Insights EDITORIAL ANALYSIS : Ukraine war and global food crisis

Source: The Hindu

• Prelims: Current events of National and International importance, food inflation, Russia-Ukraine map.
• Mains GS Paper II: Issues related to rising food crisis, impact of Russia-Ukraine war, importance of Russia and Ukraine in global supply chain.

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS

• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent sanctions on its economy have sent global food prices soaring, threatening to push millions of people, especially those in low income countries, into starvation.
• Ukraine and its allies in the West have accused Russia of weaponizing food, saying that its blockade of Ukraine’s Black Sea ports is the primary reason for the rising prices.
• Moscow has blamed Western sanctions for the crisis.
• The United Nations and Turkey have initiated talks with the Russian leadership to facilitate the exports of grains and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine.

INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE

Context

Food Security:

• It means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life(United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security).
• It is the combination of the following three elements:

1. Food availability

Food must be available in sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis. It considers stock and production in a given area and the capacity to bring in food from elsewhere, through trade or aid.

2. Food access

People must be able to regularly acquire adequate quantities of food, through purchase, home production, barter, gifts, borrowing or food aid.

3. Food utilization

Consumed food must have a positive nutritional impact on people. It entails cooking, storage and hygiene practices, individuals health, water and sanitation, feeding and sharing practices within the household.

• Food security is closely related to household resources, disposable income and socioeconomic status. It is also strongly interlinked with other issues, such as food prices, global environment change, water, energy and agriculture growth.

Importance of Food Security for a Nation:

• For boosting the agricultural sector.
• For having a control on food prices.
• For economic growth and job creation leading to poverty reduction
• For trade opportunities
• For increased global security and stability
• For improved health and healthcare

How serious is the present food crisis?

• Climate Shocks, conflicts and the COVID19 pandemic had disrupted supply chains, pumping up prices of both commodities and crops. The war in Ukraine has aggravated this situation.
• The Agricultural Price Index was 40% higher compared to January 2021, according to the World Bank.
• Maize and wheat prices rose 42% and 60%,respectively, from the levels of January 2021.
• Global food, fuel and fertilizer prices are projected to be sharply higher this year and will remain elevated into 2024, the Bank Estimates.
• In the U.K., inflation numbers have already hit a 40 year high.
• Almost 90% of emerging markets and developing economies experienced food price inflation greater than 5% this year.
• Low Income countries that are reliant on imports for basic food consumption are the hardest hit.
• According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP),Ethiopia, Nigeria, South Sudan and Yemen remain at ‘highest alert’ as hotspots with“catastrophic conditions”, as Afghanistan and Somalia are added to this category.

Importance are Russia and Ukraine for global food security:

• Russia and Ukraine together account for more than a quarter of the world’s wheat supplies.
• Russia’s share in the global exports of wheat, the world’s most widely grown crop, is some 20%, while Ukraine accounts for 8%(S. Food and Drug Administration’s Foreign Agricultural Service(FAS)).
• About 50 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for more than 30% of their wheat imports, according to the FAO.
• Ukraine is the world’s eighth largest producer and fourth largest exporter of corn, accounting for 16% of global exports.
• Ukraine, which produces up to 46% of sunflower seed and safflower oil is the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil.

Reasons for the food crisis:

• Exports from Ukraine have collapsed since the invasion as the Russian war effort is entirely focused on Ukraine’s eastern and southern parts along the Black Sea/Sea of Azov coast. Now, several Ukrainian port cities, including Mariupol, Kherson and Berdyansk, are under Russian control.
• Although the southern cities of Nikolaev and Odessa,which is known as the ‘Pearl of the Black Sea’, are still with the Ukrainians, commercial ships cannot dock at these ports because of two reasons:

1. Ukraine has mined the waters around these ports as a deterrent against potential Russian attacks.
2. Russia has enforced a naval blockade in the waters of the Black Sea.

• Besides the blockade, the western sanctions on Russia are also contributing to the crisis. Russia, besides being the world’s top wheat exporter, is also a leading exporter of fertilizer, an essential commodity for food production.
• The sanctions on its financial sector, which made payments difficult for Russia, has complicated its exports, including foodgrains. Also, the targeted sanctions on Russian oligarchs have choked finances for the agricultural industry.

State of Food Insecurity in India:

• According to the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, 2021 India, the country with the largest stock of grain in the world, 120 million tonnes (as of 1st July 2021) accounts for a quarter of the world’s food-insecure population.
• Estimates show that, in 2020, over 237 crore people were grappling with food insecurity globally, an increase of about 32 crores from 2019.
• South Asia alone accounts for 36% of global food insecurity.

Way Forward

• Russia will have to step up exports of both grains and fertilizers. For this, Ukraine and its allies may have to strike a deal with the Russian President.
• The talks initiated by the United Nations and Turkey with the Russian leadership to facilitate the exports of grains and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine can be an effective step to tackle the food crisis.
• There is a need to have an integrated approach to prevention, anticipation, and better targeting to sustainably address the root causes of food crises, including structural rural poverty, marginalization, population growth and fragile food systems.
• Ukraine can transfer the grains over land to the Baltic states, either through Poland or Belarus, and then ship them out from the Baltic Sea ports.

QUESTION FOR PRACTICE

Many countries were facing growing food insecurity even before the Russia-Ukraine war but war in Ukraine has aggravated this situation. Discuss. (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)