Indonesian Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati on Friday called for a joint forum involving G20 finance and agriculture ministries to come up with concrete action to tackle growing food insecurity and a looming fertilizer supply crisis, APA reports citing Reuters.
Food insecurity is one of the top issues on the agenda at a G20 meeting of finance leaders in Bali, where host Indonesia has been trying to find common ground in a group rattled by the Ukraine war and rising economic pressures from soaring inflation.
Sri Mulyani said the world was facing alarming global hunger due to war, export restrictions and the lingering effect of the pandemic. The risk of a fertilizer supply crisis could exacerbate the food crisis even into 2023 and beyond, she said.
Similar joint meetings were set up for finance and health ministries last year to address issues such as uneven COVID-19 vaccine distribution.
"The G20 has successfully been doing this for finance and health...we do hope the same thing can be also established by strengthening our ability to mobilize not only financing, but most importantly policy coordination across countries and supported by international organizations," Sri Mulyani said.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen at the same meeting called on G20 members to boost their spending to address existing food security challenges.
Yellen said poor households in the poorest countries were the most directly affected, setting back development and undermining efforts to eradicate poverty.
Russian President Vladimir Putin was "using food as a weapon of war," she said, citing "the destruction of agricultural facilities, theft of grain and farm equipment, and the effective blockade of Black Sea ports."
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