Congressional Briefing - The Coming Hunger Crisis: Preventing a Food Catastrophe amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

Congressional Briefing - The Coming Hunger Crisis: Preventing a Food Catastrophe amid the COVID-19 Pandemic

 

19 May 2020

 

Remarks by Dr QU Dongyu

FAO Director-General

 

 

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen

Thank you for inviting me to this briefing today.

I also appreciate the support of the Hunger Caucuses to this event, as well as the efforts of the Alliance to End Hunger, in particular its campaigning and advocacy to achieve the Sustainable Development Goal Number 2.

Let me also express recognition for the efforts of the US Congress to alleviate world hunger and malnutrition.

I believe that briefings and open dialogue are essential in these challenging times.

I have recently participated in similar exchanges at the UN Security Council, the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, G20 Summit, G20 Agricultural Ministers Meeting, and also with ministers of the African Union, with the European Union Commission and the World Economic Forum.. .

I am therefore pleased to participate at today’s exchange and look forward to a fruitful meeting.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

FAO, in collaboration with a number of partners recently launched the 2020 Edition of the Global Food Crisis Report.

Before presenting you with the main findings, let me make some general observations:

• Today we have sufficient food available in both cereals and high value commodities even given the major disruptions affecting the high value commodities by COVID-19.
• The COVID-19 pandemic is causing the global GDP to shrink.
• According to the World Bank, the world economy is likely to face a recession that could push 40-60 million people to extreme poverty.
• This means significant levels of unemployment.
• In the agriculture-food system, one third of all jobs are at risk. Thereby disrupting food systems and supply chains globally and making this a food access crises!
• The world will see an increase in the number of poor and hungry as well as those facing acute food crisis, if necessary intervention strategies are not put in place today.

In addition, the main findings of the 2020 Global Food Crisis Report tell us that we are facing the COVID-19 under an already very critical food insecurity situation.

***

What does the Global Food Crises report tell us:

The number of people experiencing acute food insecurity in Crisis or worse has reached the highest level of the past four years.

In 2019, more than 135 million people across 55 countries and territories experienced acute food insecurity.

The majority of those are living in one of three contexts:

1. 77 million are affected by conflicts,
2. 34 million are affected by climate change, and
3. 24 million people by economic turbulence.

The Report also indicates that 183 million people were in stressed conditions. They are at substantial risk of slipping into crisis or acute hunger if faced with a shock.

Similarly, in the 55 countries affected by food crises, the nutritional status of already vulnerable children is extremely concerning.

In those countries, 17 million children suffered from acute malnutrition and 75 million children have stunted growth due to chronic malnutrition.

The evidence clearly demonstrates that, once again, the leading drivers of the food crises are persistent insecurity and conflicts, along with the growing intensity and severity of climate-related and economic shocks. 

With Yemen remaining the largest food crisis in the world, the food insecurity situation worsened in key conflict-driven crises, notably in Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan.

In addition, Yemen, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, Ethiopia, are at the same time facing the worst desert locust crises in over 25 years. Kenya is facing the most serious one in 70 years.

The current situation is an unprecedented threat to food security and livelihoods in the region and could lead to further suffering, displacement and potential conflict.

The increasing severity of drought and economic shocks are main drivers in countries such as Guatemala, Haiti, Pakistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.

While the magnitude of the effects of COVID-19 on food security is still uncertain, it is clear that people in food crisis contexts are ill-equipped to cope with this additional shock.

We know that there will be direct impacts on people’s health and lives where health systems are already weak and overburdened and malnutrition levels are high.

And there will be indirect effects such as disruption of livelihoods, food supply chains, access to food, basic services as well as humanitarian assistance.

Uncertainty of future impacts of the pandemic, combined with restrictions on movement, soaring unemployment, limited access to food, and the erosion of already fragile livelihoods may generate discontent, fuelling violence and conflict.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Naturally, much of the focus to-date has been on the health risks associated with the pandemic and on preventing a global health crisis.

However, it is increasingly clear that attention must be turned towards preventing food crises and increasing resilience.

It is clear that without urgent action, we face numerous crises that the already stretched humanitarian community will struggle to respond to.

COVID-related restrictions and related threats to processes risk pushing many more into acute food insecurity.

