It has become clear that there is a global food crisis that may affect most of the world’s economies as of next year, according to the estimates of major international organizations such as the FAO, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and others.
Those organizations that began to declare that there are about (385) million people may suffer from hunger during the coming years. Which currently constitutes about (6%) of the world’s population.
As a result of the direct and indirect economic repercussions of the Russian-Ukrainian war, the decline in wheat supplies and the rise in energy and shipping prices, among others, all countries of the world will not escape the inevitability of falling into a food crisis, even to varying degrees.
joint Arab attempts
Today, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and Iraq are trying to circumvent the expected food crisis through joint Arab cooperation between them that began in Beirut a few days ago, based on the draft memoranda of understanding submitted by the Syrian side as a preliminary paper for joint cooperation between those countries.
However, what was agreed upon in the meeting is nothing more than a trade exchange agreement between Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Iraq. Therefore, the outcomes of the meeting are closer and regulated for agricultural trade.
What was also agreed upon is the establishment of a joint marketing company for a private business to market agricultural products among themselves according to the agricultural calendar, and the establishment of joint marketing associations between agricultural associations and government support.
Investing, not marketing
The question now is: Is what these four Arab countries really need today is the marketing of agricultural trade, or is there something more important than it in light of a global food crisis that may afflict their citizens?
What these countries really need is agreement on joint Arab agricultural investments, specifically in the agricultural sectors directly related to the food security of the Arab citizen, such as wheat and grains of all kinds. What they need is agricultural production before agricultural marketing.
Agricultural investment today in those countries is the decisive factor in avoiding the risk of food crises, and it is the only option among Arab countries to solve the knot of importing agricultural products and encouraging Arab investors to pump their money into the agricultural sector and agricultural production technology is more important than working to promote agricultural shopping.
Lebanon, Iraq and Syria are politically and economically unstable at all, and real joint Arab cooperation in the agricultural sector can save the food situation of each of them in the future, so there is no alternative to investment and production at all.
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