Caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine humanitarian crisis is already large enough to shock: about ten million displaced Ukrainians and thousands dead, the toll so far.
However, the effects of this war are set to increase even more, casting their shadow across the borders of Ukraine, as Sara Menker (Gro Intelligence) and Rajiv Shah (Rockefeller Foundation) note in their analysis for the New York Times.
“Ukraine and Russia are both major food exporters… And as Ukrainian farms have become battlefields, export uncertainty has created a global food emergency, raising prices for wheat, corn, soybeans, fertilizers and of sunflower oil “, Menker and Shah continue in their article.
Richer countries can absorb sharp increases in prices. But the same is not true for the poorest countries, such as Sudan and Afghanistan, whose food is becoming much more expensive.
In Sudan, for example, the price of bread has already doubled. It should be noted that Ukraine and Russia exported before the war not only cereals and oils but also animal feed and fertilizers, which means that the cost of food production will also increase in the near future with this production becoming more difficult as a process.
In addition to Sudan and Afghanistan, Egypt, the world’s largest importer of grain, is also expected to face major problems at a time when grain prices have already risen by about 33% since end of 2021.
It should be noted that for many countries, the effects of the war in Ukraine are now being added to a number of other problems.
Before the war, some 811 million people worldwide had no food. That number could rise sharply in the coming summer months, with climate change exacerbating the challenges of deteriorating water scarcity in many parts of the world.
Food crises often lead to social unrest, conflict, refugee and migration flows, and cycles of political instability.
Researchers cite rising food prices as one of the causes leading up to the events of the Arab Spring from 2011 onwards.
To avoid the worst, the international community (the UN, the World Trade Organization, the IMF, the G7 and China) must now take action by promoting food security programs (World Food Program, Feed the Future, etc.). ), debt relief, activation of emergency crisis management tools, etc.
With a comprehensive strategy, it is possible to reduce the effects of the crisis and the problems, as Sara Menker and Rajiv Shah note in their New York Times article.
Of course, it is enough to have a comprehensive strategy.
kathimerini.gr
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