On 8 May 2025, the Parliament of Montenegro hosted the 18th session of the “Women’s Parliament,” under the theme “Voices of Women from Rural Montenegro.” The session aimed to amplify the voices of rural women, recognize their contributions and advocate for their stronger representation in public life. It culminated in the adoption of the Declaration of the First Rural Women’s Parliament, a significant step toward inclusive policymaking and the recognition of rural women as key contributors to sustainable development.

To identify and discuss obstacles and opportunities of rural youth in Europe and Central Asia, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened the second Regional Rural Youth Forum in Budapest, Hungary. Starting today, youth representatives, decision makers, young farmers, civil society, and others) from 22 countries of the region will hear examples of successful support to rural youth, as well as look at the issues they are facing and solutions. In a region, where the trend in rural areas of the countries is to an ageing population, the forum is also an opportunity to raise awareness on the importance of generational sustainability of family farming.

A five-year regional initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on better ruminant biosecurity has concluded last week with a workshop in Barcelona, Spain. The project has been supporting nine countries around the Black Sea Basin to improve disease prevention and control in ruminant livestock systems. The workshop, hosted by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), the key research partner in the project, brought together veterinary authorities and academic partners from the participating countries. 

Amidst the citrus trees, cows crossing the streets and hazelnut orchards, a typical sight in the Samegrelo-Upper Svaneti region, Marina Kacharava, 69, is pursuing her passion of making high-value European cheeses in her small farm next to her home in the town of Abasha. In the region, she is one of the most successful students of a Farmer Field School (FFS) run by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). 

The population of great cormorants in Europe has increased in recent decades from some 50 000 birds in the 1970s to an estimated population of more than 2 million today. The success of this bird conservation by the European Union Birds Directive of EU Member States has had unintended consequences on the ecological balance of European waterways and on fisheries and aquaculture operations.

The Republic of Moldova is stepping up its efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within its agrifood sector through a comprehensive new project launched by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in collaboration with national authorities. The initiative was inaugurated through a series of workshops held in Chișinău from 12 to 16 May 2025. More than 30 national partners from the agrifood and health sectors gathered to strengthen intersectoral cooperation and assess progress in the Republic of Moldova on combating AMR.

Central Asia, home to ecologically important river and wetland systems, extensive grasslands, and high mountain ranges that support unique biodiversity, faces escalating pressures. The region is particularly vulnerable due to its arid nature, increasing demands for natural resources, unsustainable development, and changing climate patterns, which contribute to an estimated USD 6 billion in annual economic losses related to land degradation alone. In response, five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – are supporting the development of the Central Asia Water-Land Nexus (CAWLN) programme.

Veterinarians are often the first to detect, prevent and respond to zoonoses, or diseases transmitted between humans and animals. As the world becomes more connected and interactions increase between humans and animals, the risk of zoonotic outbreaks is greater than ever. To address this, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched the Zoonoses for Field Veterinarians course in English on the FAO Virtual Learning Center platform.

QU Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) today urged immediate action on water conservation, transboundary cooperation, and sustainable agricultural practices to safeguard Central Asia’s future. The FAO Director-General spoke at the opening session of the Astana International Forum hosted by the Government of Kazakhstan. 

In many countries of the Europe and Central Asia region, the majority of smallholder farmers own fragmented land parcels that are difficult to farm efficiently, hampering economic growth and sustainable production.

One solution is land consolidation, the reallocation of agricultural land parcels to improve the farm structure. At a three-day LANDNET workshop in Budapest, Hungary, from 28 to 30 May, experts from more than 30 countries will discuss how the process benefits women’s land rights and tenure security, combats climate change and land degradation, and boosts the development and regulation of agricultural land markets.