Dear Sir/Madam,
I am very much interested in this call.
Please permit me to submit that civil wars and political instability have seriously affected economic development, and have taken a direct toll on food production by driving farmers off their lands. There has also been inadequate public investment in agricultural research, training and infrastructure. The result is declining food production.
Also, climate change is intensifying food insecurity across sub-Saharan Africa, where Russia's war in Ukraine and the pandemic are also adding to food shortages and high prices. Climate events, which destroy crops and disrupt food transport , are disproportionately common in the region.
Truly, food price volatility is higher in African markets than in world markets. World food price volatility has increased since food crisis of 2007–2008.
More so, many factors influence food price volatility, including agriculture and energy policy, commodity prices and market speculation, extreme weather events, rising global demand, and falling surplus stocks. Extreme price fluctuations often lead to political and market overreaction such as export restrictions. While such policies are designed to protect the population of a particular country or region, they can have devastating consequences for global food security.
As an expert in developing programmes and projects on advancing food systems and sufficiency, I believe I have made my points clear.
Kind regards,
Ikechi K. Agbugba (PhD) - GLOBAL MENTOR OF CHANGE RECIPIENT
Д-р. Ikechi Agbugba