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US, EU Ag Leaders on War
Friday, February 24, 2023 11:00AM CDT
US, EU Ag Leaders on War 02/24 11:00
EU Ag Commissioner Thanks US Farmers for Maintaining Global Food Security
During Russia-Ukraine War
Marking the first year of the conflict in Ukraine, Janusz Wojciechowski, who
has been the EU agricultural commissioner since 2019, talked Friday with
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack about the war and food security as well as
finding common ground between the U.S. and EU on issues such as sustainability
and regulatory differences. The discussion was part of USDA's Agricultural
Outlook Forum.
Chris Clayton
DTN Ag Policy Editor
ARLINGTON, Va. (DTN) -- The agriculture commissioner for the European Union
thanked U.S. farmers on Friday for "stepping up on food security" as he
stressed the need to halt Russia in Ukraine and prevent the year-old war from
escalating further into eastern Europe.
Janusz Wojciechowski, who has been the EU agricultural commissioner since
2019, participated with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a talk about the
war and food security as well as finding common ground between the U.S. and EU
on issues such as sustainability and regulatory differences. The discussion was
part of USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Marking the first year of the conflict in Ukraine, Wojciechowski, who is
from Poland, also pointed out his country was under Russian-Soviet "domination"
for more than 250 years and doesn't want to see Russian soldiers again
advancing into Polish territory.
"We fully understand the Russian invasion of Poland could happen from the
consequences of this policy," Wojciechowski said. Talking about the risks to
European borders and NATO, he added, "We need to stop them in Ukraine."
Wojciechowski also thanked the U.S. for its support, saying the U.S. and its
farmers have helped contribute to food security during a difficult situation.
He added, "I have great respect for American farmers for stepping up on food
security," a comment that drew a round of applause.
In early February, the European Commission met with the Ukrainian government
to talk more about agricultural production and food security going forward.
Before the war, Ukraine's farmers were producing roughly 100 million metric
tons of commodities, but that production will likely be cut in half this year,
Wojciechowski said.
Vilsack said the U.S. and Europe have found themselves facing the need to
ensure that countries relying on commodity imports get the grain and oilseeds
they need to maintain political stability in parts of Africa and Asia.
"It's more complex than people realize," Vilsack said. "We can sometimes get
product over a country's border, or getting it from the border to where it's
actually needed in a country can be expensive and can sometimes be quite
complicated based on the stability of the government of a particular country.
So, it does create some very serious issues relative to global food security."
Over the past year, eastern European countries have opened their borders to
Ukraine, taking in refugees, but also accepting Ukraine commodities as well.
"It creates some problems for the farmers, especially in the Baltic
countries because there were no imports before from Ukraine, and now this is
significant imports, and it has created some problems for them to sustain their
production," Wojciechowski said.
Farmers in some countries have complained about the impact of Ukrainian
imports dramatically bringing down the prices for crops. Wojciechowski added
there has to be a pathway going forward to open up more port access that would
move commodities to Ukraine's more traditional customers in Africa and Asia.
Vilsack noted, "The Black Sea route is open, and the ports open today, but
there's no assurance that tomorrow that it's going to be open, so there's
always this uncertainty. And the overland route to get to other ports is a
little bit more complicated and not particularly efficient."
The Black Sea Grain Initiative is set to expire before March 19. Ukrainian
officials have already called for a one-year extension and want more ports
open, as well as more inspectors to speed up the ability of ships to move in
and out of the region. As of Friday, the Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to
move about 21.2 million metric tons of commodities, predominately corn and
wheat.
Vilsack also talked about how the Russian invasion has affected fertilizer
access in both Europe and the U.S.
"The reality is that, that when Russia invaded Ukraine, it very much
disrupted access to fertilizer, and it has caused a fairly significant increase
in the cost of fertilizer here in the United States, and I suspect in the EU,
and farmers feel the pressure about that," Vilsack said.
The secretary pointed to a plan by the Biden administration to help fund
more startups or expansion of fertilizer operations in the U.S. to try to
become more self-reliant. Right now, USDA is examining proposals from 21
projects around the country that could increase commercial fertilizer
production nationally. The secretary added there is also a need to ensure
fertilizer is used in the most efficient way possible.
"We're learning that, in fact, at least in the United States, that there are
certain areas of the country where we are overfertilizing, for whatever reason,
using more than we need, and because of that, I think it creates an opportunity
for greater efficiency," Vilsack said.
Once the war ends, Vilsack said, it will also be important to rebuild
Ukraine's agricultural economy. "So that's something from a longer-term
perspective."
Looking to champion some of the work at USDA on climate-smart agriculture,
Vilsack and Wojciechowski also toured a farm in Maryland on Friday morning.
Also see "Ukraine Farmers Adjust, But Greater Risks Are Still Ahead" here:
https://www.dtnpf.com/agriculture/web/ag/news/article/2023/02/21/ukraine-farmers
-adjust-greater-risks.
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
Follow him on Twitter @ChrisClaytonDTN
(c) Copyright 2023 DTN, LLC. All rights reserved.
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