“We are entering an unprecedented food crisis.” French President Emmanuel Macron proposed Thursday, March 24, during the G7 and NATO summits, an emergency plan for food security, in conjunction with the African Union. This plan aims to combat the food crisis “very serious” which could hit countries dependent on Ukrainian and Russian wheat and grain exports. He dreads “massive political consequences in several countries”.
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Moscow must be “responsible”
Emmanuel Macron wants a “emergency plan for releasing stocks in the event of a crisis to avoid any situation of shortage and moderate price increases”. Another part, “obtain a multilateral commitment not to impose restrictions on the export of agricultural raw materials”in order to avoid blockages like those that hit vaccine exports during the Covid crisis.
He also wished “As of this summer, coordinated action by producing countries to temporarily raise production thresholds when possible” and “put in place a mechanism for allocating volumes to guarantee access for all, in particular the most vulnerable, in sufficient quantities and at reasonable prices”.
The French president called on Moscow to be “responsible” by allowing sowing in Ukraine to take place, failing which the war will provoke in 12 to 18 months “an inevitable famine”, with notably the risk of grain shortages in Egypt and North Africa. In the Near and Middle East, in Africa, some countries are very dependent on cereals produced in Russia and Ukraine to feed their population, such as Egypt, which “depends 80%”he said.