Commissioner Šuica addresses the 2nd Ministerial Meeting of the Coalition of Rome for Fertiliser Access and Food Security

The world is on the verge of a serious food supply crisis.

The closing of the Strait of Hormuz, the war in Yemen, and the threats to the Bab el Mandeb have disrupted supply chains for food and fertilisers.

Add to this Russia's persistent war in Ukraine, disrupting one of the world's most critical breadbaskets.

Robust food systems are crucial for stability across the planet.

Every country will feel the consequences.

From devastating inflation at the supermarket, for those that are richer and resilient.

To shortages and famine in the most vulnerable regions.

Even when the Strait of Hormuz reopens and the Houthis' naval blockade ends, it will take time to adjust freight contracts, insurance costs, or supply chains.

Our response must reflect the magnitude of this challenge.

It helps us identify investment bottlenecks and opportunities where EU instruments, partner country resources, international financial institutions and private investment can complement each other.

In the EU, we are working across humanitarian assistance, agriculture, water, infrastructure, finance, and research.

We want to build a comprehensive approach to this challenge.

Seeking concrete synergies between the Rome Coalition and existing EU partnerships with our Mediterranean and Gulf partners.

From the EU side, we recently adopted the EU Fertiliser Action Plan, supporting EU farmers' access to fertilisers.

This means safeguarding the harvest at home, engaging with our partners to diversify reliable sources and reducing tensions on the supply of fertilisers for other countries in the world.

And we are working towards mutually beneficial partnerships and investments through the Pact for the Mediterranean.

These partnerships aim to strengthen local and regional resilience, investing in production, storage, logistics, connectivity and sustainable agrifood value chains.