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The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world drastically. On the one hand, the immediate targets of reducing the sky–rocketing rates of infection, increasing the capacity of intensive care and vaccination programmes require the urgent attention of all nations. On the other hand, state leaders must also review their supply policies, in particular global delivery chains to keep essential goods and services flowing, writes Vadym Ivchenko.
Worldwide Food Insecurity
People have been always in need of food and basic resources to survive even before the spread of this pandemic. Last April, the United Nations projected that the number of people facing severe food insecurity worldwide could double to 265 million due to the impact of COVID-19. We are now faced with the herculean task of rescuing as many of them as humanly possible from starvation.
Agriculture’s silver lining
If there is a silver lining in this unfolding crisis, it is that agriculture has proved to be more resilient to the impact of COVID-19 than manufacturing industry. While it is true that there have still been significant slowdowns, particularly in situations where outbreaks were discovered, the agriculture sector has never been forced to fully shut down. Irrespective of a global pandemic, people still need to eat, leaving the market demand for agricultural products virtually unchanged. The main factor brought into focus by the pandemic has been the issue of food safety.
Ukraine Can Help
My firm stance is that Ukraine has every chance to play a central role in the forthcoming effort of obtaining global food security in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. My country has often been referred to as the breadbasket of Central Europe, and with global food insecurity set to increase dramatically, coupled with Ukraine’s large agricultural yields, it can soon become a breadbasket for the whole world. In a nutshell, Ukraine is an agricultural goldmine. Already Ukrainian farmers feed the world, supplying food products to 205 countries. The country is home to around 25% of the world’s black earth soil, renowned for its high level of fertility. Although it does not yet have the same level of crop yields as countries with modern agricultural production, Ukraine already has the potential to feed more than 600 million people. To put this into perspective, Ukraine only needs one-fifteenth of its current production to feed its domestic population, leaving the rest available for export.
Ukraine ranks as the world’s largest exporter of sunflower oil, second in nuts, third in honey, barley, and rapeseed, fourth in corn, fifth in wheat, seventh in soy, eighth in chicken, tenth in chicken eggs, and eleventh in flour. Agricultural products are the primary basis of Ukraine’s foreign trade. Agricultural products and foodstuffs represent about 40% of the nation’s overall exports value, a valuable share of foreign currency revenues for the country.
Global partnerships have an important part to play
One thing that’s clear is that leading companies around the world are starting to take notice. Large multinationals, such as John Deere, Syngenta, NCH Capital, NCH Agroprosperis, Monsanto Company, and Cargill have all started actively working and developing their production in Ukraine.
As a member of the Agriculture Committee of the Verkhovna Rada (Ukrainian Parliament) I have worked with Cargill on the development of important agricultural projects. I and have personal vision and experience of how major agricultural corporations can support the country in difficult times. Last year, for example, Cargill Financial Services International provided Ukraine a state loan of € 250 million.
Ukraine is already making strides in increasing its trade potential. The volume of trade between Ukraine and the EU has increased significantly over the last five years. Likewise, between Ukraine and the US, the figure has exceeded $5 billion per year, with poultry, sunflower oil, flour, alcohol, fruits, and vegetables being just some of the exported goods. Ukraine is capable of providing a much wider range of products, but is held back by trade barriers, which hopefully will be scaled back shortly. The key factor for us is to become serious as a society in tackling global food insecurity.
The need for progressive technology
To update the country’s agricultural infrastructure and increase crop yields, about 15% of companies have begun actively implementing agricultural innovations by purchasing the solutions of both foreign and domestic technology startup companies. Many also develop their own in-house solutions, and according to the AgTech Ukraine Association, the number of agricultural startups in Ukraine has risen to more than 80.
All of these advancements come just in time to tackle the largest threat currently facing humanity, greater even than the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially irreversible climate change. By 2050, in just 30 short years, the world’s population is projected to grow so much that it will require 70% more food to sustain it. This population explosion is aggravated by environmental changes to agriculture, as the amount of agricultural land is annually decreasing. Soil contamination with heavy metals, radioactive waste, and pesticides threaten biodiversity, reduce food quality, and have negative impacts on human health.
According to the UN, the world exhausted its yearly limit on the consumption of renewable natural resources in August 2020, meaning that the supply of natural resources for the next 4-5 months will come at the expense of future years and, beyond that, of subsequent generations. However, through agriculture, we may still be able to provide an effective solution. In situations where there is no available pathway in switching to renewable energy, the production and consumption of biofuels can serve as a life-saving stop-gap.
To achieve this solution, especially considering that the production of bioethanol in the country is actively slowing down (progress is more noticeable with biogas), Ukraine needs to reform its current system of economic incentives and start to prioritise the development of biofuels. If only around 20% of the country’s corn can be repurposed for domestic processing, rather than export, Ukraine will be able to actively improve its environmental conditions.
Unfortunately, for all of their bluster, the state’s current agricultural development programs are declarative, but lack the necessary specifics, making the creation of a large scale bioethanol market difficult.
Ukraine as the “world’s breadbasket”
Citing the famous 19th-century Ukrainian scientist, Serhiy Podolynsky, “Of the many types of human activity, agriculture is of the highest priority, the most productive and useful work, which dozens of times increases the product made by nature”. I do agree with Serhiy’s ideas which are very relevant to our times; agriculture is indeed essential in providing humanity with food, medicine, renewable energy, clothing, and other much-needed resources.
Ukraine has long been a regional breadbasket, but must seize its chance now and make strides in becoming a breadbasket for the whole world. While the country has already made significant contributions to overcoming world hunger, by incorporating global technologies into production and integrating itself into international supply chains, Ukraine can become a reliable agricultural trading partner to any country in need.
The Author, Vadym Ivchenko, is a Member of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine (Ukrainian Parliament), elected in 2014.
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