Exports of agricultural products from Ukraine resumed in August, giving the impression that concerns about the world's food crisis have eased, but a person in charge of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) said in an interview with NHK, "Next year will be We could end up in a situation where there is not enough food to feed the world's population," he said, arguing that the crisis is never over.
Director-General Fleischer, who is in charge of Ukraine, the Middle East and North Africa at the WFP, which provides food aid around the world, responded to an NHK interview on the 12th, saying that exports of agricultural products from Ukraine, which had been stalled due to Russia's military invasion, had stopped. In August, we assessed the reopening as an important step.
However, regarding the future, he said, ``Agricultural land and agricultural infrastructure have been destroyed, and the eastern part of the country, where agriculture is thriving, has become the front line of the battle, and farmers are joining the battle as soldiers.'' I pointed out that we are in a situation where we cannot proceed as usual.
On top of that, he announced that the grain harvest from this fall to next year will drop by more than 30% compared to last season's 100 million tons, which was a good harvest.
In addition, exports from Russia, which produced much of the world's fertilizer, have stalled, and the price of fertilizer has skyrocketed, making it difficult for farmers around the world to buy enough fertilizer. pointed out.
He also mentioned that extreme weather events such as floods in Pakistan and droughts in China and Europe could have a negative impact on the world's food supply in the future.
``The problem this year was that we couldn't afford to buy food due to rising agricultural prices, but next year we could be in a situation where there isn't enough food to feed the world's population,'' Fleischer said. He expressed his deep concern and insisted that the crisis is by no means over.
On top of that, he emphasized the need for support from developed countries, saying that the food crisis should be placed on the G7's main agenda for Japan, which will chair the G7 = seven major countries next year.