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.”

In Lolazor, a village in western Tajikistan, most families rely on what they grow, raise or trade with neighbours.
Women here play a central role in agriculture and rural livelihoods. They work tirelessly on family farms – but their contributions often go unrecognized. Rather than being acknowledged as farmers in their own right, they frequently are seen as helpers.
Yet even within these constraints, change is beginning to take root. And it is driven by a new generation of women such as Salima Amirzoda, who are challenging expectations and expanding what is possible for women in their communities. 

Organized jointly by Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Izmir Commodity Exchange (ICE), the FAO Private Sector Dialogue: Shaping Private Sector Perspectives was held on 29 April in Izmir, Türkiye. The consultation was aimed at providing a strategic platform aligned with regional food security and sustainable agriculture objectives. It brought together important stakeholders contributing to agricultural policy across the region, including around 30 representatives of the private sector, small and medium-sized enterprises, producer organizations, financial institutions and public sector officials, and senior representatives from FAO and ICE drawn from Türkiye and other countries of Europe and Central Asia region, to help shape the future of agrifood systems in Europe and Central Asia – positioning Izmir as a hub for international agrifood diplomacy.

Georgian women dairy farmers are modernizing traditional milk production with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), through small-scale matching grants provided under the European Union (EU)- and Sweden-funded European Neighbourhood Programme for Agriculture and Rural Development (ENPARD) IV. Notably, this is the first time FAO has reached more than 1 000 matching-grant beneficiaries under a single project. The initiative has supported over 1 100 women engaged in small-scale dairy farming across the country, enabling access to essential equipment and knowledge that improve quality standards, consumer protection, traceability, and incomes.  

From spring through autumn, while Nino Nugzarashvili’s husband guides their cattle across Kaspi’s communal rangelands in Georgia, she transforms the milk from her cattle and local sources into safe, high-quality dairy products. Though she herself rarely herds, it is access to these grazing lands that sustains their farm. “Natural grazing is everything for us,” Nino says. “It keeps production affordable and gives milk a completely different quality. No stall-feeding system can match the flavour and quality of milk from open rangelands.”

Held from 22 to 24 April 2026, the Regional Ecological Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, offered a clear signal: as countries in Central Asia face intensifying climate pressures and resource constraints, environmental challenges in the region are no longer treated as isolated national issues, but as shared risks requiring coordinated responses. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), represented by Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative Viorel Gutu, took part in discussions, highlighting the role of agrifood systems in addressing these challenges, both as a source of pressure and as part of the solution.