COP27: Wickremesinghe urges UN to convene agriculture ministers to deal with food crisis
The president of one of the countries most seriously affected by recent price rises calls on the United Nations to develop a global emergency plan by February 2023. The combination of higher food costs and increased interest on debt will result in US billion in higher spending for the 48 countries most affected by hunger.
Colombo (Asia News) – Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe called on United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres to convene a summit of agriculture ministers from all member states to assess and present a report on food needs for 2023 and 2024.
The Sri Lankan leader made the request at 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, better known as COP27,[*] currently underway in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. It is significant because it comes from a country literally brought to its knees by the economic and political crisis of recent months.
President Wickremesinghe stressed the need to work closely with multilateral institutions to provide financing and come up immediately with a debt- reduction plan to ensure global food security.
Such a plan should be worked out by February and implemented by the end of the first quarter of 2023, giving a mandate to COP28 – scheduled for next year in Dubai (UAE) – to draw up a medium-term plan to ensure global food security.
“[N]early one billion people [. . .] are suffering from hunger today,” said the Sri Lankan president. “[A]ccording to the IMF, over 300 million people’s livelihoods are in danger”.
“Countries affected fall into two categories,” he explained, “1. Countries where food is no longer available [. . .]. 2. Countries that traditionally had an adequate food supply but now find these sources of food out of reach due to rising costs.”
In both situations, rising debt costs in poorer countries have made it more difficult to guarantee affordable food to the population.
The International Monetary Fund estimates that the combination of rising food and fertiliser prices and debt servicing costs will add US$ 9 billion to food import expenditures of the 48 countries most affected by hunger.
Hence, “We must act fast,” Wickremesinghe said; “otherwise, the damage caused to the political and social structures of countries will be irreparable.”
[*] Conference of the Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
.png)
16/05/2023 17:45
28/11/2022 19:49
