International League of Peoples’ Struggle

Food Crisis Webinar

July 22 2020

Speech by Razan Zuayter

 

On behalf of The Peoples’ Coalition on Food Sovereignty, Arab Network for Food Sovereignty, and Arab Group for the Protection of Nature I would like to thank ILPS Commission 2 for this opportunity. It is always an honor and a source of hope, inspiration and strength to come together as people to discuss one of the most important challenges of our time.

 

I will try to answer some questions.  Firstly,

 

• Is this food crisis a coincidence?

 

• • Is it a coincidence that the US air force targeted 300 hectares of agricultural land covered in wheat crops in Syria back in 2020?
  • Lebanon's wheat port explosion back in 2020, was it also a coincidence and a mishap?
  • Or were the 12 fires that broke out in the town of Salah Al Din in Iraq also a coincidence back in 2021?
  • Or the burning of the 90 acres of land in Sudan back in 2020, was that also unintentional?
  • Tunisians also question whether the burned crops back in 2019 was also a coincidence.
  • While Jordanians wonder why their wheat silos were demolished in Aqaba in 2018 for a foreign investor’s interest.
  •  Furthermore, a few weeks ago occupation forces burned down the wheat crops in the town of Kasra in Nablus (Palestine), was the selection of that land random?
  • Finally, how did the start of the Russian-Ukraine war this year coincide with the massive wildfire in Egypt that devoured 76 tons of wheat?
  • Is it a coincidence 12 out of 15 of the most food insecure countries are in Africa, and in countries in the Arab region like Yemen?
  • Is it also a coincidence that these regions happen to be the richest in terms of nation resources?

 

 

• Is the food crisis new?
  • Global food prices have been rising over the past 20 years.
  • The same drivers of the 2008 and 2011 food crises—such as fuel price spikes, financial speculation, and imperialist wars—are increasing food prices in 2022.  Already, uprisings in Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Egypt have shown stark similarities with massive food price related protests in 2008.

 

• • One of the drivers of this chronic food crisis, or better framed as root causes is the commodification of lands and the increase of Farmland prices which have peaked higher in the past few decades, prompting a 122% increase in the number of transnational land deals from 2011-2020. 
  • In the last few months, numerous countries have signed new agreements with rich countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia for food export production and land leasing, including Tunisia, Guyana, Tanzania, and Sudan. An agricultural company in Pakistan recently signed a $1 billion deal with Chinese and Saudi Arabian companies, which will allow the country's exports to grow.
  • Last year, a report from the International Land Coalition revealed that “land concentration is much worse than we know,” and the trajectory is leading to a few landlords and companies operating farmlands in poor countries
  • Another root cause is breakdown of food systems due to wars conflict and occupation.  60% of the world’s hungry live in countries affected by conflict. More than half of the 124 million acutely hungry people liv in parts of the world where there is fighting or violence. In conflict affected countries, agriculture and trade are disrupted, and a plate of food can cost more than a day’s wages. In Afghanistan 93 percent of people are facing hunger and there’s a 90 percent increase of hunger in the Arab world due to wars, conflict, and occupation.
  • Extreme weather events driven by climate change play a role in the disruption of food production. Over the past 40 years, the planet has lost 12 million hectares of arable land each year due to drought and desertification. One third of arable land was also lost due to erosion and pollution.
  • To add, over the past 40 years, we have a witnessed a transformation towards unsustainable consumerism and unhealthy diets.  Meat consumption has increased drastically, which has an enormous environmental footprint and pressure on productive resources.

 

• We can list many other causes and examples for this chronic food crisis, such as Brazil, a country that went from almost eliminating hunger through the Zero Hunger Initiative, to one where 19 million people currently suffer from it. but the essential fact remains that our vulnerability to these causes is tied to our enslavement by the global market system and our ability to resist the destruction of our local food systems by colonial and neocolonial forces, including pressures by powerful actors and international financial institutions to marginalize our agricultural sectors.

 

 

• Indeed, the crisis is not new.  But escalates more during certain global events such as the Covid Pandemic.

 

• •  Between May 2020 and February 2022, FAO’s Food Price Index went up by 55.2%, led by a 159.4% rise in prices of edible oils, followed by strong growth in prices of sugar, dairy, and cereals (figure 1).

 

 

• • Due to COVID-19 global and domestic supply chains have collapsed, and food supply chains haven’t been spared.

