Food security at risk in a fragile EU market

ABSTRACT

Eight years of steady increases in hunger and malnutrition have reversed decades of advancement. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that in 2020, between 720 and 811 million people worldwide would experience chronic hunger, the highest number since 2014. The difficulties facing the world food system in feeding an expanding population sustainably have been made even more apparent by climate change and the Covid-19 outbreak. The threat of a global food crisis as bad as or even worse than the one the world experienced in 2007 to 2008 has gained broad international attention in response to Russia's military intervention against Ukraine. Together, Russia and Ukraine are important exporters of almost 12% of the food calories traded globally and major suppliers of staple agrocommodities like wheat, maize, and sunflower oil. Additionally, Russia is the largest exporter of fertilizers worldwide. To ensure their basic food supply, a number of regions are heavily reliant on imports from these two nations. For example, eastern African countries import 72% of their cereals from Russia and 18% from Ukraine, while North African and Middle Eastern countries receive over 50% of their imports of cereal from Russia and Ukraine combined. The EU is dedicated to advancing its Farm to fork agenda and changing the way that food is produced around the world. In order to do this, the Commission stated that it will join eight international coalitions on food security and nutrition. These coalitions bring together a wide range of stakeholders.