CONFLICTS and disruptions to global energy markets could push millions more people into hunger by driving up fuel, fertiliser and food costs, the head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has warned.

A new United Nations report showed global progress against hunger remains fragile.

The UN food security report, released on Tuesday, projected that more than 500 million people could still face chronic hunger by 2030. 

Africa is expected to bear the largest share of that burden.

In an interview with the Associated Press, IFAD president Alvaro Lario said that geopolitical tensions and potential disruptions to shipping and energy supplies, including uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz during the Iran war, could leave an additional nine to 18 million people facing hunger if the shocks persist.

Mr Lario said: “We are in a current era where we have the highest number of conflicts and are still increasing. 

“Whenever there is a conflict, hunger, displacement, and refugees increase.”

Conflict remains one of the biggest obstacles to reducing hunger worldwide, he added.

Wars and geopolitical tensions can disrupt shipping, energy supplies and agricultural inputs, increasing costs across food systems already strained by inflation. 

Mr Lario stressed that hunger and conflict often reinforce one another, creating a cycle that is difficult to break without greater stability.

Higher energy prices are already affecting fertilisers and agricultural production, he said. 

The impact is especially significant for small-scale farmers, many of whom rely on diesel fuel to pump water, harvest crops and transport goods to market.

Rising fuel costs increase production expenses and can feed directly into higher food prices.

The new report identifies affordability as one of the world’s biggest food security challenges. While food production continues to grow, roughly a third of the global population still can’t afford a healthy diet. 

In low-income countries, that figure rises to about 77 per cent, according to Mr Lario.

“The biggest challenge is no longer simply producing enough food, but making healthy diets affordable,” he said.

Climate change is adding further pressure to food systems and rural livelihoods.

Mr Lario noted that floods, prolonged droughts and extreme heat are increasingly disrupting agriculture around the world and have become a common reality for many communities.

The report highlights Africa as the world’s most pressing food security challenge. 

For the first time, the continent has overtaken Asia as the region with the largest number of hungry people, and nearly 60 per cent of the world’s chronically undernourished people could live there by 2030.