Ensuring food safety and quality remains a top priority for North Macedonia. Codex Alimentarius standards are a crucial set of tools to ensure food safety and quality across the food chain from production through to consumption. Co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Food and Veterinary Agency of North Macedonia, a national event was held on 19 February dedicated to promoting the Codex standards. The event was another step in strengthening the country’s food safety and quality through the FAO/WHO Codex Trust Fund project.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), partnering with the Ministry of Health and Social Protection and the Ministry of Agriculture of Tajikistan, today set in motion a new project to develop locally relevant recommendations to ensure healthy diets from sustainable food systems in Tajikistan. The project was launched today at a national inception workshop that raised awareness about the potential for food systems-based dietary guidelines (FSBDGs) to contribute to the country’s development goals and national priorities. 

On 27 February 2025, key stakeholders gathered in Baku for the national inception meeting of the project “Building Capacities on Food Consumption Data for Better Nutrition and Safer Food”. The initiative aims to equip Azerbaijan with the knowledge and tools needed to make informed, data-driven decisions that improve public health and nutrition. By strengthening national data systems, this project will help ensure that the people of Azerbaijan have access to safer, more nutritious food.

The safety of workers in the fisheries and aquaculture sectors worldwide remains a concern. Despite efforts by governing bodies and other responsible entities, the number of accidents in these fields continues to be persistently high globally. For this reason, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Water Resources, Agriculture and Processing Industry of Kyrgyzstan, organized a regional workshop to discuss a draft Code of Practice on Occupational Health and Safety in Aquaculture and Fisheries for Central Asia and the Caucasus.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Representation in Armenia and Fund for Armenian Relief (FAR) co-hosted the “Enhancing the Visibility of Farmers Offering Agritourism Services” Conference last week. 
The event united key players from Armenia’s agritourism and tourism sectors to foster cooperation and broaden the impact of rural tourism. It was held within the framework of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and FAO implemented “Local Empowerment of Actors for Development in Lori and Tavush regions (LEAD)” project and the FAR driven “Poverty Reduction in Tavush Region” project.

To protect the health of people, animals, and ecosystems, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) in Bosnia and Herzegovina have launched a joint project titled “SDG Localisation Through Healthy Food Systems Transformation.” Rooted in the One Health approach, this initiative tackles the interconnected challenges affecting human, animal, plant, and environmental health. By focusing on transforming urban food systems in Trebinje, Bijeljina, Kakanj, and Široki Brijeg, the project aims to build local capacity and establish participatory platforms that bring together a diverse range of stakeholders, from government bodies and civil society organizations to the private sector and local communities.

With an estimated 600 million cases of foodborne illnesses annually, unsafe food is a threat to human health and economies globally. Kyrgyzstan is not exempt from the compound and complex risks arising from unsafe food. In response, the country has taken steps to increase the effectiveness of its food safety and quality standards across its food and agriculture sector. A new project implemented jointly by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyzstan, aims to enhance the effectiveness of the quality and food safety control systems operating in this Central Asian country.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has trained Armenian farmers’ formal and non-formal groups in social media to modernize the way rural communities tell their stories and promote their initiatives. 
The Local Empowerment of Actors for Development (LEAD) project, supported by the European Union and implemented jointly by FAO and the United Nations Development Programme, is strengthening farmers’ groups, and giving them the effective social media tools and skills to reach out from rural Armenia to the world to promote their local products. 

Brucellosis is a disease that primarily affects ruminants in many countries around the world. Due to its zoonotic nature – being transmissible from animals to humans – it often affects farm workers and rural populations. To further prevent brucellosis in Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has organized a three-day workshop, starting today, to assess countries’ status in the progressive control of brucellosis. The event brings together representatives from public health and veterinary authorities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. 

The second ministerial meeting was held on 18 January in Berlin, Germany on the sidelines of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2025. Speakers included Cem Özdemir, German Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, Ludmila Catlabuga, Moldovan Minister of Agriculture and Food Industry, as well as Raimund Jehle, FAO Regional Programme Leader and Representative in the Republic of Moldova.

