COVID-19 is causing a global food crisis. This is how to address it

The document highlights how COVID-19 has exposed vulnerabilities in global food systems, increasing the risk of famine due to income loss, school closures, and trade disruptions. It calls for immediate multilateral cooperation to prevent export restrictions and a long-term shift toward resilient, fair food systems through investments in agricultural research, support for small farmers, and public-private partnerships.

• COVID-19 is accelerating a global hunger crisis by reducing the purchasing power of poor and unemployed families and depriving 370 million children of daily meals typically provided by schools.
• The pandemic has disrupted food trade, particularly in Africa where border closures have led to food rotting in depots and increased prices for staples like rice; this is further threatened by major cereal exporters considering or imposing export controls.
• Building food system resilience requires investing in agricultural research for drought-resistant crops and higher yields, promoting sustainable farming in water-stressed areas, and improving local infrastructure such as refrigeration and transport to support small farmers.
• Specific regional initiatives demonstrate the potential for food security: reforestation in Niger's Maradi and Zinder regions has boosted yields, and a public-private partnership in Rwanda called Africa Improved Foods (AIF) has used a $70m investment to benefit two million children and provide stable income to 24,000 smallholders.

APA

Ki-moon, B., & Ulstein, D.-I. (2020). COVID-19 is causing a global food crisis. This is how to address it. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/global-food-chains-disruption-covid19/

Chicago

Ki-moon, Ban, and Dag-Inge Ulstein. COVID-19 is causing a global food crisis. This is how to address it. World Economic Forum, 2020. https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/global-food-chains-disruption-covid19/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Ki-moon |first1=Ban |last2=Ulstein |first2=Dag-Inge |title=COVID-19 is causing a global food crisis. This is how to address it |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=29 May 2020 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/global-food-chains-disruption-covid19/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{kimoon2020covid19, author = {Ki-moon, Ban and Ulstein, Dag-Inge}, title = {{COVID-19 is causing a global food crisis. This is how to address it}}, publisher = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2020}, month = may, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/food-water-air/global-food-chains-disruption-covid19/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }