Rice market in turmoil as India curtails exports
6/8/2023: Rice prices have soared to the highest in a decade as India limits exports and erratic weather wreaks havoc on Asian rice fields. This is likely to worsen food insecurity in many countries that rely on rice as a staple. Last year, India exported about 22 million tons of rice to 140 countries, comprising roughly 40% of the global cereal trade.
Source: DW
UN Security Council: Food insecurity tops agenda
3/8/2023: A draft communique presented by the US Secretary of State calls on the UN Security Council to "take action to end the use of food as a weapon of war." The collapse of the Black Sea grain deal poses a serious threat to the food security of many lower-income countries already grappling with hunger and economic crises.
Source: DW
How to mend the world’s broken food systems
24/7/2023: The 2021 UN Food Systems Summit launched a global drive to transform the way humanity grows, processes and transports food. Prior to the second summit, a senior official from the UN Environment Programme discusses mounting concerns about the planet’s long-term ability to feed a fast-growing human population.
Source: UN Environment Programme
How will the end of the Ukraine grain deal hurt Africa?
19/7/2023: Russia has quit a deal that allows the safe passage of Ukrainian grain through the Black Sea. Could this move exacerbate the hunger crisis in parts of Africa, a major wheat importer?
Source: DW
SDG hunger goal slumps further behind 2030 target
12/7/2023: The UN flagship global food security report has found that in 2022 between 691 million and 783 million people were hungry, 122 million more than in 2019 before the pandemic. The world is being pushed further away from meeting the UN's near hopeless goal to eliminate hunger by 2030.
Source: Devex
One year of the Black Sea Initiative: key facts
10/7/2023: For almost a year, the UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative agreed by Russia, Türkiye, and Ukraine has allowed millions of tonnes of grain to leave Ukraine’s ports. The Initiative has helped reverse spiking global food prices, which reached record highs shortly before the agreement was signed.
Source: UN News
WFP funding crisis leaves millions without aid in West Africa
5/7/2023: Food insecurity has reached a 10-year high in West and Central Africa, affecting 47 million people during the June-August lean season. A funding crunch means that the World Food Programme will be able to assist just over half of those initially targeted. Mali and Chad will be hit the hardest.
Source: World Food Programme
Russia-Ukraine renew grain deal, but doubts persist
17/5/2023: The Black Sea Grain Initiative, a deal between Ukraine and Russia that allows for the continued export of grain and other food products has been extended for 60 days. Since the deal was introduced in July 2022, it has helped stabilize global food prices.
Source: DW
Global report finds quarter of a billion people hungry
3/5/2023: The 2023 Global Report on Food Crises finds that 258 million people in 58 countries faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 2022, a jump of about 33% from the previous year. The world is wildly off track for achieving its goal of zero hunger by the end of this decade.
Source: Devex
What’s on Cindy McCain’s plate as WFP’s new chief
5/4/2023: The incoming head of the World Food Programme faces unprecedented challenges. Global food insecurity and extreme hunger are at record levels, driven by a mix of conflict, COVID-19, the climate crisis, and economic turmoil. There’s not enough donor funding to cover what aid agencies say they need.
Source: The New Humanitarian