India has been admired by the UN and Lario came to India for G20
India exported 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 countries during the period of the Ukraine war that faced an acute shortage of food. The United Nations Fund for agricultural development has praised India for this noble work.
Alvaro Lario came to India to attend the G20 agriculture ministers meeting. The G20 Ministers of Agriculture, assembled on 16-17 June 2023 in Hyderabad. Lario, the president of the International Fund of Agricultural Development (IFAD), said that India’s G20 presidency has the potential to “transform” the global food systems as some of New Delhi’s priority areas are in sync with that of the UN body.
IRIWI – Point of discussion in G20
In the meeting they were emphasizing the significance of research and development to increase agricultural productivity in a sustainable manner; they encourage efforts to strengthen research cooperation on climate-resilient and nutritious grains such as millets, quinoa, sorghum and other traditional crops including rice, wheat and maize. In this context and building on the “International Research Initiative for Wheat Improvement (IRIWI)” endorsed by the G20 in 2011, they welcome the launch of the 12th G20 MACS international initiative for research on millets and other ancient grains.
Lario’s opinion
Lario, a noted development finance expert, said the Indian expertise could support the agricultural and rural development in other countries in the Global South. “We also appreciate India’s exports of wheat – 1.8 million tonnes – to 18 countries facing an acute shortage last year in the wake of the war in Ukraine,” he said.
“India’s G20 presidency has the potential to transform food systems. A food system includes all the aspects of feeding and nourishing people: growing, harvesting, packaging, processing, transporting, marketing and consuming food,” he said.
Severe impact on global food security
Some factors like the Covid-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine and climate change have severely impacted global food security that has triggered a food crisis in the African countries. “Food systems have been shaken to the core in the last few years, cumulative shocks have reversed years of progress and exposed their weaknesses,” he added.
Ukraine was the largest supplier of wheat
Ukraine has been a major global supplier of wheat and the Russian invasion of the country resulted in a global food crisis as the supplies were badly hit. In the three marketing years prior to the war 2018 – 19, 2019 – 20, and 2020 – 21, Ukraine’s exports made up 15% of the world corn trade and 10% of the world wheat trade. In this period, Ukraine was the world’s fourth-largest corn-exporting country and the fifth-largest wheat-exporting country.