ALL ARTICLES
/
Banking

Crédit Agricole: Concern for global agriculture

Martin Baelden
|
August 28, 2024

The bank which, in Lorraine alone, supports seven out of ten farmers and which has granted them 265 million euros in loans, including 22.5 million euros to finance methanisation projects, is worried about the war in Ukraine. "All raw materials have seen their prices multiply by three.

Since the invasion of Ukraine by the Russian army, the risk of a food shortage has become apparent. Not in the immediate future, as the world's wheat and cereal reserves are currently sufficient for countries to process, feed and consume. But with Ukraine and Russia producing nearly 30% of the world's wheat, there is reason to take seriously the alarm of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres who fears "a collapse of the global food system".

In some African countries in particular, there is a clear risk of famine in the coming months. The most dependent on the situation are, in order: Somalia and Benin for 100% of the needs, followed by Egypt, Sudan, DRC, Senegal, Tanzania, Rwanda, Madagascar...

It has already been decided to mobilise set-aside land in France for the 2022 campaign in order to increase production. The objective is to contribute to securing French and European supplies, for human and animal consumption, but also to global balances, particularly for countries around the Mediterranean and in Africa.

Set-aside areas represent nearly 300,000 ha, or more than 1% of the useful agricultural area in France (26.7 million hectares), and almost 2% of the arable land area.