Food crisis discussed at conference held by Turkish Communications Directorate at European Parliament

By Selen Temizer

BRUSSELS (AA) - European experts on Tuesday discussed possible solutions to the ongoing food crisis in the world at a conference held by Türkiye's Communications Directorate at the European Parliament.

Speaking at the panel held as part of the conference, Polish member of European Parliament Ryszard Czarnecki said decision-makers should come together to find solutions to ensure food safety.

Czarnecki, who also heads the parliamentary friendship group between the EU and Türkiye, noted that the number of people in urgent need of food had increased to 22 million, calling for joint efforts on long-term access to food, particularly in Africa.

The panel was moderated by Kilic Bugra Kanat, the Washington D.C. director of The Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research (SETA), a Turkish think tank.

Slawomir Matuszak, a senior researcher at the Warsaw-based OSW Centre for Eastern Studies, also spoke at the event, pointing to long queues of grain-carrying ships and touching on the need for "serious investments" into a new type of logistics.

The EU and international financial institutions could play a major role in this regard, Matuszak said.

- Food crisis to trigger migration

The food crisis could also trigger more irregular migration, according to Ece Baban, a Turkish academic in communication and international relations at Fenerbahce University in Istanbul.

As irregular migrant flows increase economic and social unrest, Baban argued that access to food could become a new cause of war that could cost many lives in disadvantaged areas.

She went on to say that the Ukrainian grain deal, which was achieved with the efforts of Türkiye and the UN, was a major step toward solving the food crisis.

The climate, water, and energy crises, as well as global warming and migration movements, should be handled together, she added.

- Only rich to have access to food in absence of solution

Arguing that Western sanctions affecting Russian fertilizer exports would not be effective in "cornering" the country as they occupy a miniscule part of its economy, former member of European Parliament Nirj Deva said the West should re-evaluate its position in this regard.

He also underlined that crops needed to be fertilized at a certain time, after which harvests would be harmed, leading to "only the rich" having access to food.

People who have no access to food will migrate, Deva said.

Another speaker, Samuel Ramani, said that besides many other problems, the world had entered a dangerous stage where very few concrete solutions can be offered.

Ramani, a senior researcher at the UK-based Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), underlined the need to avoid creating a gap and geopolitical distinctions between civilizations.

Luca Contrino, representative of the France-based the Assembly of European Regions producing Fruits, Vegetables and Ornamental Plants, said there was no single solution to these issues and that a series of structural problems had to be dealt with.

Contrino also noted that climate change had impacted agricultural production and possible solutions to the food crisis.