Water, soil and supply chains decide what farms in Europe, Central Asia and the Middle East can earn, and a new report from the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says governments are talking about all three faster than they are acting on them. FAO presented its “Green Agriculture: A Stocktaking report” in Budapest on 15 and 16 September 2026, at a two-day dialogue for policymakers from Europe and Central Asia and from the Near East and North Africa.
The FAO regional offices for the two areas organized the meeting together, with the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (CIC) as a partner. Technical experts from agriculture ministries on both sides attended, along with regional and international organizations. FAO said the event also formally launched the report across its regions, plus regional policy assessments covering every FAO region. It followed the 2025 Global Forum on Green Agriculture.
Ambition ahead of delivery
The report draws on five regional assessments: Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Europe and Central Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Near East and North Africa. Its main finding, in FAO’s words, is that policy ambition “continues to outpace implementation” in all five. Isolated measures will not do the job. Green agriculture needs agriculture, water, environment, climate, finance and rural development ministries working together.
Starting points differ. In the Near East and North Africa, extreme water scarcity sets the limits, which puts water productivity, fiscal and regulatory reform, and soil protection first. In Europe and Central Asia, most countries have formal green strategies, but fragmented farm structures and thin advisory and green finance systems hold back delivery at scale.
FAO Agricultural Officer Artur Shamilov, who presented the findings, said policy attention is strongest on water, soil, land restoration, climate resilience and biodiversity. Green supply chains, sustainable consumption, and food loss and waste lag well behind, even though stronger supply chains are needed to hold on to gains made at farm level.
The report lists seven priorities: aligning policy, planning and financing; strengthening institutions and governance; improving data, digital and monitoring systems; scaling inclusive innovation and technology; accelerating circularity and resource efficiency; building in inclusion, equity and participation; and coordinating regional and international support.
What officials said
Viorel Gutu, FAO Assistant Director-General and Regional Representative for Europe and Central Asia, called green agriculture “the pathway to more resilient, more competitive and more inclusive agrifood systems.” He added: “The challenges we face – from water scarcity to climate variability – do not stop at regional borders. Neither should our response.”
AbdulHakim Elwaer, his counterpart for the Near East and North Africa, joined virtually. “There is no single pathway towards greening agriculture,” he said. For his region, which he described as one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable, that means sustainable water management, healthy soils, biodiversity and resilient rural livelihoods.
A farm visit in Kozárd
On the second day, participants travelled to Kozárd in northern Hungary, where CIC member Péter Pál Hajas hosted a field study under the theme “Farming with Nature.” The CIC said Hajas, joined by Péter Tóth of BirdLife Hungary, showed how healthy soils, diverse vegetation, field margins, water and connected habitat can support migratory birds, songbirds and small game on a working farm.
CIC Programme Coordinator Thomas Paulic made the case for game meat as part of the food system. Using European data from the Wild Harvest Initiative, he said around 276,000 tonnes of wild meat are harvested in Europe each year, roughly 1.6 billion meals. Participants ate locally supplied wild game for lunch before the talks resumed.
FAO said it will continue the work through its Regional Technical Platform for Greening Agriculture, a standing forum for countries and partners.
Sources
- Towards greener agrifood systems: FAO dialogue bridges Europe, Central Asia, the Near East and North Africa
- Towards greener agrifood systems: FAO dialogue, supported by CIC, bridges Europe, Central Asia, the Near East and North Africa – CIC – International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation
