FAO reviews food security situation and proposes actions to ensure food availability and access

FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, and the Director of the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, Stefanos Fotiou, briefed the Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition in New York in September. 

The Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition, chaired by the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations, met virtually today to take stock of the state of global food security and the challenges ahead and receive an update on the follow-up to the UN Food Systems Summit. 

Last year’s UN Food Systems Summit crystalized consensus around the need to transform our food systems to improve food security and nutrition, and thereby accelerate the delivery of the SDGs, Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and Chair of the Steering Committee of the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance, said in a video-message. 

High food prices, food availability prospects, and food access challenges ahead 

Briefers included representatives of the United Nations Rome-based Agencies (RBAs) and the Chair of the Committee on World Food Security (CFS).

FAO Chief Economist, Máximo Torero, outlined the major drivers and underlying factors fueling hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition, emphasizing its multiple root causes.

Torero said that the main drivers behind the current food security situation were COVID-19, conflict, economic slowdowns and downturns, and climate variability. Together, these factors are gravely affecting the affordability and access to healthy diets. He added that the war in Ukraine was exacerbating the situation, as Ukraine and the Russian Federation are responsible for around 30 percent of global cereal exports, with some 50 countries being highly import-dependent on these two countries.

The Chief Economist also explained that the food availability gap for 2022 is being reduced because some countries were able to step up production, also in part thanks to the Black Sea Grain Initiative brokered by the UN Secretary-General. 

While international food prices have been falling since the last five months since reaching a record high in March, they still remain high and food access and affordability continue to be a problem. Many market uncertainties and supply worries remain, such as high fertilizer prices that can directly impact production prospects for many farmers, and therefore, threaten farmer and rural livelihoods at large during the upcoming seasons. 

“High prices of fertilizers and other inputs make them less affordable for farmers and this is a reason for concern for next year,” Torero said. It could imply that farmers may not find it profitable to plant key staple crops or use less fertilizers, reducing yields and the availability of food. 

To respond, Torero proposed a series of short-term policy recommendations and solutions, including: providing humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, supporting a Food Import Financing Facility to assist countries facing balance of payment constraints, which limit their capacity to import food, take action to achieve efficiency gains in food production and markets, and support reconstruction and resilience building. 

Also briefing Member States was Stefanos Fotiou, Director of the Office of SDGs and leading the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub, housed in FAO on behalf of the UN System. Fotiou stressed that the Hub aimed to support countries in accelerating food system transformations through their nationally identified pathways. 

About the Group of Friends of Food Security and Nutrition

The Group of Friends has a longstanding and solid experience in providing a platform of exchange between Member States, the United Nations, and all relevant stakeholders, with the objective to advance action and to maintain food security at the top of the international agenda and at the United Nations.

Related links

• Have all your FAQs about the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub answered here.
• Read more about FAO’s proposal for a Food Import Financing Facility here.