The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), together with the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan and international partners, has launched a new initiative to strengthen the country’s aquaculture sector, bringing together key actors in Bishkek for a high-level inception workshop under the project Sustainable Fish Value Chains for Landlocked Developing Countries (SVC4LLDCs).

A new generation of ideas and partnerships took centre stage recently in Dushanbe at the GENERATION YSInvest event organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Held alongside the Thirty-fifth Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe, the multi-day event was structured around three interconnected pillars – youth engagement, science and innovation, and investment – highlighting how inclusive dialogue and coordinated action can drive sustainable change in the region.

The ancient Greek physician and philosopher Hippocrates once said: “We are what we eat.” This statement remains relevant today: human health depends directly on one’s diet. To this end, a three-day technical workshop on the development of healthy dietary guidelines took place from 20 to 22 May. The event was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) under the multi-country project “Multisectoral Policy Recommendations for Addressing Malnutrition from an Agrifood System Perspective", aimed at improving nutrition and transforming Central Asian food systems through enhanced cross-sectoral collaboration. 

Thousands of hectares of agricultural land in Khersonska oblast in Ukraine remain uncultivated due to explosive ordnance contamination combined with prolonged drought and the destruction of irrigation systems, preventing farmers from cultivating their land and rebuilding their livelihoods. Taken together, these overlapping crises have reduced agricultural output in the oblast by more than 98 percent since the onset of the full-scale invasion. To help Ukrainian farming communities safely return to agricultural production, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) have launched a new joint project funded through the Ukraine Community Recovery Fund (UCRF). 

Partnership, sustainability, digital innovations, investment and empowering women farmers – these were the core topics of several side and special events at the Thirty-fifth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe, held from 11 to 15 May in Dushanbe, Tajikistan.

The Government of Uzbekistan and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) are scaling up efforts to strengthen the sweet cherry value chain through a new FAO-China South-South Cooperation (SSC) project under the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative.   

On the occasion of World Bee Day (20 May), Slovenia is hosting the third International Forum for Action on Sustainable Beekeeping and Pollination today and tomorrow. The event was organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Food in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) with the support of the International Federation of Beekeepers' Associations, Apimondia.

With the adoption of the joint report by consensus, the Thirty-fifth Session of the Regional Conference for Europe concluded in a positive spirit on 14 May. Hosted by Tajikistan in the capital, Dushanbe, the event was attended by over 230 participants, including representatives of more than 50 Members and of United Nations agencies, civil society, the private sector, research and academia, and rural youth.

At the conclusion of his participation in the 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe (ERC35),  QU Dongyu, Director-General of the FAO highlighted the importance of regional solidarity, innovation and investment in accelerating the transformation of agrifood systems across Europe and Central Asia amid growing climate, economic and geopolitical pressures.

Ministers and high-level representatives from across Europe and Central Asia gathered here on Monday to discuss ways to strengthen the efficiency, inclusiveness, resilience and sustainability of agrifood systems in the face of growing climate, economic and geopolitical pressures. The 35th Session of the FAO Regional Conference for Europe  (ERC35) is being held in Tajikistan's capital under the overarching theme “Uniting for Sustainability: Integrating climate action, biodiversity conservation and land restoration for sustainable agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia.”