Proven solutions, practical approaches help advance sustainable food and agriculture in Europe and Central Asia

21/05/2026

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.

Complementing the formal agenda, several events provided a platform for showcasing practical solutions, sharing experiences and fostering dialogue on how countries in Europe and Central Asia can accelerate the transformation towards more resilient, inclusive and sustainable agrifood systems. Discussions underscored that many of the region’s challenges – from water stress and climate change to digital and gender divides – do not stop at national borders and require coordinated, partnership based responses.

Partnering for results

Event participants stressed the need to move from promising concepts to concrete results.

One dedicated side event highlighted how partnership programmes provide an enabling framework that supports long-term, Member-driven cooperation built on shared priorities. The achievements of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Türkiye illustrated how these partnerships support sharing expertise, adapting solutions across borders and advancing co-created, jointly owned and responsibly led regional and global responses that move beyond traditional donor–recipient models. Participants underlined the importance of engaging a wide range of partners, including governments, international organizations, the private sector, academia and civil society.

A discussion on investments highlighted new approaches to financing sustainable and resilient value chains and attracting responsible private investment, including FAO’s One Country One Priority Product Initiative and country examples from Albania, Denmark and Ukraine on digital platforms and infrastructure investments. Innovative models demonstrated how investments can support transparency while generating real benefits for farmers and rural communities. For long-term success, it is important that investments are built on proven practices and rely on collaboration with a wide variety of actors.

Managing interlinked resources sustainably

Beyond the main theme, additional side events helped break down the common goal of sustainability into concrete ideas and steps.

Co-organized by Switzerland as part of their Chairpersonship of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), a side event on the water–energy–food–ecosystem nexus focused on the growing pressure on water resources in the region and its direct implications for agriculture. Participants stressed that agriculture, as the largest water user, is among the sectors most affected by increasing water stress and climate-related variability. Discussions highlighted the importance of reliable data and information systems to support evidence based decision-making and build trust among sectors and countries. Country examples from Tajikistan and other Central Asian countries demonstrated how investments in infrastructure, national water strategies and regional cooperation mechanisms can help address seasonal water fluctuations and climate change impacts.

The need to further strengthen the capacities of women and youth was emphasized, as their contributions to improving water-use efficiency remains critical but often underutilized.

A side event on bioeconomy, moderated by Marie-Lise Stoll, Luxembourg’s Deputy Permanent Representative to FAO, explored how bio based approaches can contribute to sustainable agrifood systems while safeguarding food security and strengthening rural livelihoods and climate resilience. Discussions highlighted the practical nature of bioeconomy, including opportunities to reuse agricultural and forestry residues for energy, fertilizers and other value added products.

Speakers representing the European Union, Finland, Germany, Finland and Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of FAO’s BioEconomy for Sustainable Transformation (BEST) Partnership as a global multistakeholder platform that brings together governments, the private sector and academia to support technical cooperation, knowledge exchange and the scaling up of sustainable bioeconomy solutions. To further develop the application of bioeconomy approaches, identified priorities included improving data collection and knowledge sharing, strengthening policy support, developing bioeconomy-relevant indicators, and building capacities to ensure that bioeconomy initiatives support sustainability objectives without compromising access to food.

In the run up for the Seventeenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the Convention on Biological Diversity FAO and Armenia organized a side event to provide further information on the strong interconnectedness of biodiversity and food systems. The side event on COP17 and biodiversity highlighted national examples on how countries (including Tajikistan and Portugal) are integrating biodiversity into agrifood system policy frameworks and activities. Considering that food production and consumption are among the largest drivers of biodiversity loss – but also that they greatly depend on it to continue flourishing – FAO supports countries in mainstreaming food and agriculture into the biodiversity agenda.

Closing the divide in rural areas 

Growth can be sustainable only if it ensures that everyone can benefit from it. Inclusive approaches and digitalization have the potential to amplify the impacts of rural transformation.

At a side event on digital pathways for agrifood systems transformation, participants converged on a clear message: Supportive policy frameworks, digital public infrastructure and strong local innovation ecosystems must work in concert to ensure that digital tools effectively reach rural communities and the farmers who depend on them.

Experiences from Israel, Lithuania, Spain and Tajikistan highlighted complementary approaches to improving connectivity, facilitating access to digital services and data, and delivering user friendly solutions through integrated systems. At the same time, speakers warned that the digital divide in Europe and Central Asia is often compounded by gender and generational gaps, calling for targeted measures to ensure that women and young people benefit equally from digital innovation.

With the participation of Beth Bechdol, FAO Deputy Director-General, and Dilrabo Mansuri Saidullo, Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan, a special event linked to the International Year of the Woman Farmer 2026 reaffirmed the central role of women in agrifood systems and rural development. The event gave voice to women farmers directly, featuring the accounts of two young farmers from Spain and Tajikistan whose stories illustrated both the barriers and the remarkable achievements of rural women in the region. Their testimonies were complemented by policy perspectives from countries that have implemented concrete and successful approaches to bridge the gender gap in agriculture, offering inspiration and practical lessons for the wider region. It was also underscored that investing in women farmers is not only a matter of rights and fairness, but a prerequisite for social and economic development.