The Investment Centre of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), has launched Digital Technologies for Agriculture in Türkiye showcasing how AgTech solutions – from smart irrigation to traceability and e-commerce – are poised to enhance productivity and sustainability in Türkiye. The publication identifies the most promising AgTech solutions and assesses their current and potential uptake, along with barriers to adoption, and the supporting ecosystem. 

The One Health approach emphasizes the interconnected health of humans, animals, and ecosystems. By fostering collaboration across sectors like agriculture, healthcare, and environmental management, One Health aims to tackle complex global health challenges, such as emerging diseases, through integrated solutions. In a bid to enhance national capacities and bridge gaps between sectors, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), alongside the World Health Organization (WHO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), known as the Quadripartite, launched a Russian-language version of its One Health course. 

The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way food is moved, sold, and bought in urban areas worldwide – creating some new trends and accelerating others. In Europe and Central Asia, the pandemic and geopolitical tensions disrupted supply chains, affecting food availability and prices in cities. Understanding how this new reality has reshaped the urban food distribution landscape is the subject of a joint report by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and FAO’s Investment Centre, titled Building resilience in urban food logistics systems.

Women living in rural areas of Tajikistan, Türkiye and Uzbekistan are a large portion of the population and play vital roles in both farming and non-farming activities. Among the many challenges they face are gender-based barriers that affect their efforts to build resilient livelihoods. Poor social and physical infrastructure, climate variability (which affects crop yields and prices) and structural inequalities widen gender gaps and limit rural women’s access to economic opportunities. For the past three years, the FAO–Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture has helped these women gain access to technical skills and equipment and has guided responsible institutions to ensure that policies and practices in agriculture and forestry are aware and responsive to the needs and priorities of rural women.

As part of One Country One Priority Product (OCOP) programme of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “Sustainable Chestnut Value Chain Development”, the "Chestnut Route" was established to promote sustainable development in the Albanian Alps by capitalizing one of the area’s most distinctive natural products, chestnuts.

The hiking opportunity already awaits mountain lovers and those celebrating International Mountain Day (11 December) under the annual theme “Mountain solutions for a sustainable future – innovation, adaptation and youth”.

Avian influenza, often referred to as bird flu, is a major transboundary disease with zoonotic potential. By 2024, more than 800 cases of human infection with avian influenza A(H5N1) virus were reported across 23 countries. The disease is present and actively spreading across Europe as well. While avian influenza viruses do not presently transmit easily between humans, continued circulation in poultry could lead to mutations that increase human-to-human transmissibility. In response, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is offering online training to equip European veterinarians, who are the first responders, with the skills needed to detect and react to this cross-species virus, helping to mitigate severe health impacts on both animals and people.

Five countries in Europe and Central Asia became better prepared to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in their agrifood systems through support of a project implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and funded by the Russian Federation. Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan took initial actions on AMR in the agrifood sectors, with special emphasis on the livestock sector, and implemented measures to reduce the development and spread of AMR.

Raised with livestock, Mahammad and his community have long depended on animals as their main source of income. Moving around together solidified bonds among herding families, fostering collaboration that laid the foundation for their future cooperative. Together, they established Eko-Süd (Eco-Milk), chaired by Mahammad, with the aim of maximizing the production of milk and other dairy products.

In 2023, a new chapter began for Eco-Milk when the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in partnership with the Government of Azerbaijan, provided Mahammad’s cooperative with essential tools, including feed grinders, a dairy processing facility and generators. These tools made basic tasks much easier and faster, allowing the cooperative to focus on what truly matters: producing high-quality milk and dairy products for their community.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released a flagship report entitled The state of food systems in the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) region, offering a detailed analysis of agrifood systems across the Black Sea region, highlighting key trends, challenges and opportunities in 12 countries. The publication was produced under the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization Regional Cooperation Centre for Sustainable Food Systems project, which was launched in December 2020 through the FAO–Türkiye Partnership Programme on Food and Agriculture.  

The week of 7–11 October has been all about the European fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Pula, Croatia with the international symposium, "Building a sustainable future for inland fisheries and aquaculture in a time of multiple stressors" and the 32nd Session of the European Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture Advisory Commission (EIFAAC), held in back-to-back succession. The events brought together 120 policy makers and scientists who looked at the status and trends in European inland fisheries, potential for aquaculture growth, and the sectors’ sustainable future in a time of multiple stressors.