WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The head of the UN a task force to facilitate the safe passage of fertilizers and related raw materials via the Strait of Hormuz, warned of a looming food crisis as fertilizer shipped through the vital lifeline is blocked ahead of the planting season.
As the Persian Gulf crisis continues, time is ticking for farmers who rely on fertilizer shipped via the strategic trade route - and millions worldwide who depend on their crops, particularly in vulnerable countries such as war-torn Sudan.
In normal times, one third of global fertilizer trade - along with 35 per cent of crude oil and a fifth of liquefied natural gas - passes through the maritime corridor located south of Iran, but tanker traffic has essentially come to a standstill.
In response, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres established a task force to facilitate the safe passage of fertilisers and related raw materials for humanitarian purposes.
It is headed by Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of the UN Office for Project Services, which provides infrastructure, procurement and project management services across the world.
'We cannot afford to wait,' he said in an interview with UN News.
'The planting season is upon us, and the risk of a major food crisis is real. We need the support and the cooperation of all stakeholders to make this mechanism a success.'
He told Reem Abaza that the UN task force he is leading will be able to get its 'one stop platform' up and running in just seven days, if combatants blocking the strait allow fertilizers and other raw material through, to benefit the world's most vulnerable.
'The idea of the task force was to develop a mechanism focused on fertilizers and related raw materials such as urea, sulfur, and ammonia, to prevent a massive humanitarian crisis. We have one-third of all fertilizers in the world going through the Strait of Hormuz, so you can see how important the Persian Gulf is for the production of fertilizers and how impacted is the entire supply chain of fertilizers with the disruption of the Strait of Hormuz,' said Jorge Moreira da Silva.
'The planting season has already started, and in most countries in Africa it will end in May. So, if we don't get some solution immediately, the crisis will be very significant and severe, particularly for the poorest countries and for the poorest citizens,' he added.
The top UN official said there is a clear nexus between the lack of access to fertilizers and the disruption to food systems, and therefore starvation and hunger looming in many countries.
'At least let's have a time-bound, exceptional, limited mechanism just for fertilizers and related raw materials.'
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