Stuttgart
G7 ministers discuss agriculture of the future
Cem Özdemir (Greens), Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture, at the meeting of G7 agriculture ministers in Stuttgart. Photo: Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
© dpa-infocom GmbH
Because of the war in Ukraine, food security is a top issue even for rich countries. The agriculture ministers of the G7 industrialized countries discuss how resources can be conserved worldwide.
Population growth, climate change and the consequences of the Ukraine war: Agriculture is facing huge challenges internationally.
The agriculture ministers of the leading Western industrialized countries (G7) want to discuss today in Stuttgart how the sustainable agriculture of the future should look like. The main aim is to conserve natural resources and limit harmful effects on the climate, soil, water and air.
With the war in Ukraine, international food security has become a priority for politicians. Grain markets are tense worldwide, prices are rising. Ukraine is fighting to keep bringing its grain to the world.
The group of ministers led by German head of department Cem Özdemir (Greens) discussed with Ukrainian Minister of Agriculture Mykola Solskyj on Friday how the war-torn country can be helped. The main focus was on alternative export routes for grain via road, rail and the Danube. Solskyj brought up exports via Baltic ports. Ukraine is one of the largest grain producers in the world, but is currently unable to export anything because of the ports in the Black Sea blocked by Russia.
Germany currently chairs the G7. In addition to Germany, the group includes the USA, Canada, France, Great Britain, Italy and Japan.
The global food supply was also a topic of the phone call between Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday. “The Chancellor reminded that Russia has a special responsibility here,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit reported.