TURKISH AGRI.NEWS

Supply chains must be shortened and localised, urges FAO... Whilst addressing the Agriculture Ministers of the G20 countries, the FAO Director-General highlighted essential actions that must be taken in order to maintain the supply chains of the future. The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a major public health concern but also a threat to global food security, one that can be mitigated by avoiding measures that disrupt food supply chains, Director-General of the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO), Qu Dongyu, told the Agriculture Ministers of the G20 countries. “Preserving access to safe food and nutrition is an essential part of the health response,” he said, recommending countries to strengthen local production and shorten food supply chains. “We need to collaborate with every actor in the supply chain, build public-private partnerships and promote innovation”, Dongyu said at the G20 meeting, convened by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which holds t...

The World Food Programme (WFP) announced yesterday that it will have to expand its emergency operations in Zimbabwe because half of the population is suffering from severe hunger due to climate change and an economic meltdown. "The scale of hunger in the country is going to get worse before it gets better," said WFP Executive Director David Beasley. He said the organization would have to more than double the number of people it is already helping to 4 million by January as the "unprecedented climate-driven disaster gripping southern Africa" continues apace. According to the WFP, temperatures are rising at more than twice the average global rate and drought and flooding have hit both urban and rural areas. In Zimbabwe, this is exacerbated by an ongoing economic crisis along with a "shortage of foreign currency, runaway inflation, mounting unemployment, lack of fuel, prolonged power outages and large-scale livestock losses." The announcement comes a few d...