Heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East have not only affected energy costs but also pose a significant risk to global fertiliser supply, the World Bank has cautioned.
This was highlighted at a World Bank/ Civil Society Organisation engagement on food security in Accra last week.
Agricultural Economist-World Bank Ghana office Dr. Ashwini Rekha Sebastian said the tensions are creating anxiety about price surges and shortages; not just with input supply but also key staples including rice.
Global fertiliser prices are soaring – with urea rising over 50 percent to over US$700 per tonne as the Middle East crisis disrupts key supplies, particularly nitrogen-based products.
The conflict has threatened shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, fuelling a 24 percent increase in ammonia prices and causing severe shortages due to natural gas bottlenecks.
War in the Middle East has created major disruptions to global supplies of nitrogen-based crop nutrients. The Middle East accounts for about a fifth of global trade for three key phosphate products, according to The Fertiliser Institute.
That’s bad news for the global food supply, which counts on phosphates to support the growth of everything from soybeans to potatoes.
Dr. Sebastian indicated that the Bank has committed some US$75million to a cocoa rehabilitation initiative aimed at restoring about 25,000 hectares of cocoa farms across Ghana, as the sector faces mounting pressure from disease outbreaks and declining productivity.
Sourced under its West Africa Food Systems Resilience Programme (FSRP) with oversight from the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, the funding will support efforts at reviving severely affected farmlands to improve yields, strengthen farmer incomes and enhance the cocoa sector’s long-term sustainability.
Beyond cocoa, the programme is supporting seed system development in selected clusters – including trials of improved tomato crop varieties that can withstand dry season conditions, particularly in northern Ghana.
Mr. Osei Owusu Agyeman, Project Coordinator for the FSRP, said this programme aims at producing 6,000 metric tonnes of tomatoes to reduce the need for imports which currently fill a gap due to low local production. The project aims for 15-20 tonnes per hectare yields; thus tackling post-harvest losses and off-season shortages.
Participants included the Peasant Farmers Association (PFAG), Rice Farmers and Millers Association and Ghana National Association of Poultry Farmers.
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