1 - First came then droughts - We had a long-term drought in North America and Canada. Parts of Africa have been plagued by dry seasons growing hotter and rainy seasons arriving later and with less water for crops and livestock.
2 - Then came Covid with lockdowns and supply chain issues and sharply higher prices for fertilizer and seed. The pandemic pushed 97 million more people into poverty in 2020, an unprecedented increase. Close to a billion worldwide suffered from hunger and malnutrition, with countries in Africa among the hardest hit.
More than 155 million people experienced acute food insecurity at crisis level or worse around the world in 2020, an increase of 20 million from 2019 and a five-year high, as the COVID-19 pandemic compounded economic shocks, conflicts, and climate and severe weather impacts estimate the 2021 Global Report on Food Crises. Pandemic-related food price increases put pressure on livelihoods, “As the prices go up and more people get pushed in poverty; After 2 years of pandemic lockdowns and supply chain delays the situation got worse in 2021. Wheat prices rose 70% in ONE month.
Somalia. Faced with ongoing political instability and civilian insecurity, as well as over a decade of droughts, Somalia ranks as the hungriest county in the world for 2021.
Here ae the numbers for 2020. .
Democratic Republic of Congo – 21.8 million people *
- Yemen – 13.5 million people
- Afghanistan – 13.2 million people
- Syrian Arab Republic – 12.5 million people
- Sudan – 9.6 million people
- Nigeria – 9.2 million people
- Ethiopia – 8.6 million people
- South Sudan – 6.5 million people
- Zimbabwe – 4.3 million people
- Haiti – 4.1 million people
Now there in Afghanistan 22 million people face food shortages and hunger as that economy collapsed with the freezing of all their central bank reserves in the US. Their economy has been destroyed. The Yemen conflict has displaced over a million people and has led to Cholera outbreaks and medicine shortages and famine prompting the United Nations to call the humanitarian crisis the worst in the world.
3 - Finally came war in Ukraine.
Ukraine has long been called Europe's breadbasket thanks to its rich soil among the most versatile in the world. This region accounts for 15% of the world's wheat production and nearly 30% of its exports. Ukraine and Russia account for 80% of the world's sunflower oil.
Ukraine is ranked sixth in corn and sixth in barley and ninth in wheat and ninth in soybean production. Twenty-Six 26 countries in Africa are more than 50% dependent on Russia and Ukraine for their wheat imports. Benin and Egypt are over 80% dependent while Somalia is 100% dependent on those two countries for wheat...
No wonder 17 African countries chose to abstain from the UN vote sanctioning Russia. You cannot bite the hand that feeds you. With the Black Sea closed and exports frozen these countries are scrambling to find food. Egypt put out a tender to replace its wheat and the only country that had wheat to spare was Canada. The price was so high they canceled the tender. Now Indonesia Sri Lanka and Egypt are negotiating loans from the IMF to pay for food.
In response to the shortages, Egypt has banned the export of wheat flour and lentils while Indonesia has tightened exports of palm oil and Russia has temporarily banned any exports of both fertilizer and wheat.
China has managed to stockpile more than half of the globe's maize and other grains, leading to steep price increases across the planet and dropping more countries into famine. China is expected to have 69% of the globe's maize reserves in the first half of the crop year 2022, 60% of its rice, and 51% of its wheat.
They expect to have the worst crop in 40 years as flooding and other factors cut their harvests and have trouble feeding their population so making them a net importer.
The shortage and price increases in urea-based fertilizers may even have a greater impact. Ukraine Belorussia were all exporters. The price of urea has gone to $1000 per metric ton which is four times the price sold for 2021 you cannot grow fields of wheat barley or Soy without fertilizer. Farmers as far away as Mexico Columbia and Brazil are already worried about the shortages. Fuel costs are up, food prices are soaring, fertilizer is more expensive, and all of this feeds into new crises.
Next year is when this really hits the world. Hunger leads to desperation and discontent. Arab Spring of 2008 started in a market over prices. Popular riots are often associated with adverse economic trends: recession, rising unemployment and high prices or scarcity of food
In 2010, the chant was work, freedom, national dignity. Now the dream of a Tunisian is a gas canister. A piece of bread for his kids.”
So what is our response?
The bible tells us that Matthew 24:7, NLT: Nation will go to war against nation and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in many parts of the world.
In Africa war has prevented the planting of crops and Russia Ukraine's conflict will certainly cripple their harvests and planting.
We that have enough to eat and more…….
- Consider the local food bank for a regular donation of canned goods. It goes directly to the needy. Volunteer one evening a month to serve the less fortunate.
- Support a local shelter.
- Support an organization like Feed My Starving Children or Rise against Hunger
Most importantly – lift your voice in prayer. This is the hope of ALL mankind. Your prayers can call on God to bring it soon…
Micah 4 v 1-4 But in the last days it shall come to pass, that the government of the LORD shall be established in the top of the mountains And many nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, and He will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: And He shall judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off, and they shall beat their swords into plowshares neither shall they learn war any more. But they shall sit every man under his vine and under his fig tree, and none shall make them afraid: for the mouth of the LORD of hosts has spoken it.