São Paulo – The impacts of the Russia-Ukraine war on food security are already being felt in the rising food prices and shortage of staple crops in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, warned the UN’s International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) on Thursday (17).
According to IFAD, the effects are being perceived in the MENA region and spreading to the world’s most vulnerable countries, including the Horn of Africa, with poorest people at greatest risk. The warning comes amidst mounting concerns by the international community that the ongoing conflict will escalate global hunger and poverty.
A statement made public by the agency says that one third of global wheat exports come from Russia and Ukraine. The Middle East and Africa imports more than half of their cereal supplies from the two countries. IFAD reports that the conflict has caused spikes in food, fertilizer and fuel prices.
In Somalia, where an estimated 3.8 million people are already severely food insecure, the costs of electricity and transportation have spiked due to fuel price increases. According to IFAD, this has a disproportionate impact on poor small-scale farmers who, in the face of erratic rainfall and an ongoing drought, rely on irrigation-fed agriculture powered by diesel engines.
In Egypt, prices of wheat and sunflower oil have escalated due to Egypt’s reliance on Russia and Ukraine for 85% of its wheat supply and 73% of its sunflower oil.
In Lebanon, 22% of families are food insecure and food shortages or further price hikes will exacerbate the situation. The country imports up to 80% of its wheat from Russia and Ukraine but can only store about one month’s worth of the crop at a time due to the blast in Beirut’s port that destroyed the country’s major grain silos.
IFAD president Gilbert Houngbo (pictured) said that the conflict in Ukraine, already a catastrophe for those directly involved, is a tragedy for the world’s poorest people living in rural areas who cannot absorb the price hikes of staple foods and farming inputs that will result from disruptions to global trade. “This could cause an escalation of hunger and poverty with dire implications for global stability,” he said.
IFAD said it is working with governments, rural communities and partners to step up global support to the regions most affected, keeping refugees. It is also intensifying its work to reduce post-harvest losses, improve storage and strengthen local and regional food markets.
Translated by Guilherme Miranda
