ARLINGTON, Va. (DTN) -- The agriculture commissioner for the European Union thanked U.S. farmers on Friday for "stepping up on food security" as he stressed the need to halt Russia in Ukraine and prevent the year-old war from escalating further into eastern Europe.
Janusz Wojciechowski, who has been the EU agricultural commissioner since 2019, participated with Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in a talk about the war and food security as well as finding common ground between the U.S. and EU on issues such as sustainability and regulatory differences. The discussion was part of USDA's Agricultural Outlook Forum.
Marking the first year of the conflict in Ukraine, Wojciechowski, who is from Poland, also pointed out his country was under Russian-Soviet "domination" for more than 250 years and doesn't want to see Russian soldiers again advancing into Polish territory.
"We fully understand the Russian invasion of Poland could happen from the consequences of this policy," Wojciechowski said. Talking about the risks to European borders and NATO, he added, "We need to stop them in Ukraine."
Wojciechowski also thanked the U.S. for its support, saying the U.S. and its farmers have helped contribute to food security during a difficult situation. He added, "I have great respect for American farmers for stepping up on food security," a comment that drew a round of applause.
In early February, the European Commission met with the Ukrainian government to talk more about agricultural production and food security going forward. Before the war, Ukraine's farmers were producing roughly 100 million metric tons of commodities, but that production will likely be cut in half this year, Wojciechowski said.
Vilsack said the U.S. and Europe have found themselves facing the need to ensure that countries relying on commodity imports get the grain and oilseeds they need to maintain political stability in parts of Africa and Asia.
"It's more complex than people realize," Vilsack said. "We can sometimes get product over a country's border, or getting it from the border to where it's actually needed in a country can be expensive and can sometimes be quite complicated based on the stability of the government of a particular country. So, it does create some very serious issues relative to global food security."
Over the past year, eastern European countries have opened their borders to Ukraine, taking in refugees, but also accepting Ukraine commodities as well.
"It creates some problems for the farmers, especially in the Baltic countries because there were no imports before from Ukraine, and now this is significant imports, and it has created some problems for them to sustain their production," Wojciechowski said.
Farmers in some countries have complained about the impact of Ukrainian imports dramatically bringing down the prices for crops. Wojciechowski added there has to be a pathway going forward to open up more port access that would move commodities to Ukraine's more traditional customers in Africa and Asia.
Vilsack noted, "The Black Sea route is open, and the ports open today, but there's no assurance that tomorrow that it's going to be open, so there's always this uncertainty. And the overland route to get to other ports is a little bit more complicated and not particularly efficient."
The Black Sea Grain Initiative is set to expire before March 19. Ukrainian officials have already called for a one-year extension and want more ports open, as well as more inspectors to speed up the ability of ships to move in and out of the region. As of Friday, the Black Sea deal has allowed Ukraine to move about 21.2 million metric tons of commodities, predominately corn and wheat.
Vilsack also talked about how the Russian invasion has affected fertilizer access in both Europe and the U.S.
"The reality is that, that when Russia invaded Ukraine, it very much disrupted access to fertilizer, and it has caused a fairly significant increase in the cost of fertilizer here in the United States, and I suspect in the EU, and farmers feel the pressure about that," Vilsack said.
The secretary pointed to a plan by the Biden administration to help fund more startups or expansion of fertilizer operations in the U.S. to try to become more self-reliant. Right now, USDA is examining proposals from 21 projects around the country that could increase commercial fertilizer production nationally. The secretary added there is also a need to ensure fertilizer is used in the most efficient way possible.
"We're learning that, in fact, at least in the United States, that there are certain areas of the country where we are overfertilizing, for whatever reason, using more than we need, and because of that, I think it creates an opportunity for greater efficiency," Vilsack said.
Once the war ends, Vilsack said, it will also be important to rebuild Ukraine's agricultural economy. "So that's something from a longer-term perspective."
Looking to champion some of the work at USDA on climate-smart agriculture, Vilsack and Wojciechowski also toured a farm in Maryland on Friday morning.
Also see "Ukraine Farmers Adjust, But Greater Risks Are Still Ahead" here: https://www.dtnpf.com/….
Chris Clayton can be reached at Chris.Clayton@dtn.com
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