The war in Ukraine has “put a lot of fuel on an already burning fire” as food prices continue to rise, said Arif Husain at the U.N. World Food Programme.
That, combined with high energy prices and supply chain disruptions, will affect the World Bank's ability to respond to the increase in food production over the next two years, said Mari Pangestu, managing director of development policy and partnerships at the World Bank. All that uncertainty could keep prices high beyond 2024, she said.
While the U.N.'s Husain argued the current crisis mostly stems from high prices and affordability issues, he said it could turn into a food availability crisis if the fertilizer crunch is not resolved. The U.N. estimates the number of people in"hunger emergencies," which it defines as one step away from famine, has jumped from 135 million in 2019 to 345 million, Husain said.Extreme weather and climate change are also exacerbating conditions contributing to global food insecurity. China, the world's biggest wheat producer, has suffered multiple weather disruptions, from flash floods to severe droughts.
"Rice production is certainly very vulnerable to changes in weather temperature," said Bruno Carrasco, director general of the sustainable development and climate change department at the Asian Development Bank. "When we look at the overall supply of food production in Asia-Pacific, approximately 60% of that is rain-fed farming."
"We are very concerned given the overall weather events that we've seen and observed over the course of the year," he added.
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