Ukraine war: Will the wheat crisis bring more food independence?

In the wake of the war in Ukraine and an expected shortfall of wheat imports this year, most Middle Eastern governments have put food independence at the top of their agendas.

"Efforts in the Middle East have been redoubled following the global pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine crisis," Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at the Middle East & North Africa Programme at the London-based think tank Chatham House, told DW.

One example is Lebanon whose wheat production covers 50,000 hectares, whereas 180,000 hectares would be needed to supply enough for the population of 6.5 million.

"For decades, Lebanon was a large-scale wheat importer since it cost less to import than to plant wheat, but because of the crisis, we are being forced to find alternative plans," Abdallah Nasreddine, a spokesperson for the country's agriculture ministry, told DW.

"The agriculture ministry has already commissioned international NGOs to test where soil is fertile enough, but for this we will need funding," Nasreddine told DW.

But economic and structural changes are required before more financial aid is likely to come from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Such changes seem far-fetched as the country is both politically and economically on the brink of a breakdown.

The Lebanese lira has lost around 90% of its value against the US dollar in the past three years, making food imports for the population pretty much unaffordable.

This is good for home-grown food, however.

Workers harvest wheat in a field at the outskirts of Beja governorate, about 115 km (71 miles) north Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. Photo: REUTERS

"Local products have become much more competitive and attractive," Michael Bauer from the German Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Beirut told DW.

He said that he had observed an increase in self-sufficiency projects and start-ups. "The agri-tech sector is growing," he said.

One example is the vertical farming project launched by the environmental engineer Ziad Abi Chaker. He turns flat rooftops in Beirut into vertical vegetable gardens and plants vertical gardening farms.

"Food has become very expensive, so people are increasingly planting their own vegetables. Our vertical farming projects were already picking up last year, but even more so since the war began," he told DW.

He set up five farms in 2021, and plans seven more this year.

Another example is a cooperative of heirloom seed producers called Buzuruna Juzuruna (Our Seeds, Our Roots) east of Beirut, which has expanded massively since 2016. "In 2021, the demand for our seeds was almost overwhelming," one of the farmers said in a statement.

Farmers are glad for the chance to help prevent rare species from disappearing, as well as the opportunity to buy affordable seeds for wheat, barley or vegetables.

So far, however, such successful projects are the exception. There are so many structural problems in Lebanon that food independence is not likely in the near future.

Moreover, the country is not excluded from climate change either. "Key challenges such as droughts, rising temperatures and water scarcity remain across the whole region," Quilliam said.

Better seeds, more land

Egypt, the most populous country in the Middle East with 102 million inhabitants, is also facing problems with wheat supplies in view of the war in Ukraine. The population is expected to consume around 20 million tons this year.

The country currently produces 10 million tons per year. It imports the rest of what it needs and 80% of its supplies stem from Ukraine and Russia.

After the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, the Egyptian government developed a three-step plan to boost local production.

"This year, the government has allocated 250,000 acres as new land for wheat cultivation, and next year it aims to increase it to 500,000 acres," Aladdin Hamwieh, a biotechnologist at the government-affiliated International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), told DW. "This is in addition to the 1.5 million acres the government has developed in the last few years."

In addition to the fertile Delta valley, wheat is now also being planted in the desert area of Upper Egypt, even though the dry soil needs more fertilisers.

The government is also boosting local production by providing farmers with certified seeds that produce higher yields. It has said that it will buy more than six million tons of wheat from local farmers at a fixed price. This is to secure the country's much needed food programme.

The Egyptian government runs a food subsidy programme for 70% of the population — above all for bread, a staple food that is usually consumed with every meal.

Another consideration is to mix wheat with barley in future. "Barley can grow in dry, marginal areas that have high salinity levels, which isn't the case for wheat," Michael Baum, ICARDA's Deputy Director of Research, told DW.

Innovation will also be used to boost cultivation. "More and more wheat will be planted on raised beds," Hamwieh told DW. "This method can save 25% irrigation water, requires 15% fewer seeds, and increases the crop productivity by up to 30%."

He predicted that wheat self-sufficiency in Egypt "might never happen" but said that an increase to 70% local wheat production would be considered a success. A 20% increase would balance out the growing demand caused by a 2.5% population growth.

Back to the roots

While the World Bank, one of the main providers of financial aid in the region, it has warned that food insecurity is a growing challenge for years, it also sees some potential solutions.

"Domestic agriculture and food can be engines of economic growth, creating jobs for entrants to the labour market," Ferid Belhaj, vice president for the Middle East and North Africa region at the World Bank, wrote in an essay last September.

The Middle East and North Africa "can regain its ancient leadership in agricultural innovation by investing in cutting-edge practices and technologies responsive to a changing climate, such as hydroponics, conservation agriculture, and the safe use of treated water."

The Abu Dhabi-based agritech company 'Pure Harvest' is seen as such a pivot. The company grows produce by using hydroponics which allows crops to grow on mineral nutrient solutions instead of soil. This technique is widely seen as an innovative answer to desertification, another challenge in the Middle East.

So far, the company has made it to No 1 in another field already: In 2020, Kuwait's Wafra International Investment Company invested $100m in the start-up, making it the largest ever commitment to an agri-tech firm in the Middle East.

Disclaimer: This article first appeared on DW, and is published by special syndication arrangement.