Abdusattor Muzaffarov remembers when fruit trees barely survived on his land. No matter how carefully he planted or watered, roaming livestock would trample the seedlings, undoing weeks of work overnight. “We tried everything, but it kept happening,” he says. “We didn’t have fences, local seeds or support. Most of the time, we just had to start over.” Abdusattor, 58, lives with his wife, Zulkhumor Nabieva, and nine children in a village in Baljuvon district. He spends most of his days working the 2 ha of forest land he leases from the Forestry Agency.

Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia is increasingly vulnerable to climate change, which impacts food production, rural livelihoods and ecosystems. Yet, the agricultural sector also offers powerful opportunities for advancing low-emission and climate-resilient development. To strengthen collective action and regional cooperation, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) convened the Fourth Regional Climate Workshop on Enhancing Climate Action in Agriculture in Europe and Central Asia on 23–24 October 2025 in Istanbul, Türkiye.

Zoonotic diseases – infections transmitted from animals to humans – remain a serious threat to global health, livelihoods and food systems. In an era of climate change, antimicrobial resistance and increasing interaction between humans, livestock and wildlife, the risk of zoonoses is greater than ever. To strengthen regional preparedness and promote early detection, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has launched a Russian-language version of its online course Zoonoses for Field Veterinarians. 

High in the heart of the Pamir-Alai mountain system, the Almosi Valley of Tajikistan appears, at first glance, an almost impossible place for agriculture. Characterized by steep gradients and the harsh climate of the Hisor Range, this landscape is anything but forgiving. Yet, nestled just 37 kilometres from the capital city of Dushanbe, a resilient and integrated way of life has sustained nearly 59 000 people across 49 villages for centuries.

Today marks the conclusion of a series of trainings on African swine fever and stamping-out measures conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in the Western Balkans.

The trainings were held in Albania, Kosovo, and Montenegro, with support from national experts and veterinary services. An ASF expert from Latvia shared practical experience on stamping-out procedures. 

The Amalfi lemon grows in a landscape as distinctive as its flavour. For nearly a thousand years, farmers have worked in harmony with nature to carve arable land from the sheer slopes of Italy’s Amalfi Coast, planting lemon groves, olives and vines along narrow ribbons of stone-walled terraces that cling to the mountainsides. 
FAO recognized the Amalfi Lemon Gardens as a GIAHS in August 2025. The designation acknowledges this unique system as a cultural treasure but also a model of resilience worth protecting. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has developed a land degradation neutrality strategy and local action plans for community and agricultural lands across 32 localities in three districts of the Republic of Moldova. The initiative aims at improving soil health, enhancing sustainability and supporting long-term agricultural resilience in the pilot districts of Orhei, Rezina and Șoldănești. The strategy was designed in response to the country’s accelerating land degradation, which poses a serious threat to the agricultural sector. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has released the National gender profile of agriculture and rural livelihoods: Republic of Tajikistan, examining the causes and impacts of gender inequality in agriculture and rural development and offering recommendations for more inclusive and gender-responsive policies and practices.

Zarnigor Yakubova has been surrounded by bees for most of her life. Growing up in a small village in Boʻstonliq district, in the mountainous region of Uzbekistan, she helped her father with the family’s beekeeping work. What began as a family routine became a skill she quietly carried with her into adulthood.

In 2023, Zarnigor was approached by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) to join the Leaving No One Behind project, supported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of Türkiye. The project economically empowers rural women by providing them with access to agricultural knowledge, tools and peer networks.

At first glance, the volcanic landscape of Lanzarote, in Spain’s Canary Islands, looks anything but fertile. The island is dry and harsh, blanketed in layers of black lapilli — fine volcanic gravel and ash — left behind by massive eruptions nearly three centuries ago. But look closer, and a different story emerges: green shoots of grapevines rise from black ash pits; strawberries and sweet potatoes thrive in soil that appears lifeless.