## 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_

## Source details

**Canonical URL:** [Joint Statement: The Heads of the World Bank Group, IMF, WFP and WTO Call for Urgent Coordinated Action on Food Security](https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/04/13/pr22117-joint-statement-wbg-imf-wfp-and-wto-call-for-urgent-coordinated-action-on-food-security)

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## Bibliographic details
- Published: April 13, 2022

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### 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.*

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## References

- [https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva](https://www.imf.org/en/about/senior-officials/bios/kristalina-georgieva)
- [The IMF and the World Trade Organization -- A Factsheet](https://www.imf.org/en/about/factsheets/sheets/2022/imf-and-the-world-trade-organization)
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_Source: https://www.imf.org/en/news/articles/2022/04/13/pr22117-joint-statement-wbg-imf-wfp-and-wto-call-for-urgent-coordinated-action-on-food-security_