IPES (2022) ANOTHER PERFECT STORM? # 20 p. How the failure to reform food systems has allowed the war in Ukraine
to spark a third global food price crisis in 15 years, and what can be
done to prevent the next one. A special report by IPES-Food, May 2022
With the invasion of Ukraine sparking a third food price crisis in 15 years, a new IPES-Food special report, ‘Another Perfect Storm?’ takes stock of the critical factors fanning the flames of global hunger - and what can be done about them.
World food prices continued to see record-breaking highs in April 2022, hitting food insecure countries and populations hard. Numbers of undernourished people could increase by 13 million this year.
The special report blames fundamental flaws in global food systems - such as heavy reliance on food imports and excessive commodity speculation - for escalating food insecurity sparked by the Ukraine invasion. These flaws were exposed, but not corrected, after previous food price spikes in 2007-8.
The expert panel calls for urgent action to:
- support food importing countries (including through debt relief),
- curb excessive commodity speculation and enhance market transparency,
- reduce reliance on fertilizers and fossil energy in food production,
- build up regional grain reserves & food security response systems,
- and accelerate steps to diversify food production and restructure trade flows.
Read the press release [EN]
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