Food security for eight billion people

Safe transport through the Black Sea is a basic requirement

17-Nov-2022 - Germany

As of today, Tuesday, the United Nations calculates that there are eight billion people on the planet - three times as many as in 1950. "Eight billion people must be able to eat and eat healthily. This is a global Herculean task to which the German agricultural industry must also make its contribution," makes Franz-Josef Holzenkamp, President of the German Raiffeisen Association (DRV), clear. He emphasizes: "According to surveys by World Hunger Aid, the number of people suffering from hunger worldwide has risen by 200 million to almost 830 million in the past eight years. That puts the onus on all of us."

For the DRV president, it is not least the Raiffeisen cooperatives that contribute to food security in the world as powerful partners in agriculture. "Our cooperatives cover almost all agricultural sectors. Where we have capacities to also contribute to easing the global supply situation, we must use them. To do this, we need political support from Berlin and Brussels," says Holzenkamp, who highlights another aspect: "Global hunger is being exacerbated by climate change. Climate protection and taking responsibility for greater security of supply beyond our own backyard must go hand in hand."

Holzenkamp's gaze turns worryingly to Ukraine: "Russia's war against Ukraine has also been a war for bread from the very first minute." Further disruptions to transport routes through the Black Sea are likely to lead immediately to rising grain prices and increasing supply difficulties for the world's poorest countries. "According to our information, there will be an extension of the grain agreement that expires next Saturday. This is of enormous importance for the supply, especially for the poorest people," Holzenkamp said. According to DRV estimates, there are still at least ten million tons of export grain in Ukraine.

Note: This article has been translated using a computer system without human intervention. LUMITOS offers these automatic translations to present a wider range of current news. Since this article has been translated with automatic translation, it is possible that it contains errors in vocabulary, syntax or grammar. The original article in German can be found here.

https://www.yumda.com/en/news/1178520/food-security-for-eight-billion-people.html