 

• • The pandemic unleashed a chain crisis for international shipping. With ports closed, ships remained at sea for months in a row. COVID-19 has also resulted in a major disruption to the movement of domestic and migrant workers - who have a major role in agricultural production

 

• • Freight costs have gone up sharply
  • Export restrictions increased during the pandemic: there were increasing concerns about food availability, leading to grain-producing countries imposing export restrictions. Vietnam, which had a 16% share in global rice exports before the pandemic, held back on granting rice-export certificates till the end of April 2020. Kazakhstan suspended exports of several cereal products, oilseeds, and vegetables until June 30, 2020, while Russia placed restrictions on the export of items such as wheat, corn, and meslin. Consequently, food prices started picking up in the second half of 2020, with the prices of cereals and edible oil witnessing strong growth since then.

 

• • Fertilizer prices have also increased: due to the rising price of natural gas. Average monthly natural gas price, as indicated by the World Bank’s Natural Gas Index, went up by nearly 600% between June 2020 and December 2021

 

 

• Another big event is the current war between Russia and Ukraine.
  • According to FAO, food prices went up by 12.4% in March 2022 from February 2022 . And it is likely that this surge wouldn’t be the last, especially if the conflict drags on for a much longer time
  • Russia and Ukraine are the world’s largest exporters of barley, corn, rapeseed, sunflower seeds, sunflower oil and wheat as well as fertilizers.
  •  Ukraine accounts for nearly 10% of global wheat exports. With a war raging on its soil, breakdown of internal transportation, and a blockage on its coastline, the country’s export shipments have been disrupted. Ukraine also accounts for more than a quarter of the world’s production of sunflower seed. With supply disruptions and fears of more to come, sunflower oil—a major derivate of sunflower seed—is witnessing sharp price hikes. This has, in turn, led to higher prices of alternatives to sunflower oil as well. [2]
  • Continuation of the conflict also puts at risk the sowing of crops later this year in Ukraine, which will weigh on global wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower production.

 

• • Russia too is a major agricultural exporter with major shares in global production of sunflower seed, barley, and wheat—it accounts for 18% of global wheat exports.
  • The war is also driving up the cost of food production because both Russia and Ukraine used to export 28% of Nitrogen and Phosphorus fertilizers, and 40% of Potash.
  • Russia alone used to export 48% of the world’s ammonium nitrate and 11% of the world’s Urea.
  • Soaring fertilizer prices, meanwhile, may result in lower use of fertilizers, thereby denting crop yields in major fertilizer importers. As shipments from Russia and Belarus face disruptions due to sanctions.

 

• Regional Impact on Food Crisis
  • I will speak a little bit about the impacts on our region as it is the least food sufficient and the biggest importer of wheat in the world (importing 30% of the global wheat market). In our region, where wheat has been first domesticated, a maximum of 30% of arable land is utilized.
  • In Egypt, where bread is known as aish, meaning "life”, prices are rising dramatically. The country is the world’s top wheat importer, with nearly 70% of its wheat coming from Russia and Ukraine in 2019.
  • Lebanon imports 52% of its wheat from Russia.
  • More than a third of Yemen’s wheat comes from the Black Sea region. Ravaged by years of war that have pushed millions to the brink of famine, Yemen is highly dependent on bread, a staple that makes up over half of the calorie intake for the average household.

 

• Conclusions

 

To conclude

• • Prices are at their highest level since 1990. While high food inflation impacts all of us, low-income countries and the most vulnerable communities and families are the most affected.
  • This includes small food producers: farmers, agricultural workers, and landless peasants who make up more than two-thirds of the world's extremely poor.
  • We have sought to answer two questions in this presentation. Is this crisis a coincidence, and is it new? We conclude that its neither a coincidence, as the underlying causes are mostly man-made, and that it is surely not new as these causes have been present prior to the Russian-Ukraine war and have therefore led to many previous food crises. These root causes will inevitably lead to other escalating crises in the future should we fail to tackle them. Pandemics and wars are manifestations of our vulnerability, and their painful repercussions will continue until we recognize our strengths as movements to change this narrative towards sovereign food systems.
  • This impending crisis is merely a reminder that food sovereignty should be a priority for our social, economic and political security.

 

 

•  But how do we realize this vision?

 

• • We have to protect and enhance local food systems and communities’ right to own and manage resources such as land, water, seeds.  
  • We must cultivate food staples such as wheat should to improve food security, and it should be prioritized over crops intended for export.
  • We need to work to build food reserves and invest in regional strategies for food security.
  • We must continue to campaign strongly for ending wars, conflicts and occupations
  • We must advocate around cancelling debt owed to International Finance Institutions and private international lenders
  • We must continue mobilizing farmer and worker organizations, indigenous peoples and women’s organizations to unite and take leadership to drive the economic and social transformations urgently needed.