The Asia-Pacific OCOP Regional Organizing Group (ROG) meeting endorsed establishing the OCOP Centres of Excellence (COEs).The COEs will be hubs of interdisciplinary knowledge generation and sharing, capacity building and transfer of science, innovation and technology. 

A new global project to advance the cocoa value chain development in Samoa was kicked off today during an inception workshop, co-hosted by FAO and the Government of Samoa. 

From the vegetable fields of Luve to the highlands of Nkhaba, Eswatini’s youth and women farmers are writing a new chapter in the country’s agricultural story. Supported by FAO through the Technical Cooperation Project, young smallholders are shifting from subsistence to commercial production, building resilience against climate shocks, and accessing new markets through innovation.

The Asia-Pacific pavilion was one of six regional showcases, offering visitors a dynamic journey through the region’s rich and diverse agrifood systems. With more than 20 countries from Asia and the Pacific represented and over 250 products on display, the pavilion presented the region’s extraordinary agricultural heritage, biodiversity and lead role in feeding the planet and shaping the future of global cuisine. 

Lesotho is scaling up potato production to strengthen food security, enhance rural livelihoods, and build climate resilience under the One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) initiative. The potatoes have emerged as a strategic agricultural commodity, catalyzing increased productivity and new commercial opportunities for smallholder farmers.