Bolster supply chain management to ensure food security: Economist

Bolster supply chain management to ensure food security: Economist

By Majd Othman

KUWAIT: Food security is in focus recently due to the political and economic situations around the world including the Russia-Ukraine war, financial crises and debates whether to raising the interest rate to control growing inflation. Meanwhile, food staples have been weaponized to pressure countries — for instance, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced the world to find alternative suppliers to secure sufficient supplies amid shortages of wheat and other raw materials.

The Kuwaiti government has announced food reserves in Kuwait are stable and can cover the country’s population for six months with all basic consumables. But will the global instability force the country to rethink options and needs to ensure its food security? And whether the presence of financial resources is enough to depend on during crises?

Economist Hajjaj Bou Khaddour stressed the importance of developing the country’s food security, saying the most realistic solutions are through three steps — working on a solid supply chain management, reforming local agricultural lands and investing in agricultural lands outside Kuwait.

Bou Khaddour said proposals have been presented to the government since the early nineties based on the situation the country went through during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. “After the liberation, I