In Tršće, a small village near Kakanj in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rebija Bliznović has built her life around the farm that carries her name. For three years, Rebija has been a registered farmer, giving her independence and marking a turning point in her role as a producer. Together with her husband, she manages a greenhouse and five cows and has been steadily building the farm into a source of livelihood. Having her name on the registry has given her visibility and a sense of ownership in a sector where women’s work often goes unrecognized.

An intensive forestry programme on strengthening sustainable and multipurpose forest management, improving rural livelihoods and addressing climate change has concluded in Kosovo.¹ Funded by the European Union and Sweden and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development and the Kosovo Forestry Agency, the programme left a lasting legacy on the sustainable management of forest resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

Olive growers in the Municipality of Belsh, Albania, are strengthening their skills and practices through the expansion of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nation’s (FAO) Farmer Field School approach, supporting a more sustainable and competitive olive oil value chain.

Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) QU Dongyu is visiting Turkmenistan this week, underscoring FAO’s commitment to strengthening food and nutrition security, and climate-resilient agrifood systems across Europe and Central Asia. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Germany, through the Federal Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Regional Identity, have launched a new project to support rural communities in Dnipropetrovska oblast. The initiative will be implemented in one of the regions most affected by the war, where rural households continue to experience disruptions to their livelihoods, reduced production capacity and limited access to essential resources, making targeted agricultural support critical.

Nurcan Tekneci had a successful corporate career and used to live a hectic city life. After the pandemic, she decided to move to the countryside and take up beekeeping, a big decision that not everyone approved of. She also joined FAO training courses, which gave her tools that she immediately put into practice. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) recognizes the challenges rural women face and works to break down the structural barriers confining them. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, FAO completed at the end of November 2025 the implementation of the project, Women Driving Resilience in Agriculture and Rural Areas, marking an important step towards gender-responsive, climate-resilient rural development across Bosnia and Herzegovina. The project was completed in partnership with key national institutions and UN Women and funded by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Norway have launched a new project to support rural communities in frontline areas of Ukraine. The initiative will be implemented in Chernihivska, Dnipropetrovska and Mykolaivska oblasts, where rural households and small-scale farmers continue to face the impacts of the war, including damaged infrastructure, disrupted agricultural production, reduced access to productive resources and, in some areas, contamination of agricultural land.

A multi-country initiative supporting smallholder farmers in adopting sustainable, productive and climate resilient practices has successfully concluded. Implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the project harnessed the power of education and innovation to address interconnected challenges in agricultural production, food and nutrition security, and environmental sustainability.

Sopo, a 31-year-old from Tsalka, is taking her first steps towards building a small cheese business with her mother.
“I’m planning to start a small cheese making business,” she says. “Step by step, my mother and I are laying the foundations for a family-run business focused on quality. Supporting other women farmers really matters to me because I know how difficult it can be to access information. I try to help as best I can by sharing details about projects, training, exhibitions or anything else that might help their businesses grow.”