Efforts to prevent the food crisis from escalating

“The complex security, economic and financial implications require the goodwill of all parties to reach a comprehensive agreement,” Guterres said at a United Nations meeting amid food shortages. globally is becoming more and more serious. According to Guterres, the number of people facing severe food insecurity has increased from 135 million before the Covid-19 pandemic to 276 million today. More than 500,000 people are living in poverty, an increase of more than 500% compared to 2016.

Ukraine and Russia account for a third of the world’s wheat and barley production and half of the world’s sunflower oil production. In addition, Russia and Belarus are the 2nd and 3rd largest producers of potash (a major ingredient of fertilizers) in the world. Therefore, according to Mr. Guterres, there is currently no effective solution to the food crisis unless the food of Ukraine, as well as food and fertilizer from Russia and Belarus, are put on the world market despite the conflict. Russia – Ukraine today. According to the UN chief, this crisis has closed Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, halting food exports to many developing countries.

A woman collects five roots that are distributed at a refugee camp in Somalia Photo: REUTERS

On the same day, the World Bank announced it would spend more than 30 billion USD to help prevent the current food crisis. Of these, $12 billion is spent on new projects and more than $18 billion on food and nutrition-related projects that have been approved but not yet disbursed. According to Reuters, the new projects are expected to focus on the agricultural sector, irrigation projects and efforts to help reduce the impact of high food prices on the poor… Most of the resources will be concentrated in Africa, Middle East, Eastern Europe, Central and South Asia. Recognizing that rising food prices are affecting the poorest and most vulnerable, World Bank President David Malpass called on countries to immediately announce solutions to increase food production to cope with the effects of the pandemic. from the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Food security is also one of the main topics of discussion at the Meeting of Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors of the G7 (group of 7 leading developed countries in the world) in Germany on 19 and 20. 5. Earlier, at a meeting last weekend, G7 agriculture ministers expressed concern about the impact of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global food security. The disruption to exports from Ukraine has contributed to increased pressure on the world food system, in addition to the effects of climate change and other challenges, the officials said. The ministers pledged to support Ukraine in the resumption of agricultural exports, as well as to take the necessary measures to prevent acts that could cause food prices to rise further.