Former EU Agriculture Commissioner: ‘Without Ukraine there is no food sufficiency’

Former Agriculture Commissioner Dacian Tsiolos talks to DW about Ukraine, the looming food crisis and ideas to circumvent the blockade of Ukrainian ports.

Ukraine was once called “the Granary of the Soviet Union”. “Green Ukraine” is glorified by regional folk songs. But after the Russian attack on the fertile regions of Eastern Ukraine and at the latest after the Russian blockade of the Black Sea ports, the country’s agricultural economy is brought to the brink of collapse. The consequences may be irreversible for Ukraine itself, but also for dozens of other countries, especially developing economies that are heavily dependent on grain imports from Ukraine.

Speaking to Deutsche Welle, former EU Agriculture Commissioner and ex-Prime Minister of Romania, Dacian Ciolos, explains the many and varied aspects of the problem. “There are two different issues,” he points out. “The first is food sufficiency for Ukrainians themselves, particularly in war-torn areas. The second and perhaps bigger problem is exports. Ukraine, as well as Russia, is one of the world’s largest producers of grain. At least 50 countries depend on Ukrainian grain imports. An additional issue is that Ukrainian farmers also need to sell this year’s production to have sufficient storage space for the next harvest. And of course, they need this year’s revenue to reinvest in production in the fall. “.

Buying directly from the producer?

The former Commissioner warns that the “brake” on Ukrainian grain exports could trigger an international food crisis, particularly in the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa, which in turn would significantly boost migration flows to Europe. What can the EU do to prevent the worst? Dacian Tsiolos believes that the role of the EU is crucial, not only to ensure sufficient resources for humanitarian aid, but also to look for alternative routes for grain transport. “Since Russian forces have blockaded Ukraine’s ports on the Black Sea, we will have to find alternatives,” he says. “For example we could use Romanian ports on the Black Sea or Polish ports on the Baltic Sea.”

An agricultural engineer by profession and currently MEP of the Liberal political group (Renew Europe), Dacian Tsiolos proposes an original solution: The EU itself could buy significant food stocks directly from Ukrainian producers. “In any case, the Commission and the member states are among the biggest funders of humanitarian aid for Ukraine,” explains the former Commissioner to Deutsche Welle. “Usually we use private individuals or international organizations as intermediaries, we do not buy directly from the producer in Ukraine. But we could conclude a cooperation agreement with the World Food Program of the United Nations, for example, so that we buy grain in Ukraine and then we distribute them to countries in need, especially in Africa and the Middle East.”

And Ukraine depends on exports

In this way, Ukrainian farmers could at least be immediately helped to plan for next year as much as they can. After all, the Ukrainian economy itself, emphasizes Dacian Tsiolos, is largely dependent on exports. Today the food sector constitutes 20% of the country’s total GDP. At least one in five Ukrainians work in the primary sector. Ukraine and Russia contribute 30% of world grain production and 50% of total sunflower oil production.

As for Ukraine’s European perspective, the former Commissioner says he supports the country’s EU membership. On the other hand, he points out, “to be realistic, it will take several years before accession negotiations begin. We will need to readjust the Common Agricultural Policy for Ukraine. We are talking about a country of 44 million people with greater grain production potential than any other European country. For now, however, we can agree on a partnership to ensure food sufficiency. Ukraine is one of the largest food producers, while we are one of the biggest financiers of food aid”.

Yannis Papadimitriou, Strasbourg

Source: Deutsche Welle