Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

IMF News, April 13, 2022

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Canonical URL: Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security

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Published: April 13, 2022

Context and drivers

The world is affected by "compounding crises": the fallout of the war in Ukraine, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic (now enters its third year), climate change, and increased fragility and conflict.
Sharply higher prices for staples and supply shortages are increasing pressure on households worldwide and pushing millions more into poverty.
Fertilizer-specific driver: dramatic increase in the cost of natural gas, a key ingredient of nitrogenous fertilizer, and surging fertilizer prices combined with significant cuts in global supplies.
Vulnerability distribution:
- Threat is highest for the poorest countries with a large share of consumption from food imports.
- Vulnerability is increasing rapidly in middle-income countries, which host the majority of the world’s poor.

Key findings and quantified impacts

World Bank estimate cited: "for each one percentage point increase in food prices, 10 million people are thrown into extreme poverty worldwide."
Rising food prices and fertilizer supply shocks have important implications for food production in most countries, including major producers and exporters that rely heavily on fertilizer imports.
The increase in food prices and supply shocks can fuel social tensions, especially in countries already fragile or affected by conflict.

Proposed actions and policy recommendations

Urgent coordinated actions recommended, including:
- Provision of emergency food supplies.
- Deployment of financial support to households and countries.
- Investment in sustainable food production and nutrition security.
- Facilitating unhindered trade and keeping trade flows open.
Financing recommendations:
- Leaders call on the international community to support vulnerable countries through grants to cover urgent financing needs.
- Financing should include immediate food supplies, safety nets to address the needs of the poor, and support for small farmers facing higher input prices.
Trade policy recommendations:
- Urge all countries to keep trade open and avoid restrictive measures such as export bans on food or fertilizer.
- Emphasize importance of not imposing export restrictions on humanitarian food purchases by the UN’s World Food Program.
Institutional coordination and monitoring:
- Commit to combining expertise and financing to quickly step up policy and financial support to vulnerable countries and households.
- Pledge to increase domestic agricultural production in, and supply to, impacted countries.
- Offer to mitigate balance of payments pressures and work with all countries to keep trade flows open.
- Reinforce monitoring of food vulnerabilities and rapidly expand multi-faceted policy advice guided by the comparative advantages of each institution.
- Stand ready to work together with multilateral and bilateral partners to help countries address the crisis.

Messages to stakeholders

Call to the international community: urgently support vulnerable countries through coordinated actions and grants to cover urgent financing needs.
Call to governments: avoid export restrictions that exacerbate suffering, particularly on humanitarian purchases by WFP.
Institutional commitment: the Heads of WBG, IMF, WFP, and WTO commit to combined action, financing, monitoring, and policy advice to respond quickly.

Press Release No. 22117 — Joint statement by World Bank Group President David Malpass, IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, WFP Executive Director David Beasley, and WTO Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; April 13, 2022. Source: International Monetary Fund.