In the Khatlon region of Tajikistan, farming of cotton, wheat and other crops has long been the backbone of rural livelihoods. Safarmad Gadoev, a farmer from the city of Kulob, was one of many who relied on the production of these crops to support his family. But the challenges of cotton and wheat farming—rising production costs, fluctuating market prices, water scarcity, and the impacts of climate change—made it difficult for him to earn a stable income. 

If the people of Europe and Central Asia are to have food on their plates, they must have water security. Moreover, water security is a catalyst for transforming the food and agriculture sectors of the region to become more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable. Therefore, sustainable water management practices are a prerequisite for farmers’ resilience against climate challenges and, thus, for safeguarding food security. This is the central message of the 2024 Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition report, released today.

A project in Bosnia and Herzegovina, implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2022, addressing land degradation neutrality (LDN) issues, is progressing to foster a coherent policy environment and track progress towards achieving the national LDN targets. Land abandonment in the last 25 years has adversely affected 1.2 million rural people. 

Recognizing the critical role of municipalities to reduce food loss and waste (FLW), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recently released a  publication on “Food Recovery and Distribution – A Practical Guide for Favourable Policies and Legal Frameworks in Europe and Central Asia”. This report provides timely guiding principles and recommendations for policymakers, particularly at the local level, to analyse and review their legal and policy frameworks to facilitate food recovery and redistribution—key elements of broader strategies to prevent and reduce FLW, and to support a circular bioeconomy. 

Peste des petits (PPR) ruminants outbreaks in Europe, effecting Bulgaria, Greece, Romania, and Hungary highlight the need prevention and control of this disease. The Food and Veterinary Agency (FVA) of North Macedonia has organized a simulation exercise on PPR with the support of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and experts from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency.

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched an initiative to strengthen welding education in Armenia. This is a component of the “Forest resilience of Armenia, enhancing adaptation and rural green growth via mitigation” project. It is implemented by FAO and the Environmental Project Implementation Unit of the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Armenia. The project is funded by the Green Climate Fund and co-funded by FAO, the Austrian Development Agency, the World Wildlife Fund and the Autonomous Province of Bolzano-Italy with significant financial support provided by the Government of Armenia.

As part of the Digital Villages Initiative (DVI), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has facilitated a twinning study tour between pilot digital villages in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Almería SmartAgriHub in Spain. Over a week in February 2025, representatives from these villages – alongside key institutions such as the University of East Sarajevo Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Agriculture – participated in an in-depth knowledge exchange. The goal of the participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina was to learn from Spain’s pioneering agricultural innovation model and explore the potential to implement similar strategies in their own communities.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) held an interactive lecture series at the Agricultural University of Tirana, engaging students in discussions on climate-smart agriculture and international plant protection standards. This event, part of the Business4SDGs Phase II project, aimed to bridge scientific research with practical implementation, equipping Albania’s future agricultural professionals with knowledge to address pressing global challenges.

Improving the food security and nutrition of children, especially those in rural areas or from poor families, through school feeding is a priority in Uzbekistan, and one which is supported by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Schools are an ideal setting to give children and adolescents the good diet they need in order to grow, develop, be protected from disease and have the energy to study, learn and be physically active. School meal programmes reach children at an age when positive food and health habits are being formed—and an increased awareness of nutrition can be a spillover benefit to families and the wider community.

African swine fever (ASF) is a serious animal disease that may kill up to 100 percent of infected animals, both domestic pigs and wild boar, and for which, currently, there is no commercially available vaccine or treatment. It poses significant economic, livelihood and biodiversity threats to the region's pig sector and hunting.