Stories
Global Food Crisis Imminent? Jaishankar Predicts Severe Impact on Small, Developing Nations
- •External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar predicts a global food crisis in the coming months, severely impacting small and developing countries.
- •Ongoing wars have disrupted global grain supply and halted chemical fertilizer production due to petroleum-producing nations' involvement.
- •Jaishankar highlights a crisis of 4Fs (Food, Fertilizer, Fuel, Finance) affecting grain exports, fertilizer production, and fuel supply worldwide.
- •The Russia-Ukraine war, Middle East conflicts, and 'Super El Niño' are identified as key drivers of the impending food crisis.
- •According to the UN World Food Programme, 2.66 billion out of 8.3 billion people globally are hungry, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and exploitative Western policies.
Key Questions Answered
External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar warned that the Global South is facing a critical "4F crisis" encompassing food, fuel, fertilizer, and finance. These intersecting pressures are driven by active global conflicts and disruptions in vital supply chains.
Ongoing conflicts involving petroleum-producing nations have severely disrupted chemical fertilizer production. Furthermore, one-third of the world's chemical fertilizer supply passes through the petroleum route of the Strait of Hormuz, which has been impacted by regional tensions.
Small and developing countries, particularly the Global South, are expected to bear the severe compounding pressure of the food crisis. With decreasing yields and rising inflation, vulnerable populations, the poor, and middle classes worldwide face mounting hardships.
