with increased opportunities for women, youth, and vulnerable groups.  The challenge is how to move ahead with a digitalization programme that is effective and efficient, and which harnesses the existing wealth of knowledge held by farmers, agribusiness entrepreneurs, researchers, and extension service agents.

The abandonment of agricultural land in North Macedonia is a pressing concern, with approximately 32 percent of arable agricultural land in the country having been abandoned – a much higher rate than in most other European countries.

A group of Virginia juniper seedlings now decorates an area outside the United Nations House in Bishkek, near the intersection of Chui and Manas avenues. The trees were planted in memory of the late Adnan Quereshi, the former Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representative in Kyrgyzstan.

A cheerful black dog dashes around the backyard farm of Liubov Yakovleva, greeting any and all visitors with a wag of not just his tail but his entire body. This four-legged friend, Karandash, helps keep Liubov from feeling lonely now that her husband has passed away and her children and grandchildren can only visit on holidays or vacations. It was, in fact, her grandchildren’s idea to give her this ball of energy so that their grandmother would not feel so alone in her village of Vyshneve, situated in the Dnipropetrovska oblast of southeastern Ukraine.

 A three-year FAO project is providing recovery and reconstruction assistance to smallholder farmers in the Republic of Albania impacted by the 2019 earthquake. 

FAO raises concerns over disruptions to basic food production, seeks support to address immediate livelihood needs

Today, for the sixth time, ministers from Central Asian countries gathered virtually to share experiences on current agricultural issues. The meeting, facilitated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of Uzbekistan, provided a platform for representatives of the five countries to discuss how agricultural finances serve a sustainable increase in production.

In a virtual knowledge exchange session held by the Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) regional management and technical experts heard from Member Nations’ representatives of Albania, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Montenegro, Moldova, North Macedonia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan on the current situation in their countries, their governments’ response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, climate change, and support needed from FAO.

In the Republic of Tajikistan, one in four families has at least one family member working abroad. Representing about 10 percent of the total population, labour migrants from Tajikistan are predominantly men and mainly from rural areas. Families of labour migrants struggle to manage the farming work previously done by those who are away, they face inequities and are considered a vulnerable and marginalized group with poor economic resilience.

FAO, in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of the Republic of Türkiye, has been granted financial support of about USD 45 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) for three new projects between 2022 and 2025. The projects will focus on biodiversity conservation, sustainable forest management, ecosystem management, water conservation, and climate change mitigation.

Rich in heritage and full of potential, millets are a sustainable, nutritious and under-valued food source

A partnership between the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Japan is sustaining agricultural production and safeguarding food and nutrition security for highly vulnerable households in the Republic of Moldova, which is affected by the ongoing war in Ukraine and recent, extreme weather conditions.

Small-scale family farmers can be instrumental in elevating human rights in the food and agriculture sector and in ensuring sustainable agrifood systems. To help create a supportive environment for peasants in which their inherent dignity and worth is recognized, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, (FAO) has organized a training workshop on the implementation of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Peasants and Other People Working in Rural Areas (UNDROP) and to promote agroecology.

A regional workshop dedicated to the FAO–Türkiye Partnership Programmes (FTPP) took place on 24 January in Baku, Republic of Azerbaijan, to discuss the results and successes of recent projects. The workshop participants consisted of high-level representatives of relevant institutions in the countries of the subregion involved in the projects. The workshop was held as part of the  “Enhancing the visibility of the FAO–Türkiye Partnership Programmes" project.

FAO hosts a panel discussion at the 2023 edition of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture in Berlin