During a meeting with David Muldrow Beasley, Executive Director of the World Food Program at the United Nations, Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solsky discussed global food security issues arising from the Russian-Ukrainian war, as well as joint actions of Ukraine and the world to prevent food escalation. This was reported by the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
The Minister stressed the need to unblock Ukrainian ports and shipping routes in order to ensure logistical links for the supply of agricultural products.
“Russia’s military aggression against Ukraine will have global consequences for world food security. Therefore, in order to stabilize the situation, it is important to ensure the logistics of supplies of agricultural products from Ukraine – through unblocked ports and alternative routes. In addition, small and medium-sized Ukrainian farms and agricultural enterprises, which play an important role in ensuring national and global food security, need urgent assistance, “Mykola Solsky said.
David Muldrow Beasley reviewed the Ukrainian government’s work on alternative logistics routes for agricultural exports and promised a permanent dialogue on this issue with the Ministry of Agrarian Policy.
The possibility of purchasing surplus grain in Ukraine through the World Food Program was also discussed in order to provide food for the countries of Africa and the Middle East and to prevent the global famine in these regions, which is a very real threat.
In addition, David Muldrow Beasley said that the World Food Program has already deployed large-scale humanitarian aid to Ukrainians affected by the war. Thus, in particular, contacts have been established with bakeries, flour mills and food industry enterprises in Ukraine for the purchase of goods in critical regions. We are talking about about 40 thousand tons of food products. Seven warehouses were opened in Kyiv, Lviv, Dnipro, Vinnytsia, Chernivtsi, Odesa and Kropyvnytskyi. And in Lviv, Vinnytsia and Ivano-Frankivsk oblasts, financial assistance is provided to migrants.
Mykola Solsky thanked the partners for their help to Ukraine during this difficult time and expressed hope for deepening cooperation in all areas discussed during the meeting.