Can The Russia-Ukraine Grain Agreement Ease The Global Food Shortage?

The world couldn’t be hungrier when the two warring nations, Ukraine and Russia, signed the grain deal. But, can the Russia-Ukraine Grain Agreement ease the global food shortage?

Here’s an in-depth report:

Russia-Ukraine Grain Agreement: “The Beacon in the Black Sea”

The Russia-Ukraine Grain deal is a parallel agreement between the opposing countries under the supervision of the United Nations and Turkey.

On the one hand, the deal promises ship transportation of grains and agricultural products from Chernomorsk, Odessa, and Yuzhny under a safe transit. Also, instead of the armed escort, the nations will monitor their ship’s movements from the Istanbul coordination center by officials of the two belligerent countries, Turkey and the U.N.

As per the agreement, the inspection team in Turkey will also look for illegal goods and passengers on board ships going to and fro the Ukrainian ports.

The deal, however, excludes extensive demining of the Black Sea. Although, if necessary, another nation can also dispatch minesweepers to clear maritime channels if necessary.

The grain agreement is signed to be in effect for 120 days and can be renewed afterward.

Secondly, the agreement is meant to facilitate Russia’s export of grain and fertilizers. In fear of repercussions, banks and dealers stayed away from Russian shipments in the early stages of the war. But with the agreement in place, suppliers and banks can safely carry out the shipments in and out of Russia.

The Effect of the Russia-Ukraine War on Global Food Shortage

Before the war, Ukraine exported an estimated six million tonnes of food per month, mostly through its Black Sea ports.

However, since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war, Russia has ceased specific Ukraninas ports, including Berdyansk and Mariupol. Furthermore, the regime has almost blocked ports still under the Jurisdiction of Kyiv, such as Odesa.

This, coupled with the sanctions imposed on Russia by the west, spiked the global food prices that were already high due to climate change and pandemics.

The effect of the soaring food prices immediately affected the North African and Middle Eastern countries; which rely heavily on Ukrainian and Russian grain.

The result-bread prices soar to an all-time high, causing long lineups at bakeries in Tunaisa. Moreover, to quell social unrest over increased rates, the Egypt government had to intervene in the bread market.

Can the Russia-Ukraine Grain Deal Ease the Global Food Shortage?

Together, Russia and Ukraine make up over 25% of the world’s wheat supply. According to 2020 data, almost 20% of the world’s export of wheat, the most extensively grown grain, are produced in Russia, while 8% are produced in Ukraine.

Over fifty nations buy more than 30% of their wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia. Furthermore, Ukraine is the fourth-largest product of maize in the world, and the eighth-largest producer of wheat, making up 16% of all exports.

Clearly, most of the world’s major producers have been affected by the Ukraine war. This added to the burden of the already increasing global food shortage.

In June, the U.N.’s food price index averaged 154.2 points, a 23 percent increase from the previous month. In recent weeks, food price inflation has risen sharply in all economies. Therefore, if the export deal is put into effect; grains from Russia and Ukraine will flow back into the market, bringing down prices.

Furthermore, the World Food Program buys about 40% of its food aid wheat supply from Ukraine. Therefore, the agreements can increase WFP’s ability to assist nations experiencing hunger or situations bordering on famine.

The release of 20 million tons of grain trapped in Ukraine will not reverse the global food shortage. But it can definitely provide a huge relief to hungry nations. However, much will rely on how soon and well the agreement is put into effect.

Hunger Getting Hungrier: The Silent Risks

Without a shadow of a doubt, the global hunger crisis is rising!

Even the much-lauded Russia-Ukraine grain deal is in jeopardy, since the enforcement provisions are intricate and might be compromised by activities on the war front line. The Russian missile launches at the Ukrainian ports of Odesa just one day after the agreement was signed also put Moscow’s intentions in question.

“How will the safety of vessels in the port of Odessa be ensured, if Russia continues shelling?” 

Anton Gerashchenko

Many experts are gravely concerned that available food supplies may wind up in the hands of those with money and power at a time of food scarcity. Leaving the poorer nations hungry and struggling.

This might instigate another worldwide health crisis, one not driven by a brand-new disease, but by hunger. And with the twin traumas of global food shortage and energy prices, Peter Sands, the director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria, believes that “we’ve probably already begun our next health crisis.”

