Long-Term Food Supply Affected As Global Leaders Focus on Election 2024

International attempts to ensure long-term food supply might be derailed by several impending international elections, warns the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

President Alvaro Lario said that in the busy election year of 2024, short-term politics would probably take precedence over longer-term planning, leading to the abandonment of important problems like food security.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Lario expressed concerns about the upcoming year, stating, "It's going to be a challenging year. Almost half of the governments in the world are going to go through elections."

The head of the U.N. special agency emphasized that this widespread electoral activity is likely to exacerbate polarization and encourage the adoption of simpler messages rather than addressing the complex changes needed in food systems.

There will be around two billion voters participating in a historic set of elections that will take place across 70 nations this year. Voters will be thinking about issues like the green transition and its local ramifications, as well as the state of the economy and ongoing international crises.

Lario pointed out that already unstable agricultural systems are being threatened by the rising opposition to climate initiatives, sometimes referred to as "greenlash," which is taking over political discourse.

Notwithstanding the complexity, Lario stated that it is the responsibility of institutions like IFAD to "keep banging at the door" of the public and private sectors in order to increase funding for initiatives that address the underlying causes of food insecurity. These include initiatives that support increased regional market integration, increased crop variety, and increased local food production.

According to Lario, the significance of this kind of investment has increased due to the escalating global tensions.

UNICEF estimates that one in ten individuals worldwide experience food insecurity or lack consistent access to a healthy diet.

Navigating U.S. Power Dynamics

This is the moment to consider U.S. power utilization from both a strategic and tactical standpoint. Instead of concentrating only on the other way around, Europe has to consider how it might be a vital ally of the United States. The G-7 nations need to act swiftly to fulfill their promises to the global south, even beyond Ukraine.

Criticizing leaders in Africa, Asia, and South America for their transgressions against human rights or their ongoing corruption is meaningless when there is no strong domestic democracy or substantial material assistance to mitigate the effects of growing national debt, climate-related catastrophes, a $40 trillion infrastructure deficit, and food scarcity.

Above all, Europe has to make an effort to help in the humanitarian crisis and advance the search for a workable and long-term political solution rather than letting itself become irrelevant in the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Even though the rest of the globe isn't allowed to vote, it still needs to get ready for a potentially unstable, erratic, and disorderly U.S. administration with aspirations to rule the entire planet.