Interview Exclusive JANUSZ WOJCIECHOWSKI
EUROPEAN COMMISSIONER FOR AGRICULTURE
W
ill there be flour and sugar on the shelves tomorrow? Will grain reach hungry people in sub-Saharan Africa? Is the battle for food and energy the most important line of resistance in the conflict that spilled over from Ukraine to engulf the world? During times when food has become a geopolitical weapon, these are the questions that dominated our interview with European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski, alongside the issues of the Green Deal, technological breakthroughs in the field of food cultivation and support to candidate countries like Serbia in sustaining their own food security. Some top EU officials have warned that a global food crisis is on the horizon, due to the war in Ukraine, and promised initiatives to avoid any disruption of food supply chains. How do these developments impact on your work?
Russia’s aggression in Ukraine has had a profound impact on the global food system and food security has become a key concern. First in Ukraine itself, but also in the EU’s neighbourhood, in North Africa and the Middle East, but also in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. This concerns wheat in particular, as a key staple. At
Food Is The
Top Security Issue Putin is using food as a geopolitical weapon and the EU will not stand idle in the face of this aggression. It is crucial to put an end to the invasion and the suffering of the Ukrainian population, but also to avoid the consequences a prolonged war in Ukraine would have on global food security ~ Janusz Wojciechowski 8
June
