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A Global Food Crisis is Unfolding
Article

A Global Food Crisis is Unfolding

Jeremy Meek, Fati Abubakar, Andri Tambunan, Junya Inagaki, Octavio Jones, Tim Paradis, Morgan McFall-Johnson, Ayelet Sheffrey and Emmanuel Abara Benson
Business Insider UK, 2022
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The pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and climate change have conspired to create a far-reaching, long-lasting global food crisis, according to a team of Business Insider reporters who investigated conditions in 13 locations worldwide for this daunting, admirable series of reports. In short, they explain the factors that disrupted supply chains and caused shortages in fertilizer, as well as grains and other staples. Climate change also has increased food-system vulnerability, reducing crop yields and affecting livestock and fisheries. Although the global food crisis especially affects developing nations and low-income people everywhere, everyone should be concerned because it could ravage regional economies and cause social unrest. 

Summary

Rising fertilizer prices, especially in Africa, add to the global food crisis.

Around half of the people in the world today are alive because more than half a century ago synthetic fertilizers dramatically increased agricultural production. Now, the war in Ukraine and other factors have raised the prices of crucial fertilizers. Without fertilizers, farmers can’t grow enough food. Over the course of 2021 and 2022, fertilizer prices went up some 80%, putting financial pressure on farmers and consumers.

Africa is the region most affected by fertilizer shortages and prices. Countries like Ethiopia and Kenya face crop failures due to drought, and farmers elsewhere in Africa can’t afford adequate fertilizer. Some have found ways to mitigate the problem. For instance, one farmer in Kenya planted soybean and maize crops close together and applied manure just to feed the roots. Farmers can afford to apply fertilizer only where it has the most impact. Such cost-saving approaches...

About the Authors

Jeremy Meek, Fati Abubakar, Andri Tambunan, Junya Inagaki, Octavio Jones, Tim Paradis, Morgan McFall-Johnson, Ayelet Sheffrey and Emmanuel Abara Benson covered elements of the food crisis in California, Florida, Nigeria, South Africa, the United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, India, Japan and Singapore for Business Insider.

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