FAO’s spring sowing action in the Russian Federation

For the International Year of Cooperatives – 2025: Cooperatives are building a better world. The conference in Belgorod

About 280 million workers which is around 10% of the employed world’s population have found jobs in cooperatives. The 300 largest cooperatives (in total, they account for approximately 3 million) produce a lot of necessary goods and services receiving the gross income of more than 2.4 trillion dollars.

In Vietnam, for example, 44% of all active cooperatives operate in the agricultural sector. In India, more than 50% of all cooperatives serve as primary agricultural credit societies or deliver services related to marketing and warehouse storage of products to their producing members.

This statistics was presented by Oleg Kobiakov, Director of the FAO Liaison Office with the Russian Federation, during his speech on March 24 at the International Scientific and Practical Conference entitled “The Role of Cooperation in Sustainable Development” dedicated to the International Year of Cooperatives. The Forum took place at the Belgorod University of Cooperation, Economics and Law (BUKEP).

“The cooperative enterprise model has proven its resilience to shocks and crises and can contribute to improving food security and reducing poverty,” emphasized Oleg Kobiakov. “Cooperatives in the agrifood sector play a key role in the development of family farms, helping to reduce inequality, create fair working conditions, and optimize local governance based on public-private partnerships.”

On 19 June 2024, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2025 as the International Year of Cooperatives (IYC). The theme for 2025 is “Cooperatives Build a Better World”. The UN highlights the tremendous significance of cooperatives in addressing global challenges and highlights their contributions to sustainable development across social, economic, and environmental dimensions, as well as the importance of their activities in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

In 2012, as part of the first-ever IYC, FAO was the lead agency in promoting the key role of agricultural cooperatives in addressing food security issues.

Currently, as Oleg Kobiakov noted, “FAO is actively engaged in raising awareness and disseminating information, strengthening the intellectual potential and competencies of cooperatives’ employees through effective mechanisms of multi-stakeholder partnerships.”

Rector of BUKEP, Еlena Isayenko, and other speakers commended the cooperation between the University and the FAO Moscow Office and expressed their readiness to become the leading Russian specialized higher educational institution for organizing events in the Russian Federation in observance of the International Year of Cooperatives.

Discussion at the Moscow Economic Forum: “Russia as the World’s Provider”

The problem of hunger has been afflicting humanity since the very first days of its history. The causes of hunger are varied: crop failures, armed conflicts, and, in general, economic perturbations – rising energy prices, currency fluctuations, tariff regulation measures, and disruptions in logistics chains that lead to market destabilization.

“A new factor has also emerged, namely the climate change,” said Oleg Kobiakov on 1 April during the session “Food Security: Russia’s Role in the World” (moderated by Igor Abakumov, founder of the weekly newspaper and media group “Krestyanskiye Vedomosti”) at the Moscow Economic Forum (MEF-2025).

“Natural disasters – droughts, floods, pest invasions – are occurring more frequently today than in the past. For example, a typical natural phenomenon in Mongolia called ‘dzud’ – a harsh snowless winter and lack of feed – used to happen once every 14–15 years, but now it occurs once every 6–7 years,” noted the head of the FAO Moscow Office.

“Today, 735 million people are facing hunger worldwide. The market is the main channel for food distribution. We need to produce a lot of food and ensure that nothing hinders its delivery from production sites to consumption locations,” stated Oleg Kobiakov. He also emphasized that under today’s challenging geopolitical conditions, it is significant that the Russian Federation has been successfully playing the role of a global crop provider over the last few years.

Fisheries Science of the 21st century – the Forum in Istra

As of 2023, the world produced 191.7 million tonnes of fish and seafood, along with approximately 30 million tonnes of seaweed, with aquaculture production exceeding wild catches for several years. In the Russian Federation, however, the annual industrial catch of fish is around 5 million tonnes, while aquaculture production accounts for less than 400,000 tonnes.

“Today, by world standards, the Russian Federation is simultaneously a fishing giant and an aquaculture dwarf. However, Russian fisheries science is actively working not only to balance this ratio considering the limited reserves of industrial fish catches but also to increase overall production of aquatic organisms,” commented Oleg Kobiakov on the state of affairs in the industry while speaking at the International Scientific and Practical Conference “Fisheries Science in the 21st Century: Key Development Directions”, held on 9 April in the village of Anosino (Istra District of Moscow Region) at SberUniversity.

“FAO is the only intergovernmental organization with a global mandate in fisheries and aquaculture management. The “Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries” adopted in 1995 is the foundational regulatory document in the range of legislative instruments. The Code is non-binding. However, it is actively and consistently applied by many countries, including the Russian Federation.”

The director of the FAO Moscow Office praised the cooperation between FAO and the Federal Agency for Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo), as well as Russia’s efforts to strengthen international cooperation in fisheries, including within regional fisheries management organizations.

FAO’s Message to Future Leaders: Youth Symposium of the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration National Committee

Director of the FAO Moscow Office, Oleg Kobiakov, welcomed future leaders – politicians, scientists, and public figures – gathered at the higher educational institution and FAO’s partner, Moscow State Institute of International Relations (MGIMO), for the research seminar entitled “The Decade on Ecosystem Restoration 2021–2030 in the Global and National Context”.

“The Decade provides a unique opportunity to align them with the needs of the 21st century. The restoration of ecosystems related to crop and animal production, forestry, fisheries, and aquaculture must contribute to their return to a healthy, stable state. Only in this way can they meet human needs for sustainable food production and serve as a stable source of livelihoods,” highlighted the FAO representative.

The UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration aims to strengthen political will, mobilize resources, build capacity, conduct scientific research, and foster cooperation both within countries and between states.

“In the Russian Federation, this movement is led by the National Committee for the Decade, which unites politicians, opinion leaders, experts, and environmental activists. Apart from the Russian Federation, similar structures have been established in only two countries – Australia and China. Together with our colleagues from UNEP, we are rightly proud that the Russian Committee has been created at our initiative and with our support,” concluded the director of the FAO Office in the Russian Federation.