World Bank warns that Higher Fertilizer and Energy costs could be a threat to Harvests

The Head of the World Bank, David Malpass told that the increased energy and fertilizer prices due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine Conflict could decrease the future global food harvests. This further in turn will put pressure on food prices which have increased by more than a third last year. On April 19, while speaking at a US Treasury event on tackling food insecurity, David Malpass, the World Bank president said that the Russian invasion had "triggered major threats to global food and nutrition security." Mr. Malpass further informed that the World Bank's food price index reached an all-time high in the month of March, when prices increased 11.5%, and a year-on-year increase of 37%.

Malpass commented, "In the near-term, there has been a pronounced spike in the prices of key food staples, including wheat and wheat substitutes.  Second, future harvests may be reduced due to higher energy and fertilizer prices. Crop yields all over the world depend on fertilizer and the price of oil and natural gas.”On Thursday in an interview with the BBC, Malpass told that the world faces a "human catastrophe," with people in low- and middle-income countries battling the greatest fallout from the effects on food supply.