LWesterners came together on Thursday to respond to the risk of global food shortages following the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, two major wheat exporters.
“Food shortages will materialize,” warned US President Joe Biden in Brussels after G7 and NATO summits, assuring that the United States like Canada, major grain producers, would increase their exports. Consequently.
The United States has announced that it will devote 11 billion dollars (about 10 billion euros) over the next five years to respond to threats to food security and malnutrition in the world.
France, for its part, has proposed an emergency plan for food security at EU and G7 level.
Within the framework of the G7, the United States and Canada “talked about how (…) to increase and distribute food resources more quickly”, Joe Biden told the press. “We are also talking with the Europeans and all other countries to suspend all restrictions on their food exports,” he said.
The war, like the indirect consequences of Western sanctions, affects a large number of countries, because Russia and Ukraine are “the granaries of Europe”, recalled Mr. Biden.
For his part, French President Emmanuel Macron called on Moscow to be “responsible” by allowing sowing in Ukraine to take place. Otherwise the war will cause in 12 to 18 months “an inevitable famine”, with shortages of cereals in the Middle East and North Africa – where Egypt depends in particular “80%” on Russian and Ukrainian cereals for feed its people.
Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and Nigeria, very populous countries, are the main importers of cereals from Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking as President of the Council of the EU “and in connection with the African Union”, the French President proposed in Brussels an “initiative for food security” with first of all an “emergency plan for release of stocks in the event of a crisis to avoid any shortage and moderate price increases”.
Another aspect, in unison with what Washington is calling for: “obtain a multilateral commitment not to impose restrictions on the export of agricultural raw materials”, said Mr. Macron.
In addition, he wished “from this summer coordinated action by producing countries to temporarily raise production thresholds when possible” and “to set up a mechanism for allocating volumes to guarantee access for all, in particular most vulnerable, in sufficient quantity and at reasonable prices”, on the model of the initiative to distribute anti-Covid vaccines to the most deprived countries.
Finally, Emmanuel Macron suggests helping production in the most affected countries, “by significantly increasing investment in sustainable food production and agricultural value chains”.
He said he had presented this initiative to his counterparts in the G7, for many large agricultural producers, in order to engage them in this approach, which he wants to expand within the framework of the G20.
For 2021-2024, the EU has planned to dedicate at least €2.5 billion to an international cooperation program on nutrition, to support the food systems of some 70 partner countries.
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24/03/2022 23:47:41 – Brussels (AFP) – © 2022 AFP