Food Shortages Threaten Import-Dependent Countries

The outbreak of the Corona epidemic has led to food shortages in hundreds of millions around the world, most of them from Africa, which relies heavily on importing foodstuffs. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has warned that the world is witnessing food shortages unless measures are taken fast to maintain food supply chains, especially in import-dependent countries.

And according to what (FAO) said in its global report on food crisis for the year 2019, that at least 113 million people suffer from hunger and food shortages in 53 countries due to wars and climate disasters, which made Africa the most affected continent, explaining that Yemen and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan, and Syria are among eight countries that have recorded two-thirds of the total number of people at risk of famine.

Also, after the Covid-19 crisis, many import obstacles and export restrictions appeared, as many major exporting countries of grains and foodstuffs-imposed restrictions on their foreign sales to ensure domestic supplies.

The major food-importing countries are also seeking to strengthen their reserves by increasing their purchases from abroad, and this, in turn, affected poor countries that rely heavily on import, such as Africa being a huge importer of foodstuffs, in addition to the closures, travel restrictions, and divergence measures that exacerbate the risks of food insecurity.

This food shortage has pushed many import-dependent countries to rethink food production, support and provide the necessary funding to boost agricultural production, to curb the risks of food insecurity, and to cover domestic consumption after decades of unmatched imports.