Nations must act together to end food crisis

It is unsettling to hear from the United Nations (UN) that the effects of the ongoing global food crisis may last for years, unless actions are taken to overturn the situation. As the Russia-Ukraine war drags on and continues to push up prices, world leaders believe the situation can improve only with the conclusion of the war. Bangladesh, as a developing nation, has already felt the heat from the global market, with the people struggling with skyrocketing prices of essentials.

Addressing the situation, the UN secretary-general pointed to the reality that shortages of grains and fertilisers happened because of some perceivable factors, such as Russia's invasion of Ukraine, rising temperatures, and pandemic-driven supply problems. He expressed caution that, unless effective steps were taken now, tens of millions of people would face severe food insecurity. He stressed that without goodwill on all sides involved in the war, an amicable solution would be hard to reach.

It can be noted that taking cognisance of the worsening food situation, the World Bank has announced an additional USD 12 billion in funding to stave off the "devastating effects" of a prolonged food crisis, which might lead to mass-scale malnutrition, mass hunger and famine in many of the countries where food shortage is already a pervasive phenomenon. Reports show that in many of the far-flung areas, people live in semi-starvation almost half the year. A prolonged food crisis would put the lives of these marginalised people in total jeopardy. Experts fear if the depleting food stocks are not replenished soon, it would push the vulnerable communities towards the edge of famine.

Together, Russia and Ukraine produce 30 percent of the world's wheat. But the Ukraine invasion and subsequent economic sanctions on Russia have disrupted supplies of fertilisers, wheat and other commodities, thereby causing global prices of food and fuel to go up phenomenally. Before the invasion in February, Ukraine was exporting 4.5 million tonnes of agricultural produce per month through its ports—12 percent of the planet's wheat, 15 percent of its corn and half of its sunflower oil. To handle the rising inflation, many countries are now opting for austerity measures to stabilise their economies. Bangladesh, too, is doing what it can to offset the effects.

We urge the world leaders to urgently find a solution to counter the threats and effects of a prolonged food crisis.