Jacqueline Frantová was a young Swiss urbanite when she first came to the Czech Republic in the mid-nineties. It was the “Wild East”, a place where anything could happen. Little did she suspect she would become a shepherdess. Today Jacqueline and her Bohemian family raise goats, sheep and cows in...

This report seeks to provide the countries in the Europe and Central Asia region with an overview and real examples of Nature-based Solutions (NbS) applied to agriculture. This is FAO’s first attempt to present NBS applied to agriculture especially pointed at the countries of this region, prompting the scaling-up of...

FAO Armenia brochure is dedicated to the FAO's 75 anniversary and the work in Armenia since the founding of FAO Armenia Representation office in 2004. It covers the main projects implemented in the country, the major outputs, key stakeholders, beneficiaries, donors, etc. The purpose of this publication is to inform the...

Within the vast borders of Kazakhstan, the world’s ninth largest country, about two million families earn a living from the dairy sector. Small-scale farmers who own fewer than five cows produce 80 percent of the country’s raw milk. Kazakhstan’s dairy industry has significant potential for growth, but it still faces many...

An apple a day keeps the doctor away, so the saying goes. FAO, jointly with Turkey’s Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, and other local partners, is helping to ensure Turkish consumers get their daily apple free of both pests and pesticides. Sustainable and safe fruit production that fosters economic, social, and...

A collective of organisations, coming together under the banner of the Nyéléni Europe Food Sovereignty Movement have just released a new report : “Roots of Resilience : Land Policy for an Agroecological Transition in Europe”. The report argues for an approach to land policy in Europe based on a model of land...

In this LIVESEED video, Riccardo Bocci from Rete Semi Rurali (IT) explains how to organise a field day. LIVESEED is a EU Horizon 2020-funded project that runs from 2017 to 2021. LIVESEEED aims to improve transparency and competitiveness of the organic seed and breeding sector, encouraging greater use of organic...

gribusiness is a profitable sector in the Russian Federation, which is rapidly gaining in popularity. Attracting generous state support in the form of subsidies, tax breaks, grants and land allocation, this is an area that is destined to grow, with strong potential for the country’s economy, as well as for...

From baking sweets to raising chickens, the members of Arzu Women’s Group in the Ismayilli region of Azerbaijan have found a variety of ways to improve their income while gaining new knowledge in farming, innovative technologies and business planning.  The group, formed in Sumagalli village under the Agro Action of Azerbaijani Women Project with income generated by the women...

The region of Europe and Central Asia is an economic and agricultural powerhouse that boasts diverse cultures, agri-food systems and climatic zones, FAO Director-General QU Dongyu said today. This diversity, he added, provides opportunities to share experience and good practices within the region and beyond, but to tap this potential...

With the aim to ensure inclusive economic growth by supporting the most vulnerable families in rural areas of Tajikistan, the signing ceremony of the matching grant agreements and cash distribution takes place these days in Tajikistan’s western Yovon district. The initiative was supported by FAO and the local authority of...

Two half-days of intense discussions started yesterday aiming to present and receive feedback on the draft Voluntary Guidelines on Gender Equality and Women's and Girls' Empowerment in the context of food security and nutrition. More than 20 countries of Europe and Central Asia joined the virtual regional consultation, organized by...

Aided by FAO, multiple events took place in recent weeks in Albania to help the country fight climate change and its consequences. In the past decades, the country has been facing floods and droughts and further weather extremes, as well as invasive marine species. To address these issues, FAO, in cooperation...

Post-harvest food loss is a leading cause of food insecurity for millions of people across the world. In 2019, 690 million suffered from hunger and the situation has worsened due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, everyone involved, including farmers, handlers, traders, and governments, are part of the solution to prevent...

The countries of Eastern and Southeastern Europe are taking bold action with the commitment to restore more than 4 million ha of land by 2030 under the Global Bonn Challenge. This was announced today at the Ministerial meeting organized by UNECE and FAO as part of the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration. Today,...

Olga Babayeva, a 52-year-old farmer from Samukh region, in northwestern Azerbaijan, is a well-recognized businesswoman in her community. Apart from being the biggest producer of vegetable seeds for onions, coriander, dill, radishes, and parsley, among others, she is also known for her strong support of women’s engagement in farming.  She was...

According to experts, overuse of pastures, as well as undergrazing, have a negative impact on the environment. If placed evenly throughout the pasture area, drinking wells for livestock can mitigate these negative consequences. However, many wells in desert and semi-desert pastures have become unusable over time, and their restoration is a...

FAO has finished delivering a series of trainings at various locations in Kosovo1 on detecting and preventing African swine fever (ASF) in pig farms.  The disease was first detected in 2019 in Serbia, with its first incursion into the Western Balkans. As the disease is still present in the country, the risk...

With the main aim to improve the animal health and production practices of smallholders and reduce the threat of antimicrobial resistance, FAO published an animal health and production strategy for Europe and Central Asia. Available in English and Russian, A wake-up call for impact urges both the private and public sectors to...

In late 2015, the world pledged to transform our future by committing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which foresees reforms providing women equal rights to economic resources, as well as access to ownership and control over land and other forms of property, in accordance with national laws. This gave further...