Wheat field in northern Mongolia

    Coordinating aid measures The Global Alliance for Food Security

    The Russian war of aggression against Ukraine has dramatically worsened the situation in global agricultural markets, which had already been very difficult as a result of climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic. Up until now, Russia and Ukraine had accounted for 30 per cent of global wheat exports and 20 per cent of global maize exports. Russia is also an important exporter of fertiliser. Many countries in Africa and the Middle East depend on these deliveries. But exports have stalled. Prices are rising. Increasing energy costs are exacerbating the situation. The world is currently facing the worst famine since World War II.

    Maize in a bowl

    Press release 9 November 2022 New dashboard to track food and nutrition security and global response

    Participants of the meeting of the G7 development ministers in Berlin during a working session

    Press release 19 May 2022 Global Alliance for Food Security launched

    That is why, in May 2022, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze, together with World Bank President David Malpass, launched a Global Alliance for Food Security in the G7 group as a way for equipping the world to face this looming famine. A Secretariat at the World Bank is supporting the Alliance.

    The aim of the new Alliance is to ensure that the support reaches those in most urgent need. It supports the UN Global Crisis Response Group on Food, Energy and Finance and coordinates aid measures relating to food security.

    In addition to the immediate response to the current crisis, the long-term transformation of global agri-food systems towards more resilience and sustainability is a key focus.

    Sustainable agri-food systems can make countries more resilient to future crises in the medium and long term. The idea is that, by strengthening local production and regional trade and avoiding protectionism and overdependence on particular suppliers, countries are not affected disproportionately by natural disasters such as droughts or heavy rainfall, or when it becomes impossible to obtain imports from certain countries.

    Video Introducing the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard

    Website Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard

    Cover: Berlin Ministerial Conference "Uniting for Global Food Security" | Conclusions by the Chairs

    Berlin Ministerial Conference “Uniting for Global Food Security” on 24 June 2022

    Conclusions by the Chairs

    PDF | 06/2022 | 659 KB, 3 Pages
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    cover g7-abschlusserklärung

    G7 Development Ministers’ Meeting Communiqué

    Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in times of multiple crises

    PDF | 05/2022 | 251 KB, 24 Pages
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    cover chairs summary food security

    Chair’s Summary – “Response to Multiple Crises on the African Continent – focusing on Food Security”

    PDF | 05/2022 | 126 KB, 5 Pages
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    cover g7 statement ukraine

    Statement by the G7 Development Ministers on the global effects of Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine

    PDF | 05/2022 | 475 KB, 6 Pages
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    German Development Minister Svenja Schulze visits the UN World Food Programme (WFP) food warehouse in Beirut, Lebanon.
    In addition to providing short-term support, we urgently need to make the Global South more independent not only of wheat imports but also of imports of other agricultural products such as maize, oil and fertiliser. Countries need to strengthen their capacity to produce and store their food themselves so as to become more resilient to crises.
    Svenja Schulze Federal Minister for Development

    Focuses of the Alliance:

    • Advisory services and exchange of information on current trends in world markets for cereals, seeds, fertilisers and other agricultural products.
    • Coordination of funding and support
    • Scientific forecasting to predict the further development of the crisis

    The Alliance’s supporters include not only the UN Crisis Response Group, the World Bank, the G7 countries and the EU Commission but also like-minded governments, the African Union, the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD).

    The Alliance is also open to the private sector and to civil society organisations.

    30 %

    increase of prices for wheat and maize since the beginning of 2022

    More than

    700 million

    people faced hunger in 2023

    282 million

    people are currently facing acute food insecurity

    From 2019 to 2022, the number of people affected by acute food insecurity has risen by more than

    120 million

    1 US dollar

    invested in increasing the resilience of societies will reduce future humanitarian aid by 4 US dollars

    60 %

    of all people affected by hunger live in regions of conflict

    German activities Additional funding to tackle the food crisis

    Germany is committed to fighting hunger and malnutrition. The Federal Republic of Germany is the second biggest donor of humanitarian assistance and of funding to the World Food Programme. In the past few years it has invested around two billion euros every year in food security and rural development.

    Germany took an early lead and already pledged an additional 430 million euros at the beginning of the year to combat the global food crisis in order to provide timely and effective support to the most affected countries.

    Under the German Presidency, the G7 announced further substantial financial assistance at their summit at the end of June 2022: Together, they will provide an additional 4.5 billion dollars to support the Alliance for Global Food Security, among other things, with Germany contributing 450 million euros.

    The BMZ is using this additional funding for:

    View of a ditch in the Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox Bazar in Bangladesh

    Transitional development assistance

    In order to strengthen the resilience of people affected or threatened by crises, Germany is providing an additional 238 million euros for transitional development assistance. The money is being used, for instance, to establish social protection systems, for food security measures and for basic services in health and education.

    A woman in Togo harvests lettuce. She carries a toddler on her back.

    Special Initiative “Transformation of Agricultural and Food Systems”

    Additional funding of 150 million euros is available for measures under this special initiative, on top of the current budget. The aim is to secure agricultural production, keep up agricultural trade and reduce poverty and hunger risks. The measures focus primarily on Africa, the Middle East and countries that are particularly affected by the current increases in food prices.

    UN World Food Programme (WFP) food warehouse in Beirut, Lebanon: WFP logo on the back of a staff member.

    UN World Food Programme

    In response to the looming famine, Germany is scaling up its core contribution to the World Food Programme (WFP) by 42 million euros. This additional funding will enable the WFP to continue its ongoing activities to improve food security and help meet basic needs in countries affected by crises.

    As at: 23/06/2022