The UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has appealed to world leaders to unite and take action to address the problems of a world “crowded with turmoil.”
Guterres disclosed this at the opening of the annual weeklong gathering of presidents, prime ministers and other officials at the U.N. General Assembly.
He said; “We need hope …. and more. We need action”.
His immediate call was for easing the global food crisis. An essential element of that is to address what he called the ‘global fertilizer market crunch’.
“We are in rough seas; a winter of global discontent is on the horizon.
“A cost-of-living crisis is raging. Trust is crumbling. Inequalities are exploding.
“And our planet is burning.
“Without action now, the global fertilizer shortage will quickly morph into a global food shortage,”
Further, Guterres called for the removal of “all remaining obstacles” to the export of Russian fertilizers and their ingredients, including ammonia.
Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, it has imposed quotas on its exports of fertilizer. Russia is one of the world’s top exporters and the shortages it has created have led to steep price increases on international markets, making it unaffordable for small farmers with the potential to dramatically decrease their harvests.
