Parliament members from across the globe gathered 10–11 November at the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Rome to exchange views and ideas on the use of legislative tools to boost progress in food security and nutrition. The Europe and Central Asia region was represented by Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia and Greece, with each country reaffirming its commitment to transforming the region’s food and agricultural sectors to be more efficient, inclusive and grounded in shared values.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Albania Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development are working closely together to scale up efforts to equip the country for the effective implementation of the European Union LEADER measure under the instrument for pre-accession assistance for rural development (IPARD III).

Agricultural land in Georgia is highly fragmented, limiting productivity and investment in farms and in rural areas in general. Aiming to address this problem, representatives from a wide range of Georgian institutions participated in a 20 November workshop in Tbilisi under the first phase of a planned three-and-a-half-year project to support the introduction of land consolidation in Georgia. The project is being implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), with financial support from the World Bank and the Government of Georgia.

As the world marks World AMR Awareness Week, 18–24 November, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) reaffirmed its strong commitment to tackling antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across Europe and Central Asia during the closing day of the second International Conference on Food Safety and Joint Efforts to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance.

With stronger knowledge in livestock care and feeding, women from rural areas of Kosovo¹ are improving their livelihoods and taking the lead in transforming their communities. From June through October 2025, more than 100 rural women from the municipalities of Istog/Istok, south Mitrovica and Skenderaj/Srbica participated in hands-on trainings designed to improve cow health, enhance milk quality and increase household incomes through better livestock management. Conducted directly on participants’ farms, the sessions helped women strengthen both productivity and sustainability on their farms through practical experience in stable hygiene, feeding, milk handling, disease prevention and calf care.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Ukraine, with the financial support of the European Union (EU) and in partnership with the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, the Global Crop Diversity Trust (Crop Trust), and Nordic Genetic Resource Center (NordGen) has officially opened the Duplicate Centre for Plant Genetic Resources of Ukraine and handed it over to the National Academy of Agrarian Sciences (NAAS).

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a project to strengthen competitiveness and climate resilience among smallholder farmers in the Republic of Moldova. This is the second phase of the Programme on Resilient and Inclusive Markets, implemented jointly by FAO and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) with key support from Switzerland.

Challenges related to water, sanitation and health are multifaceted. However, resilient water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) systems – coupled with the One Health approach – can provide the right framework for safeguarding public health. This was the main message from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) at the Seventh session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Protocol on Water and Health in Budapest, Hungary, in early November. It was delivered by Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader, during the high-level segment of the session, which was marking the twentieth anniversary of the protocol’s entry into force.

A delegation of government officials from Turkmenistan’s Ministry of Agriculture visited Lithuania from 27 to 30 October to learn from the country’s experience in digital transformation in the agriculture and land management sectors, including land registration and cadastre. The four-day study tour was organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) as part of its ongoing technical assistance to the Government of Turkmenistan in digitalizing its land administration and land-use monitoring systems.

Forest biodiversity experts and policymakers from five Central Asian countries, along with Azerbaijan, Montenegro and Türkiye are gathering in Trabzon for a regional training workshop on “Mainstreaming forest biodiversity into national strategies and action plans” to chart a course towards healthier, more resilient forests.