The World Food Programme’s executive director was on Capitol Hill last week, distilling the urgency of the global food crisis into a simple message like only David Beasley can: “Right now the house is burning down. We’ve got to make certain we put the fire out before the entire world is on fire.”
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Beasley appeared in front of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Multilateral International Development, Multilateral Institutions, and International Economic, Energy, and Environmental Policy (why is this name so long) last week alongside African Development Bank President Akinwumi Adesina and Mercy Corps CEO Tjada D'Oyen McKenna. They urged Congress to help fill the funding gap in staving off the worst of the hunger to come as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Adesina asked the U.S. to help fund his bank’s emergency food production plan for Africa.
On Friday, FAO head Qu Dongyu delivered a similar message of urgency to a meeting of G-7 agriculture ministers in Germany. He asked the officials to find ways to help make up for potential gaps in global food production in the future and to help increase it sustainably. To prevent food prices from spiking further, Qu also urged governments to refrain from imposing export bans.
This week, both Beasley and Qu are in New York for the U.N. Security Council meeting and Global Food Security Ministerial, again delivering the message to world leaders that they must act now to prevent an additional 50 million people from going hungry because of the war. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be chairing the events under this month’s U.S. presidency of the Security Council. I’ll be following along and bringing you my takeaways in next week’s Dish.
‘The house is burning’: Beasley sounds food crisis alarm in US Congress
A mouthful
“The world wheat market really doesn’t care why exactly Ukrainian wheat is not being exported from Odesa. It could be because of a terrible drought or … a terrible war.”
— Channing Arndt, director, IFPRI’s environment and production technology divisionThis year, the International Food Policy Research Institute’s flagship report focuses on how food systems are “inseparably linked” to the climate change crisis. Channing Arndt, a lead editor on the “Global Food Policy Report,” talked me through the highlights.
He said that just like war, climate change is a shock to the global food system and can prevent key staples from getting where they need to be. The report argues that value chains should be optimized and support “free and open” trade, which it calls “an integral part of climate-smart agricultural and food policies.”
IFPRI report: Food system transformation must be linked to climate
The trifactor
CGIAR — a global food research coalition — has launched a new initiative that seeks to improve food security and resilience by helping partner countries develop coherent policies on food, land, and water.
The National Policies and Strategies for Food, Land and Water Systems Transformation Initiative — inaugurated in Kenya on Tuesday — is expected to support research on innovative ways to transform the three focus areas in Kenya, Nigeria, Egypt, India, Laos, and Colombia.
Read: CGIAR launches initiative to build food security policy in 6 countries
Number munching
$940.8 million
—That’s how much AfDB funding was allocated to agriculture and rural development in 2021, making it the bank’s most funded sector. The money will go toward strengthening food systems, improving agricultural technologies, and increasing agricultural production, among other activities.
For a full breakdown, Devex Pro subscribers can access an exclusive analysis from my colleague Miguel Antonio Tamonan.
Read: AfDB allocated over $5B in 2021. Here’s where it's going (Pro)
+ A Devex Pro subscription brings you essential analysis, data-driven funding insights, and access to the world’s largest global development job board. Get these perks and more by signing up to our 15-day free trial.
Master plan
This week, the U.K. government finally released a new international development strategy, providing some insight into how the country intends to spend its aid budget going forward. The strategy is noticeably quiet on food security, though it does highlight climate and health as priorities.
For a deeper look at the new strategy and its implications, Devex Pro subscribers are invited to join U.K. Correspondent William Worley and a panel of experts for a special event on Friday, May 20. If you're not a subscriber yet, sign up for a free trial to join.
Read: UK development strategy to put 'economic power at the centre'
Chew on this
Wheat prices are up globally after India banned exports of the commodity. [BBC]
Gerda Verburg, coordinator of the Scaling Up Nutrition Movement, will not seek a fourth term but will stay on until a successor takes over. [SUN Movement]
IFAD has launched a crisis response initiative so that small-scale farmers in 22 countries can continue producing food amid the war in Ukraine. [IFAD]
Structural weaknesses in the food system are yet again contributing to a hunger crisis, this time sparked by the war in Ukraine. [IPES-Food]
About the author
Teresa Welshtmawelsh
Teresa Welsh is a Senior Reporter at Devex. She has reported from more than 10 countries and is currently based in Washington, D.C. Her coverage focuses on Latin America; U.S. foreign assistance policy; fragile states; food systems and nutrition; and refugees and migration. Prior to joining Devex, Teresa worked at McClatchy's Washington Bureau and covered foreign affairs for U.S. News and World Report. She was a reporter in Colombia, where she previously lived teaching English. Teresa earned bachelor of arts degrees in journalism and Latin American studies from the University of Wisconsin.
