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The impact of the war in Ukraine and the increase in inflation have caused fears to increase of a possible humanitarian crisis and are externalized by senior officials of organizations such as the International Monetary Fund.
Kristalina Georgieva, managing director of the IMF, said at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, that “the Anxiety about access to affordable food globally is reaching the ceiling” as food prices continue to “rise”.
Geotgieva is not the only one who has expressed concern. Last week, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres warned of “the specter of a global food shortage in the coming months” without urgent international action.
The UN estimates that, in the last year, the world prices of food increased by almost a third, fertilizers by more than half and oil prices by almost two thirds.
According to UN figures, the number of people with severe food insecurity has doubled in the last two years, from 135 million before the pandemic to 276 million today .
Now, more than half a million people are experiencing famine conditions, according to the UN, an increase of more than 500 % from 2016 .
Wheat prices have already been heavily affected by the war in Ukraine. Ukraine and Russia are some of the world’s largest wheat producers, combining to produce around 25% of world supply.
World wheat prices increased following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, despite they had already raised an estimated 80% in just over a year before December 2021, according to the IMF.
In the United States, consumer prices in April increased by 8.3% compared to the previous year, according to data from the Department of Labor.
Food costs increased by 9.4%, and the prices of meat, poultry , fish and eggs increased by 14.3% compared to the year above.
In March, around 65% of the 200 Feeding America network food banks, the largest food recovery organization largest in the country, reported higher demand for assistance month on month.
Guterres has urged a five-step plan to help meet challenges:
one. Increase food and fertilizer supplies;
2. Social protection systems within countries;
3. More access to international financing;
4. More government help for small food producers; and
5. Better funding of humanitarian operations to reduce famine and hunger.
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