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UN PhotoIFAD / MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT FOOD SUPPLY
STORY: IFAD / MIDDLE EAST CONFLICT FOOD SUPPLY
TRT: 5:17
SOURCE: IFAD
RESTRICTIONS: EMBARGO TILL 8PM, 7 APRIL 2026
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 31 MARCH 2026, ROME, ITALY / FILE
FILE – 2024, INDONESIA
1. Wide shot, rice paddy field in Indonesia
2. Various shots, rice farmer Boiman throwing fertiliser in paddy field
3. Various shots, rice farmer Boiman preparing liquid fertiliser
31 MARCH 2026, ROME, ITALY
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Fenton Beed, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Agronomy, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“First, the energy costs reliant on fuel have an impact on mechanisation, transport, which increases the price of food that's imported to low- and middle-income countries. But also, there's a consequence on fertilizers. Because the gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, they're producing ammonium-based fertilizers, particularly a rare diammonium phosphate. And also supplying sulphur. And these are key ingredients for fertilizers elsewhere in the world. And this is compounded by the fact that fertilizer production in other parts of the world is reliant on the energy. So, the natural liquefied gas that would otherwise be made available to, example, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh is now not so available or increased in price. Which means those countries are curtailing the fertilizer production in interest of other needs for those for that gas. Similarly, Egypt is not able to produce the same quantity of fertilizers as it did before because the gas supply from Israel is cut off. And Morocco, which is the biggest supplier of phosphorus in the continent of Africa. Needs sulphur, which comes from the middle east, from Persia, which is now not available. So, there are disruptions in fertilizer production around the world.”
FILE – 2024, TONGA
5. Various shots, farmer in Tonga tending to field
6. Close up of vegetable price tag
FILE – 2024, EGYPT
7. Wide shot, crop field in Egypt
8. Various shots, farmers working in field
FILE – 2024, SAMOA
9. Various shots, food markets in Samoa
10. Various shots, livestock market in Tunisia
31 MARCH 2026, ROME, ITALY
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Mottet, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Livestock, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“Several countries in east Africa are exporting meat and live animals to the countries in the gulf. For example, Djibouti, Ethiopia, but also Kenya and Somalis export regularly to the United Arab Emirates. To Qatar, to Saudi Arabia and to Oman. For example, Somalia exported between 2 and 5 million live animals, mostly sheep to the region. At the moment, the Strait of Hormuz is closed and it's a drop in the market for these farmers. So, they have lower incomes and they don't have takers for their products.”
FILE – 2024, MALAWI
12. Various shots, farmer feeding cows in Malawi
13. Various shots, livestock animals and farmer milking cow
31 MARCH 2026, ROME, ITALY
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Mottet, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Livestock, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“We are expecting the festival of sacrifice that will take place at the end of May, which is a major Muslim holiday, to be affected when usually demand is very high for in these countries. So new routes and markets may have to be found. Maybe there will be a shift between live animals to meat, maybe frozen meat. The gulf countries may look for other suppliers which will affect the countries in east Africa in the long term. But informal trade may also increase as a result, which will lead to higher sanitary risks in terms of food, but also in terms of animal disease and lower tax revenues.”
FILE – 2024, MALAWI
15. Various shots, Malawian farmer preparing fertiliser and fertilising crops
FILE – 2024, TUNISIA
16. Wide shot, Tunisian farmer feeding and milking cow
FILE – 2024, YEMEN
17. Wide shot, farmer feeding goats in Yemen
18. Wide shot, farmer and his son petting goat
FILE – 2024, SUDAN
19. Wide shot, herd in Sudan
20. Close up, goats drinking from bucket
As the conflict in the Middle East continues, farmers around the world face mounting shocks, as supply chains they rely on are blocked by the closure of the Strait of Hurmuz. Huge rises in fuel and fertilizer prices are having a dramatic impact on farmers and their incomes across the world.
