Agrégateur de flux

Im Juni will das Parlament über die Finanzierung der 13. AHV-Rente entscheiden. Zur Debatte stehen höhere Steuern und Lohnbeiträge. Lehnt das Parlament dies ab, will der Bundesrat dasselbe noch einmal vorschlagen.

U.S. Coast Guard cutter USCGC Aquidneck (WPB-1309) in the Strait of Hormuz, with a large container ship visible in the background as it transits the critical global trade route (Dec. 2, 2020). Credit: MC2 Indra Beaufort

By Lulseged Desta and Jonathan Mockshell
ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia, May 20 2026 (IPS)

Sharp surges in energy, fertilizer, and food prices triggered by the ongoing conflict in the Persian Gulf strikingly illustrate the deep interconnections between geopolitical conflict, food insecurity, and the fragility of fossil fuel–dependent food systems.

Besides carrying roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day (about 27 percent of global oil exports), the Strait of Hormuz also handles 20–30 percent of internationally traded inorganic fertilizers, which uses natural gas as a key ingredient in its production. Its closure has immediately disrupted the flow of these essential commodities, triggering sharp price spikes in fuel and key agricultural inputs.

This situation demonstrates how geopolitical instability can rapidly disrupt essential agricultural functions under current input-dependent, industrial production systems that rely heavily on external energy and supply chains. This crisis highlights, more clearly than ever, a critical reality: food systems tied to fossil fuels are inherently unsustainable, continually undermine food sovereignty, and disproportionately affect farmers, particularly smallholders in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). World Food Programme estimates warn that, if the conflict continues, the soaring oil, shipping and food costs will push an additional 45 million people into acute hunger, driving the global total beyond its record 319 million1.

Reducing food systems’ reliance on fossil fuels and external inputs is essential to strengthen our collective resilience to future shocks. The truth is that fossil fuels courses through every stage of the food system – from fertilizers and pesticides to processing, preservation, transportation, packaging, food waste disposal, and even food preparation. Moreover, entrenched economic and political structures lock in this fossil-fuel dependence through massive subsidies and price protections – estimated at over $1 trillion in recent years2.

Food systems account for at least 15 percent of total fossil fuel use – mostly through synthetic fertilizers 4 – but also to power machinery and vehicles, and generate electricity and heat for key processes like irrigation, grain drying, livestock housing, and food storage.

Agroecological approaches to food production offer an alternative to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels while still meeting the needs of a growing global population. This supports a transition from energy-sink systems to regenerative ones, radically enhancing food systems’ resilience in the face of escalating geopolitical instability and environmental vulnerability.

Agroecology is based on natural processes and local resources for sustainable soil fertility. Crucially, many of these practices draw directly from indigenous knowledge systems, where local communities have long maintained soil health through time. Practical steps include the use of organic fertilization (often blended with minimal synthetic inputs), efficient soil microorganisms, nitrogen-fixing plants, and soil health practices like crop rotation, cover cropping, intercropping, reduced tillage, and crop-livestock integration.

Research consistently shows that agroecological approaches – such as farm diversification and tree integrated systems – outperform conventional systems in climate resilience, nutrient cycling, and soil health5,6, often while boosting yields7-9. Agroforestry also provides a source of wood fuel, making it a valuable alternative during fossil fuel shortages and price spikes.

Examples can be found worldwide. Peruvian cocoa farmers are using bokashi and bio-oil amendments to restore soil organic matter, regenerate microbial activity, and enhance nutrient cycling10. In Vietnam, rice-fish coculture systems optimize nutrient cycling, curb pests, and diversify outputs – lowering costs while stabilizing farmer incomes11. Ethiopian farmers practicing wheat-fava bean rotations are cutting fertilizer needs while improving soil structure and building long-term fertility11. India’s agroecology programme, ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)’, delivers biodiversity benefits while more than doubling farmers’ economic profits and maintaining comparable crop yields, than chemical-based farming 12,13.

Other farm-level steps to curb fossil fuel dependence include integrating renewable energy sources for on-site generation and operations – like solar panels, biogas digesters, and wind turbines; solar water pumps, adopting fuel-efficient engines and draft animals; and embracing practices such as minimum tillage, precision irrigation, integrated pest management, and low-input crop-livestock systems.

More fundamentally, shifting from global, industrial commodity chains toward territorial, agroecological food networks can relocalize production, processing, and consumption – shortening supply chains and reducing energy-intensive operations. Shorter, localized supply chains reduce reliance on long-distance transport, lower packaging demand, and promote reusable packaging systems, thereby decreasing fossil fuel consumption.

