Sonya Kirgizova is well known in the mountain villages of Tojikobod in central-eastern Tajikistan. Her neighbours admire her greenhouse, her jars filled with pickled Anzur onions and cucumbers, and the buzzing hives behind her home. More than anything, though, they trust her. This trust is what made her a central figure in bringing women farmers into a project that is helping to protect Tajikistan’s rich agrobiodiversity.

The booklet Seeds of heritage: The journey of GIAHS in Europe and Central Asia, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), explores how traditional agricultural landscapes across the region are being recognized as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) – and why they hold vital lessons for building more sustainable and resilient agrifood systems.

Locust species that produce large swarms and travel long distances can damage agricultural production if outbreaks are not contained through timely, well-coordinated action. As locust infestations continue to threaten crops, rangelands and rural livelihoods across the Caucasus and Central Asia, countries are strengthening their cooperation to improve early warning and support efficient and environmentally responsible control measures.

Access to adequate food is a fundamental human right recognized under international law. In Europe and Central Asia, realizing the right to food is increasingly critical – not only to addressing hunger but also to ensuring access to adequate, nutritious and diversified diets while responding to growing diet-related health challenges and supporting sustainable food systems. 

After five years of coordinated work, the agricultural sector in Serbia is better prepared to face future climate risks. Through the project Strengthening Disaster Resilience in Agriculture, funded by the European Union and implemented from March 2021 to January 2026, climate resilience has been systematically embedded across agricultural policies, institutions and farming practices, strengthening the sector from national strategy to the field.

The Central Asian and Caucasus Regional Fisheries and Aquaculture Commission (CACFish), established under the FAO Constitution, serves as a regional intergovernmental platform promoting responsible fisheries and aquaculture development in Central Asia and the Caucasus. Through dialogue, capacity development and technical cooperation, the Commission supports Member countries in improving governance, sustainability and resilience in the sector, while also cooperating with non-member countries in the region.

Bosnia and Herzegovina has spent decades building a detailed, nationally consistent understanding of its land resources. This work has been led by the Federal Agropedological Institute (Zavod), the sole institution responsible for systematic land bonitation and soil mapping across the country. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) partnered with the Federal Agropedological Institute and the Prenj Forestry Institute to organize Terra BiH 2025 on 12 December 2025. 

An intensive forestry programme on strengthening sustainable and multipurpose forest management, improving rural livelihoods and addressing climate change has concluded in Kosovo.¹ Funded by the European Union and Sweden and implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), in close cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Development and the Kosovo Forestry Agency, the programme left a lasting legacy on the sustainable management of forest resources for the benefit of current and future generations.

Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) QU Dongyu is visiting Turkmenistan this week, underscoring FAO’s commitment to strengthening food and nutrition security, and climate-resilient agrifood systems across Europe and Central Asia. 

A multi-country initiative supporting smallholder farmers in adopting sustainable, productive and climate resilient practices has successfully concluded. Implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan, the project harnessed the power of education and innovation to address interconnected challenges in agricultural production, food and nutrition security, and environmental sustainability.