Executive director of the UN World Food Programme David Beasley: We\u2019ve got to get those fields back operational, we\u2019ve got to get those silos full again
\n DUBAI
\nOne third of the world\u2019s food supply is wasted every year, which is why the world food crisis was one of the pressing topics discussed on the first day of panel discussions at the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland.
\nPanelist David Beasley, the executive director of the UN World Food Programme, said the world is facing the worst humanitarian crisis since World War II.
\n\u201cBecause of this crisis, we are taking food from the hungry to give to the starving,\u201d Beasley said.
\nHe explained that if the port of Odessa in Ukraine doesn\u2019t open, it will add to the complexity of the global problem. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to get those fields back operational, we\u2019ve got to get those silos full again.\u201d
\nThe WFP executive director said that failure to open the ports is a declaration of war on global food security.
\nWhen he took this job there were 80 million people close to starvation, he said. Right before COVID, it had risen to 135 million.
\nWhen the pandemic came along, the number shot up to 276 million people and has now increased to 325 million.
\n\u201cNow here\u2019s the most startling fact, out of that 276 or 325 million there are 49 million knocking on famine\u2019s door in 43 countries, and those are the 43 countries we have got to be extremely concerned about,\u201d he said.
\nThe executive director of the WFP explained that if developed nations do not address the issue in the crisis-hit 43 countries it will result in famine, destabilization and mass migration.
\nAlso participating in the talk was Mariam Al-Mheiri, the UAE\u2019s Minister of Climate Change and the Environment, who spoke about the responsibility of countries who are in a better position than others.
\n\u201cLet\u2019s keep markets open, the flow of food needs to keep flowing because if food does not flow we get famine,\u201d she said. \u201cIn a way we are all somewhat to blame for where we are, one way or the other.\u201d
\nShe also urged nations to put in place more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) by incorporating more food systems in their NDCs.
\nPhilip Isdor Mpango, vice-president of the United Republic of Tanzania, agreed that actions on a national level are crucial to evade the global food crisis.
\n\u201cWe have to deal with the mega investments currently in agriculture,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to invest in irrigation, we have to invest in rural roads, we have to invest in smart agriculture, and we also have to deal with land allocation issues for larger scale cultivation.\u201d
\nBeasley said that organizations and donor nations need to be more strategic with how they move into nations that need to improve productivity.
\n\u201cEvery 1 percent increase in hunger is a 2 percent increase in migration,\u201d he said, concluding the session on the global food crisis.
\nWEF, held this year from May 22 to 26, is an annual meeting that allows Business, tech and political leaders from around the world to share insights and exchange expertise. This year\u2019s conference was held in person for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Executive director of the UN World Food Programme David Beasley: We\u2019ve got to get those fields back operational, we\u2019ve got to get those silos full again DUBAI One third of the world\u2019s food supply is wasted every year, which is why the world food crisis was one of the pressing topics discussed on the first […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":262260,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[7628,7629,7610],"class_list":{"0":"post-262270","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world","8":"tag-discussion","9":"tag-global-food-crisis","10":"tag-wef"},"yoast_head":"\n