These efforts can be reinforced by complementary practices that strengthen food sovereignty, such as home gardens and urban agriculture. Crucially, agroecology also aligns with reduced production of ultra-processed foods – among the most energy-intensive products – helping to curb fossil fuel use while potentially improving public health.

In the short term, it is crucial that the allocation of emergency funds are earmarked to procure or purchase organic alternatives to synthetic fertilizers, particularly in the most affected regions. Longer-term, it is necessary to reduce structural barriers to farmers’ adoption of these agroecological approaches including reforms to agricultural subsidies and strengthening support for technical assistance and local governance.

References
1. Farge, E. Iran war may push 45 million people into acute hunger by June, WFP says. Reuters https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iran-war-may-push-45-million-people-into-acute-hunger-by-june-wfp-says-2026-03-17/ (2026).

2. IPES-Food. Fuel to Fork: What Will It Take to Get Fossil Fuels out of Our Food Systems? https://ipes-food.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/FuelToFork.pdf (2025).

3. FAO, UNDP, and UNEP. A Multi-Billion-Dollar Opportunity – Repurposing Agricultural Support to Transform Food Systems. (FAO, UNDP, and UNEP, 2021). doi:10.4060/cb6562en.

4. Global Alliance for the Future of Food. Power Shift: Why We Need to Wean Industrial Food Systems off Fossil Fuels. https://futureoffood.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ga_food-energy-nexus_report.pdf (2023).

5. Niether, W., Jacobi, J., Blaser, W. J., Andres, C. & Armengot, L. Cocoa agroforestry systems versus monocultures: a multi-dimensional meta-analysis. Environ. Res. Lett. 15, 104085 (2020).

6. Beillouin, D., Ben‐Ari, T., Malézieux, E., Seufert, V. & Makowski, D. Positive but variable effects of crop diversification on biodiversity and ecosystem services. Glob. Change Biol. 27, 4697–4710 (2021).

7. Dittmer, K. M. et al. Agroecology Can Promote Climate Change Adaptation Outcomes Without Compromising Yield In Smallholder Systems. Environ. Manage. 72, 333–342 (2023).

8. Rodenburg, J., Mollee, E., Coe, R. & Sinclair, F. Global analysis of yield benefits and risks from integrating trees with rice and implications for agroforestry research in Africa. Field Crops Res. 281, 108504 (2022).

9. Jones, S. K. et al. Achieving win-win outcomes for biodiversity and yield through diversified farming. Basic Appl. Ecol. 67, 14–31 (2023).

10. Altieri, M. A. & Nicholls, C. I. Agroecology and the reconstruction of a post-COVID-19 agriculture. J. Peasant Stud. 47, 881–898 (2020).

11. FAO. The State of Food and Agriculture 2022. (FAO, 2022). doi:10.4060/cb9479en.

12. Berger, I. et al. India’s agroecology programme, ‘Zero Budget Natural Farming’, delivers biodiversity and economic benefits without lowering yields. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 9, 2057–2068 (2025).

13. O’Garra, T. Agroecology benefits people and planet. Nat. Ecol. Evol. 9, 1973–1974 (2025).

14. IPES-Food. Food from Somewhere: Building Food Security and Resilience through Territorial Markets. https://ipes-food.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/FoodFromSomewhere.pdf (2024).

15. Einarsson, R. Nitrogen in the Food System. https://tabledebates.org/building-blocks/nitrogen-food-system (2024) doi:10.56661/2fa45626.

Lulseged Desta, CGIAR Multifunctional Landscapes Science Program; Jonathan Mockshell, Alliance Biodiversity International – CIAT

IPS UN Bureau

 

Follow @IPSNewsUNBureau
!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)?'http':'https';if(!d.getElementById(id)){js=d.createElement(s);js.id=id;js.src=p+'://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js';fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js,fjs);}}(document, 'script', 'twitter-wjs');  

  

 

Kremlin must not benefit from Iran energy shock, European Commission says

Safeguards exist on paper, but are development banks prepared to confront the political realities that prevent those safeguards from functioning in practice?

'A first inflation wave is in full swing,' one analyst warned

Nielsen says that on EU membership Greenland has not decided yet

Alors qu’il détient déjà près de la moitié du marché national dans son secteur de prédilection, un acteur économique majeur de la région MENA s’apprête […]

L’article Il se lance dans des secteurs inédits… ce géant arabe s’apprête à injecter 1,3 mds $ de plus en Algérie est apparu en premier sur .

