Energy Insecurity and Food Security Are Faces of the Same Coin
Gulf conflict threatens food supplies to vulnerable nations in Africa and Asia
Auf einen Blick
- At World Bank/IMF meetings, global financial leaders warned that risks dominate as the Gulf conflict threatens food security.
- With the Strait of Hormuz closure disrupting energy trade, food shortages and famine are now likely for millions in vulnerable African and Asian countries after only seven weeks, writes the author.
KI-generierte Zusammenfassung
Warum es wichtig ist
Since the Green Revolution of the 1950s, farm mechanization, pumped irrigation, and synthetic fertilizers have created an irreversible link between energy security and food security. The Gulf conflict threatens this connection.
As my wife and I quaffed our way through a sumptuous five-course South African wine tasting dinner at the Hong Kong Foreign Correspondents' Club (FCC) early this week, the world food crisis and global food insecurity seemed a very long way away. At the World Bank/International Monetary Fund annual meetings, global financial leaders put a brave face on economic prospects but also warned that risks dominated. A joint statement said the Gulf conflict risked "upending lives and livelihoods in the region and beyond". While most of the world's media is focused on the physical carnage of Operation Epic Fury in Iran and the disruption of world oil and gas trade with the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, many overlook that energy insecurity and food security are faces of the same coin. As Adam Hanieh at London's School of Oriental and African Studies wrote in the Financial Times, since the green revolution launched in the 1950s, farm mechanisation, pumped irrigation and synthetic fertilisers have created an irreversible link between energy security and food security. "After only seven weeks, food shortages and even famine are now looking more likely for millions of people across vulnerable countries in Africa and Asia," he warned.
Offene Fragen
- How long will the Strait of Hormuz remain closed?
- What specific humanitarian responses are being prepared?
- Which African and Asian countries are most vulnerable?
