The operational cost of delivering food to the world’s poor and conflict-afflicted has gone up 50% since 2019, with a sharp spike this year due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the World Food Programme said Friday.
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Prior to the war, the United Nations agency was already paying $42 million more per month for its operations because of inflation. The war has added an estimated $29 million, pushing the total to $71 million per month, Kyle Wilkinson, a WFP spokesperson, told Devex.
The agency is already cash-strapped, facing a 60% funding shortfall for its projected needs over the next six months, Wilkinson said. In 2020, WFP raised $8.4 billion for its work — a record number that was still $5.3 billion short of requirements.
During an International Monetary Fund event Friday, WFP head David Beasley said he was worried that an inflationary price problem could soon turn into a shortage of agricultural supplies, given the agency’s huge reliance on Russia and Ukraine for these.
“The ripple effect of Ukraine is going to be substantial,” Beasley said, adding that already “we don’t have the resources to buy what we need to buy.”
Buy Ukrainian: The U.N. is seeking to use as much local product as possible for its operations in Ukraine and for refugees. “We are trying to buy as much as we can inside Ukraine,” Beasley said.
But one of the problems ahead is that farmers are not planting as the growing season gets underway. Beasley said farmers are now “on the front lines” fighting in the war. Supply chains inside the country are also breaking down, with WFP saying transport routes were facing attacks.
Africa fund: Some of the countries most affected by the rising food prices are in Africa. These include the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, where WFP is cutting rations.
At an investment forum Thursday, the African Development Bank said it was aiming to quickly convene ministers to set up a $1 billion agriculture fund, as huge proportions of the continent’s grains come from the Black Sea area.
About the author
Shabtai Gold
Shabtai Gold is a Senior Reporter based in Washington. He covers multilateral development banks, with a focus on the World Bank, along with trends in development finance. Prior to Devex, he worked for the German Press Agency, dpa, for more than a decade, with stints in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East, before relocating to Washington to cover politics and business.