Az első világháború négyéves Armageddonját követően a Balkán térképe is átrendeződött. Noha katonai szempontból teljes vereséget szenvedtek a háborúban, mégis Szerbia és Románia profitáltak a legtöbbet belőle. Mindkét ország hatalmas területeket nyert a szétrobbantott Monarchia kárára. A bolgárok jókora területi és anyagi veszteségeik ellenére viszonylag ép bőrrel megúszták a vereséget, legalábbis szövetségeseikhez képest. Albánia és Görögország nem nyert szinte semmit a háborúból, amit a görögök kaptak volna, azt a törökökkel vívott háborúban el is veszítették.

A legnagyobb változás talán az volt, hogy a Balkán számára Oroszország egy jó időre megszűnt létezni. A pánszláv vonzódás megmaradt, ám egyetlen balkáni ország sem érezte kívánatosnak a barátság erősítését a bolsevik rezsimmel. A Balkán tehát magára maradt. A franciák tettek ugyan kísérletet arra, hogy betöltsék az oroszok helyét, és igyekeztek erősíteni pozícióikat a térségben, főleg az olaszokkal és a németekkel szemben. Romániában és Jugoszláviában komoly befolyásra is tettek szert, ám Franciaország igazából nem volt abban a helyzetben, hogy domináns háttere legyen a Balkánnak.

[...] Bővebben!

Israel is not the only relationship that deserves scrutiny from Congress.

Les premiers migrants expulsés des États-Unis dans le cadre d’un accord migratoire conclu entre Washington et Freetown sont arrivés mercredi 20 mai dans la matinée en Sierra Leone. Ces vingt-cinq ressortissants ouest-africains viennent notamment du Sénégal, du Ghana, de Guinée ou encore du Nigeria et ont atterri à Freetown. Présenté par les autorités comme un dispositif « temporaire et humanitaire », cet accord suscite pourtant de nombreuses interrogations dans le pays.

Cet outil interactif vous présente les dates, les horaires, les résultats, les classements des groupes et les tableaux des phases à élimination directe des 104 matchs du tournoi.

En Tunisie, la colère gronde au sein des robes noires. Plus d'une centaine d'avocats se sont rassemblés devant le tribunal de 1ère instance de Tunis pour manifester leur colère à l'appel national de l'ordre des avocats. Ils ont lancé une série de grèves régionales à partir de cette semaine et une grève générale pour le 18 juin prochain. En cause, une saturation face à la détérioration de leurs conditions de travail et l'absence de communication avec la ministre de la Justice. 

Le Parlement souhaite que la Commission examine s'il existe un risque manifeste de violation grave des valeurs fondatrices de l’UE de la part du gouvernement slovaque.
Commission du contrôle budgétaire
Commission des libertés civiles, de la justice et des affaires intérieures

Source : © Union européenne, 2026 - PE

Parliament wants the Commission to assess whether there could be a clear risk of a serious breach of the EU’s founding values by Slovakia’s government.
Committee on Budgetary Control
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

A Parlament azt kéri a Bizottságtól, hogy értékelje, fennáll-e egyértelmű kockázata annak, hogy a szlovák kormány súlyosan megsérti az EU alapértékeit.
Költségvetési Ellenőrző Bizottság
Állampolgári Jogi, Bel- és Igazságügyi Bizottság

Forrás : © Európai Unió, 2026 - EP

Parliament wants the Commission to assess whether there could be a clear risk of a serious breach of the EU’s founding values by Slovakia’s government.
Committee on Budgetary Control
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Parliament wants the Commission to assess whether there could be a clear risk of a serious breach of the EU’s founding values by Slovakia’s government.
Committee on Budgetary Control
Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs

Source : © European Union, 2026 - EP

Selon l’Organisation mondiale de la santé, l’épidémie de maladie à virus Ebola, déjà suspectée d’avoir fait 139 morts pour près de 600 cas probables, se propage dans l’est de la RDC et pourrait se prolonger.

Lazulós lovas laskalandok – ezzel a címmel hirdetik azt az eseményt, amelynek valóban elég jelentős része a laskáról szól. Június 6-odikán 11 órától délután 5-ig, a Kolozs megyei Mákófalvára, a Táltos Lovastanyára várják az érdeklődőket, és azt ígérik, hogy tartalmas napot tölthetnek a szabadban, és a család apraja-nagyja felhőtlenül kikapcsolódhat. Lesz gyerekfoglalkozás, laska- és pesztókészítés. […]

Articolul Pesztó, csigatészta, laska, ló apare prima dată în Kolozsvári Rádió Románia.

Fracture idéologique, mémoire des années 1990 et stratégie anti-Vučić, le nouveau « Mémorandum sur le Kosovo et la Metohija » des étudiants serbes provoque une onde de choc au sein de la diaspora et relance le débat sur la place du nationalisme dans le mouvement civique.

- Libres opinions. L'espace de débat du Courrier des Balkans / Grand Bazar - Diaporama, Serbie