Middle East escalation raises global food insecurity ^{CEFR B1}

Growing food insecurity followed a recent escalation in the Middle East, which experts link to the US–Iran war and related disruptions. These events are raising oil prices and restricting shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The closure of that route affects fertiliser trade: about a third of shipped fertiliser exports pass that way. At a press briefing on Friday (17 April) organised by the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL) and IPES‑Food, speakers warned the crisis will worsen hunger and push up prices. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the UN World Food Programme have issued similar warnings.

Olivier De Schutter said there are already 673 million hungry people in Africa and that higher prices could add perhaps 45 million more. Experts stressed that many low‑income countries are vulnerable because they import food and fuel. Barnaby Pace warned that Sub‑Saharan Africa and Asia rely heavily on fertiliser imports from the Gulf. De Schutter gave figures for some countries: Malawi 52 per cent, Uganda 27 per cent and Tanzania 31 per cent of fertilisers come from the Gulf. Pace noted this is the third major fertiliser supply shock in the last six years after COVID‑19 and the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Speakers urged accelerating the shift to agroecology to build resilience. Agroecology uses crop rotations, compost, manure and plants that fix atmospheric nitrogen, such as chickpeas, beans, lentils, pulses and feed plants like alfalfa or clover. They also proposed producing more food locally, reducing processing and packaging, and developing local biofertilisers from organic waste. The Philippines was cited for using black soldier fly larvae to make biofertilisers. De Schutter criticised a limited focus on biofertilisers in the African Union’s Africa Fertiliser and Soil Health Action Plan 2024‑2034. Barriers include large fertiliser subsidies in South Asia and concentrated corporate control of grain, which complicate any shift away from chemical fertilisers and fossil fuels.