SDC A&FS Network: Ukraine

Ukraine and the World Food Security Crises

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Wheat field in Ukraine

​​​​​​​​​Topically focussed on food systems and food security​, Last updated: 21 September 2022

​​Introduction

Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine is having severe consequences on the economy and food security both within Ukraine and across the world. Both the Russian Federation and Ukraine are among the world's most important producers of agricultural commodities. Russia's attempted invasion of Ukraine has severely impacted the country's ability to export its produce through Black Sea ports, which has both a potentially devastating impact on the nation's agriculture sector and on the ability of countries in the Middle East and Africa to feed their populations. This is already having grave humanitarian ramifications, and the social, economic and political fall-out could potentially destablise entire regions. This page seeks to track developments and trends related to food security both within Ukraine and internationally. As such it is conceived as a "living" repository of documents and links to external resources which is regularly being updated. The goal is to provide a source of information, and as such, a basis for discussion and reflection. Community member are encouraged to contribute to the respository by sending us links to interesting and trustworthy articles, reports and data sources.

Ukraine and Russia are among the world's largest producers of a range of staples.


© WFP, 2022: The conflict in Ukraine in the current global context. An overview.


A substantial number of countries in the MENA region are heavily dependent on wheat imports to feed their burgeoning populations. With a cost-of-living crisis already well underway before the beginning of the war, further hikes in prices threaten to push large parts of the population into food insecurity and hunger.


© FAO, 2022: Technical Briefing to FAO Members on The impact of COVID-19 and the War in Ukraine on the Outlook for Food Security and Nutrition​

​​Situation Ukraine

The war has severely disrupted Ukraine's domestic economic activity and the availability of goods and services with the country. Despite the country being one of the world's largest food exporters, with millions force to flee their homes, a substantial segment of the population has been left food insecure, despite relatively good social protection structures. At the same time, the war is having a devastating impact on Ukraine's ability to farm (accounting for about 10% of pre-war GDP) and export agricultural produce (accounting for about 40% of all pre-war foreign earnings). The following articles seek to track developments within Ukraine which are linked to food security.

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Agricultural production

Agricultural export

Food security reports

State of domestic food systems

Humanitarian assistance



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​​Developments Worldwide
The fall in Ukraine's agricultural exports quickly triggered a surge in a range of commodities on world markets, such as wheat and sunflower oil. Simultaneously, energy prices have soared and the availability of affordable farming inputs, particularly fertiliser, have plummeted. Depending on supply chains and dietary tastes, this has affected countries to varying degree across the world, although food-importing countries in Africa and the Middle-East have been most severely hit. Despite the recent fall in market prices havin the wake of the agreement to reopen some of Ukraine's ports, considerable concern remains that the fundamentals for midterm recovery are shakey and that 2023 may bring in a new wave of food security challenges which may affect a broader range of commodities. There is an underlying argument that many of the problems we are observing are structural in nature and that that world food systems are fundamentally broken and need reshaping. Charting a way out of the current crisis in an effort to transform food systems will take time, thought and political skill.​


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Statistical sources

Systems analyses

Political and economic analysis

Regions

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​​Disclaimer: This page is a non-exhaustive information repository of credible sources for reference by network members. The view expressed by these sources do not necessarily represent the views of the FDFA.​


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