Brief
Agriculture faces simultaneous shocks, echoes 1970s crisis
Current pressures on food production mirror the 1970s oil crisis, raising questions about sector resilience.
By Felo News Desk · Published
Bizcommunity reports that agriculture is confronting a convergence of drought, volatile commodity prices, supply shortages and geopolitical shocks, prompting analysts to ask whether the sector has learned enough from past crises to endure the next one.
The outlet draws a parallel to the early 1970s, when the United States ended dollar‑gold convertibility in 1971 and, two years later, oil‑producing nations sharply raised crude prices. Fertiliser costs, tied to energy, tripled or quadrupled, inflating food production expenses.
Today, conflict‑driven trade disruptions and protectionist policies are again unsettling supply chains and raising fuel and fertiliser costs. The 2022 Global Food Security Index placed sub‑Saharan Africa at 47.0, below the global average of 62.2, highlighting heightened food‑security concerns.
Bizcommunity suggests that technology—such as drought‑tolerant seeds, precision equipment and digital platforms—could bolster resilience by improving input efficiency and market access for small‑scale farmers.
Key facts
- Agriculture is currently hit by drought, price volatility, supply shortages and geopolitical shocks. (bizcommunity.com)
- The 1970s oil price surge caused fertiliser costs to triple or quadruple, raising food production costs. (bizcommunity.com)
- The 2022 Global Food Security Index scored sub‑Saharan Africa at 47.0, below the global average of 62.2. (bizcommunity.com)
Sources
- [1] bizcommunity.com — originally reported as “Agriculture has been here before, but has it learnt its lesson?”
