FAO in Europe - Assisting the Rural Sector

Political events during the past decades have lead to a renewed role for the FAO in Europe. The collapse of centrally planned economies in Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, and the transition to market economies have had an enormous social and economic impact in the region. These events have been fundamental in the formulation of a renewed approach in which the FAO focuses on the revitalization of the rural sector in countries shifting towards market economies and countries undergoing reforms to meet standards for entering the European Union.

This booklet, prepared by FAO's Regional Office for Europe and Subregional Office for Central and Eastern Europe, aims to show how FAO can respond to a wide range of circumstances and needs based on the organization's activities and experiences in the region since its first Regional Office was set up in Geneva in 1961.