IMF Calls for Rapid Response on Food Security

•Says Africa least prepared to face effects of climate change

Segun James

As the war in Ukraine intensifies, acute food insecurity is threatening the lives and livelihoods of 345 million people, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

According to the Fund, the suffering was worst in 48 countries, many highly dependent on food imports from Ukraine and Russia, adding that the financial costs of the crisis are rising, too.

In an article jointly penned by IMF’s Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, Sebastián Sosa and Björn Rother, that was published on the Washington-based institution’s website, they called for a rapid response to the unprecedented humanitarian challenge.

The article was titled: “Global Food Crisis Demands Support for People, Open Trade, Bigger Local Harvests.”

“We must all act now to ease the suffering of those experiencing hunger, by supporting countries who take strong policy action with the financing they need,” they added.

The IMF estimated that the rising cost of food and fertiliser imports in countries highly exposed to food insecurity would add $9 billion to their balance of payments pressures in 2022-23. This, they noted, would erode their international reserves and ability to pay for food imports.

“In many countries, policymakers have introduced fiscal measures to protect people from the food crisis. Highly exposed countries will need as much as $7 billion this year alone to help the poorest households, according to staff estimates.

“The international community must…take decisive action to ensure that the needed financing is in place,” it added.

It noted that strong and swift policy action was needed across four areas to mitigate the global food crisis and avert human suffering.

“First, rapidly and adequately support people vulnerable to food insecurity through humanitarian assistance from the World Food Programme and other organisations, alongside effective domestic fiscal measures. “Policymakers around the world should prioritise fighting inflation and protecting the most vulnerable to alleviate the burden of the cost-of-living crisis. Near-term social assistance should focus on providing emergency food relief or cash transfers to the poor, such as those recently announced by Djibouti, Honduras, and Sierra Leone. “Where this is not possible, second-best subsidies and tax measures can provide temporary relief. Second, maintaining open trade, including within regions, to allow food to flow from surplus areas to those in need. We should build on the progress made under the Black Sea Grain Initiative and at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organisation by urgently phasing out export bans imposed by major food producers. “Protectionist measures only serve to make the food crisis worse, accounting for as much as nine per cent of the increase in world wheat prices, according to the World Bank,” it added.

Furthermore, it stated: “Third, increase food production and improve distribution, including through ensuring adequate access to fertilisers and crop diversification. Increasing trade financing and reinforcing supply chains is vital to addressing the current food price shock.

“The World Bank and other multilateral development banks play a key role as they increase trade financing for agricultural commodities and other food products and their support to countries for critical logistics and infrastructure upgrades.

“Fourth, investing in climate-resilient agriculture will be vital to increasing future harvests. More intense and more unpredictable climatic events are increasing food insecurity.

“Low-income countries, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, are among the least prepared to face the effects of climate change. Solutions should be tailored to country circumstances, with a focus on low-cost, high-impact measures, such as investing in new crop varieties, improving water management, and information dissemination.

“For example, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Rwanda are leveraging mobile technology to provide farmers with rainfall forecasts to optimise the planting of crops and the purchase of crop insurance,” it added.