In South Sulawesi, Indonesia, rice farmer Boiman is feeding fertilizer to his rice fields to help improve production.
The Southeast Asian country may seem a long way from the Middle East war, but farmers here rely on urea, ammonia, and Sulphur fertilizer imports from the Gulf states.
The closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the shutdown of fertilizer producing plants in the Gulf region is seeing prices spike. The cost of Urea, for example, has risen by around 50 percent since the start of the war, while other fertilizers, like Potash and Sulphur, are also getting more expensive.
SOUNDBITE (English) Fenton Beed, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Agronomy, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“First, the energy costs reliant on fuel have an impact on mechanisation, transport, which increases the price of food that's imported to low- and middle-income countries. But also, there's a consequence on fertilizers. Because the gulf states, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, they're producing ammonium based fertilizers, particularly a rare diammonium phosphate. And also supplying sulphur. And these are key ingredients for fertilizers elsewhere in the world. And this is compounded by the fact that fertilizer production in other parts of the world is reliant on the energy. So, the natural liquefied gas that would otherwise be made available to, example, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh is now not so available or increased in price. Which means those countries are curtailing the fertilizer production in interest of other needs for those for that gas. Similarly, Egypt is not able to produce the same quantity of fertilizers as it did before because the gas supply from Israel is cut off. And Morocco, which is the biggest supplier of phosphorus in the continent of Africa. Needs sulphur, which comes from the middle east, from Persia, which is now not available. So, there are disruptions in fertilizer production around the world.”
The price rises will particularly hit small-scale farmers in developing countries across the world, who are disproportionately affected by the increases, threatening food security for millions of people.
Disruptions in these systems rapidly translate into higher input costs, supply uncertainty, and increased production risks for farmers worldwide, particularly in low income and food importing countries.
The crisis comes at a critical moment in the agricultural calendar. Between March and June, farmers across half of the world enter key planting seasons. Rising fertilizer and fuel prices, combining shipping and logistic disruptions, constrain farmers’ ability to invest in inputs at precisely the point when decisions most affect yields and incomes.
In the Horn of Africa, the conflict has also severely disrupted trade routes during a critical time of year for livestock exporters: Ramadan and the upcoming Eid al-Adha festival.
SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Mottet, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Livestock, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“Several countries in east Africa are exporting meat and live animals to the countries in the gulf. For example, Djibouti, Ethiopia, but also Kenya and Somalis export regularly to the united Arab Emirates. To Qatar, to Saudi Arabia and to Oman. For example, Somalia exported between 2 and 5 million live animals, mostly sheep to the region. At the moment, the Strait of Hormuz is closed and it's a drop in the market for these farmers. So, they have lower incomes and they don't have takers for their products.”
Kenya normally exports 2.3 US million dollars of meat a week during Ramadan, but the government reported trade was down by 5%, during last month’s holiday period. Anne predicts that things could get much worse with longer term impacts if they cannot supply meat for the next Muslim holiday which is just around the corner. \
SOUNDBITE (English) Anne Mottet, Lead Global Technical Specialist - Livestock, International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD):
“We are expecting the festival of sacrifice that will take place at the end of May, which is a major Muslim holiday, to be affected when usually demand is very high for in these countries. So new routes and markets may have to be found. Maybe there will be a shift between live animals to meat, maybe frozen meat. The gulf countries may look for other suppliers which will affect the countries in east Africa in the long term. But informal trade may also increase as a result, which will lead to higher sanitary risks in terms of food, but also in terms of animal disease and lower tax revenues.”
The impacts of this conflict, which come on the heels of global food crises caused by the war in Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic, demonstrate why IFAD's investments in resilience in rural communities at the first mile of the world's food system are so critical to global stability.
Today, IFAD and its partners have nearly US$23 billion invested in ongoing projects transforming food systems and rural economies.
It funds projects that protect rural livelihoods, stabilize food production and support recovery—ensuring that rural, smallholder farmers remain resilient from the fallout from this current conflict.
