Lhe destructive barbarity of Russia is trying to wipe Ukraine off the map, but it is also hitting the whole world. The shortages and recession that have begun are nothing compared to the famines to come: according to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, the conflict could lead to a “collapse of the global food system”, “a famine hurricane”.
The war is preventing Ukraine from exporting cereals and other foodstuffs that overflow in the silos, while Russian exports are hampered by various internal problems and by Russia’s desire to increase its stocks, to the detriment of its neighbors of the Caucasus that it usually supplied and, a fortiori, of all the countries dependent on its exports. However, Ukraine and Russia together account for 29% of the world wheat trade. Ukraine alone provides nearly half of the World Food Program’s wheat supply. Normally, Ukraine produces enough to feed 400 million people worldwide.
The UN has pleaded with Russia to lift the blockade of Ukrainian ports to allow grain to be transported to countries in vital need. Russia did not even respond. However, the Russian President, Vladimir Poutine, knows perfectly well the disasters which will occur, as of the autumn and more still in 2023, if Ukraine cannot export its cereals and sow for the next harvest. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), “8 to 13 million additional people could suffer from undernutrition worldwide in 2022-2023. The increase in malnutrition will be particularly marked in the regions of Asia-Pacific and sub-Saharan Africa”. FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu added in a statement that “Egypt, Turkey, Bangladesh and Iran, which are the biggest importers of wheat, buy more than 60% of their wheat from Ukraine and Russia, and import very significant quantities. Lebanon, Tunisia, Yemen, Libya and Pakistan are also heavily dependent on these two countries for their wheat supply”.
An assault on the world
The UN special rapporteur on the right to food, Michael Fakhri, has urged Moscow to “immediately stop the military attacks on Ukraine, before there are profound global and long-term consequences on everyone’s food security”. He estimates that “Food should never be militarized and no country in the world should be driven to starvation and despair” and also fears that this war will cause significant food insecurity rates in Ukraine, and increase undernutrition in Russia. “Even though the war is raging, the international community must pay particular attention to supporting family farms and small farmers in Ukraine, [car] family farms and small farmers are proving to be the most adaptable and resilient in times of crisis. »
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