As the pandemic evolves in food crisis countries, food access is a serious concern and food availability crises could also emerge– in both rural and urban areas.

If trade is disrupted because of trade restrictions or logistical problems we will have a problem of food availability despite food reserves and harvest being sufficient today.

It is in these times that international cooperation becomes especially vital!

If farmers fail to access markets beyond their immediate area, their income will decline, reducing their ability to invest in future food production, like purchasing seeds and fertilizers.

If planting seasons are missed, food production will drop, and so will the availability of food.

Last month, together with the African Union, we organized a meeting of the African Agriculture Ministers to discuss the potential impacts of COVID-19 and opportunities to minimize theses impacts and increase resilience.

All the Ministers expressed the same concern: How can we make sure that farmers and herders can meet upcoming seasons and keep producing food so that we do not experience enormous rises in food insecurity?

Our message is clear: Acting now is not only more humane and cost-effective, it also protects the very livelihoods on which vulnerable communities are built.

But we also need to ensure the health of workers through appropriate protocols.

Agriculture is seasonal. Planting and pastoral seasons have clear and defined limits that are not subject to the spread of COVID-19.

Should these seasons be missed, much more costly assistance will be needed from the humanitarian community in the coming months and years.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The pandemic will end,

The health crisis will ease,

but if we don’t protect the livelihoods of millions of people today, and the food value chains we will have to rebuild them tomorrow – at much greater cost.

To prevent food crises today, we must work together to address immediate needs and minimize longer-term impacts of COVID-related lockdowns and restrictions on food security and food systems.

 ***

Last week, I joined the heads of 41 UN Agencies in virtual meeting of the United Nations Sustainable Development Group under the guidance of the UN Secretary General.

We are putting in practice the “United Nations Framework for the immediate socio-economic response to COVID-19: Shared responsibility, global solidarity and urgent action for people in need”.

The framework calls for protecting jobs, businesses, food value chains, and livelihoods to set in motion a better recovery of societies and economies as soon as possible for a more sustainable, gender-equal, and carbon-neutral path.

The way to a post-COVID-19 world, better than the “old normal”. We call it the “new normal.”

We are also active through the mechanism of the Global Network Against Food Crises, together with all partners, including USAID, WFP, OCHA and others.

To be clear: FAO fully supports measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic, and we are committed to respecting decisions taken by governments and have revisited our programmes on the ground to ensure that we align with these measures and needs.

In fact, an important part of FAO’s work includes helping to reduce the risk of virus transmission along the food supply chain, for example by engaging our local partners to share critical health messages around social distancing, hand washing etc. with the rural communities.

In the framework of the Global Network Against Food Crises, FAO and WFP have established a joint monitoring system of risks for food security and food systems from COVID-19 in order to identify and initiate critical anticipatory actions.

The system will be based on remote data collection and on the introduction of innovative technologies for data collection and analysis.

The risk monitoring will focus on: agricultural outputs; food insecurity, nutrition; and humanitarian assistance.

As a knowledge Organization, FAO continues to offer its data and expertise to support Member States in their projections and preparedness.

Tools such as the Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS),the Food and Agriculture Policy Decision Analysis (FAPDA), our Big Data tools, and the FAO Hand in Hand Geospatial platform, provide valuable timely information on developments in the world food and agriculture markets and help countries in their decision-making.

FAO also hosts the Committee on World Food Security (CFS), a unique, multi-stakeholder platform that promotes global policy coherence on food security and nutrition, including COVID-19’s major impacts.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The challenge in front of the international community is considerable.

The protection of existing food value chains and the transformation of food systems is in the hands of the Members.

Decisive action is needed.

We stand ready to strengthen our collaboration with all Members and partners.

With donors, recipients and with the most vulnerable.

FAO, as the professional specialized agency, will continue fulfilling its mandate in providing technical expertise and policy advice to the world.

We are transforming FAO to a digital organization with strong feet on the ground all across the world, supporting farmers, pastoralists, fisherfolk and many more.

I believe that there is much that we can partner in.

For the good of farmers and consumers everywhere.

And for the future of the next generations.

Let us accelerate investment and inputs and build a hunger-free world with our great effort and passion.

Thank you, thank you all.