FAO warns of mounting food security risks at ECOSOC special meeting

New York - At a special meeting of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on Safeguarding Energy and Supply Flows: Supporting Global Development through International Cooperation, held on 15 May 2026 at United Nations headquarters, FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero Cullen highlighted that, while current grain reserves remain adequate in the short term, rising fertilizer and energy costs could reduce crop yields, drive up food prices and intensify pressure across transport, irrigation and other parts of the value chain, leaving food-importing countries particularly vulnerable.

In a video intervention, FAO's Chief Economist stressed the importance of stabilizing markets and safeguarding supply flows to prevent disruptions from cascading across energy, fertilizer and food systems. He noted that the fertilizer supply disruptions caused by the blockage of the Strait of Ormuz could begin to affect the next planting season.

"The greatest danger lies in the delayed impacts on future agricultural production."

He underscored the urgent need for coordinated short-, medium- and long-term action to address the current crisis and strengthen the resilience of agrifood systems. Actions include, in the short-term ensuring market transparency and stability and avoiding export restrictions; in the medium -term, diversifying supply sources and supporting vulnerable food-import dependent countries and farmers; and, in the long-term, increasing the structural resilience of global agrifood systems.

The Chief Economist underscored that the crisis had exposed the fragility of global agrifood systems and the close interlinkages between food security, energy security and macroeconomic stability. He called for measures to keep trade flowing and market transparency, to support vulnerable food-importing countries and farmers, and to diversify supply sources, while accelerating investment in more efficient, diversified and resilient agrifood systems to reduce exposure to future shocks. As he stressed, "what we are witnessing today is not an isolated disruption. It is a warning about the fragility of the systems that feed the world. Food security, energy security, macroeconomic stability, and geopolitical stability are now inseparable. And our response must reflect that reality."