UN: Global food security needs Ukraine and Russia

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the problem of global food security cannot be resolved without bringing Ukraine's agricultural production, food production and Russian fertilizers back to the world market.

The Russian invasion of Ukraine in February increased financial market volatility, driving up commodity prices and affecting logistics, which could impede economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic in many countries, including Nigeria.

"Our analysis indicates that the war in Ukraine is only making matters worse, causing a three-dimensional crisis that is devastating food, energy and global financial systems in developing countries," Guterres told reporters in the Nigerian capital Abuja.

"There is no real solution to the problem of global food security without bringing Ukraine's agricultural production and Russia's and Belarus's food and fertilizer production back to the world market despite the war," he added.

The head of Nigeria's Sovereign Investment Authority said Nigeria was forced to buy emergency supplies of Canadian potash in April after it was unable to import fertilizer from Russia due to the impact of Western sanctions.

The International Monetary Fund said last month that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had caused another "significant negative shock" to sub-Saharan Africa, driving up food and energy prices and putting the most vulnerable at risk of starvation.

These additional pressures come while many countries are still reeling from the long-running COVID-19 pandemic.

"We need to ensure a steady flow of food and energy resources to open markets by lifting all unnecessary export restrictions, directing surpluses and reserves to those in need, and controlling food prices to reduce market volatility," Guterres said.

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