Smart Net-Zero

June 8, 2026 | Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) |

Opening the FAO Council's 181st Session, FAO Director-General warned that the prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz — a chokepoint for roughly 20-30% of global fertilizer exports and other energy shipments — poses a global food security risk. As the crisis reaches its 100-day mark, effects are becoming increasingly visible, driving mainly a fertilizer and production shock rather than an immediate shortage. FAO is calling for open trade, no export restrictions on agricultural inputs, protected humanitarian food corridors, and alternative logistics routes, alongside longer-term measures such as soil mapping, precision agriculture, intercropping to cut nitrogen fertilizer dependence, and innovation funds for green ammonia and biofertilizers. Its Global Emergency and Resilience Appeal, launched in December 2025 to reach 100 million people, had received only US$206 million of its US$2.5 billion target by end-May, with FAO separately mobilizing US$564 million in voluntary contributions this year.