The world must act to protect the poorest from the effects that will linger long after the fighting is over.
After only seven weeks, food shortages and even famine now seem more likely for millions of people in vulnerable countries in Africa and Asia…
Recent data from the World Bank clearly show the link between energy and food. In March, the organisation’s energy price index rose 41.6 percent, driven by a 59.4 percent increase in European natural gas and a 45.8 percent increase in Brent oil. In the same month, food prices increased by 2.7% and fertiliser prices by 26.2%. The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) warned that global fertiliser prices could rise by an average of 15-20% in the first half of 2026 if the crisis persists…
The Gulf states now directly influence food production and movement, supplying key chemical raw materials, exporting large volumes of finished fertilisers and controlling the logistical corridors through which food and agricultural products move across much of the Middle East, Central and East Asia and Africa. ..
The old image of the Gulf monarchies as mere exporters of oil and gas is no longer valid. Today, the region is at the centre of modern agriculture, not only as an important producer of fertilisers, but also as a driving force for the development of fertiliser industries in neighbouring countries…