Russia Could Force U.S. To Lift Sanctions In Five Minutes If….

Every experienced observer of U.S. politics and policies in the past 60 years would readily agree that Israeli interests, security and strategic supremacy have been and continue to be the most important foreign policy consideration for successive American administrations ever since Harry Truman.

In fact, one wouldn’t go too far by arguing that in many cases, Israeli interests, as defined and interpreted by the usually-hawkish Israeli leaders, were often given precedence over America’s own national interests. For example, in the late 1950s and early 1960s, there were substantial Indications that Egyptian leader Gamal Abdu-Nasser was considering a radical rethinking of his growing ties with the Soviet Union, which also was an important goal of American foreign policy in the Middle East at that time.

However, with CIA knowledge, Israel managed successfully to thwart and abort all American efforts to reach a rapprochement with the Nasser regime. In the mid of 1960s, Mossad carried out a series of terrorist operations in Cairo, targeting American interests. Israel’s goal was obviously to maintain and increase hostility between the U.S. and the Nasser regime. Israel blamed the Egyptian regime of masterminding the terrorist acts. However, the US government swallowed the mendacious Israeli claim, adopting a more hostile approach to Nasser.

On 8 June 1967, an Israeli warplane attacked USS Liberty, which was sailing in international waters north of the Egyptian town of Alarish. Thirty-four American navy officers, servicemen and civilians were killed, and 173 others were wounded, many quite badly.

Predictably, the Intelligence-gathering ship was badly damaged. Israel claimed the treacherous attack occurred by mistake. However, there was ample evidence that the Lyndon Johnson administration connived and colluded with Israel to cover up the crime in order to avoid the occurrence of a public backlash against Israel and Jews in the U.S.

Today, the Zionist-Jewish influence on the American government (e.g. the White House and Congress) is probably a hundred times stronger and more pervasive than it was when USS liberty was attacked more than 55 years ago. In fact, we can quite safely assume that Israel today comes before America in America itself. Some ordinary people might be tempted to dismiss this view as an overstatement.

However, knowledgeable experts would readily agree that it is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. But who in Washington would dare utter this inconvenient truth and remain unscathed even for 10 minutes?

It is for this reason, that American officials from the lowest-ranking government clerk to the man in the White House routinely keep regurgitating rather tediously the sanctimonious and sacrosanct rituals of showing unconditional loyalty to Israel, using extremely obsequious language which they wouldn’t use even in stressing loyalty to America itself.

Thus, when Joe Biden visited the repulsive apartheid entity two weeks ago, dutifully reiterated America’s “unflinching, unwavering, unfaltering and iron-clad commitment to Israel,” describing relations with the Jewish state as “bone-deep”.

The umbilical relations between the U.S. and the racist entity that demolishes innocent people’s homes at midnight and murders school children as well as Journalists, and then lies about the murder, should be fully exposed to the capitals of the world. This is because a deep awareness of American criminal priorities would immensely serve the legitimate interests of states the US is trying to subjugate, humiliate and bring to their knees.

Russia’s unused Trump card

Russia could decisively outmanoeuvre the U.S. by threatening the insolence and arrogance of power of America’s sacred cow. I don’t know if I am disclosing an open secret or revealing something that major espionage agencies don’t know or know little about. They do know it even much better than a veteran Palestinian journalist living in a rural region of the Israeli-occupied West Bank.

Nonetheless, I am completely convinced that Russia would be able to extricate serious concessions from Washington simply by hinting that it would boost and expedite nuclear cooperation with Iran. Such a feat would immediately generate massive panic reverberations all over Washington and probably in London and other Western capitals as well.

The direct and indirect ramifications and repercussions of an audacious Russian feat as such, especially if accompanied by a stern warning similar to the ultimatum given to Britain, France and Israel by the former Soviet Union during the tripartite aggression on Egypt in 1956.

The ultimatum, issued on 5 November 1956, by Soviet Marshal Nikolai Bulganin notified the French, British and Israeli governments that the Soviet Union is prepared to employ all modern forms of destructive weaponry to halt Western military intervention in Egypt. Needless to say, it was this Soviet ultimatum, a daring act by every conceivable standard, forced the three aggressors to halt their aggression, and convinced the US to force Israel to pull out its troops from the Sinai Peninsula.

I described the Israel factor as Russia’s trump card in the current confrontation with Washington over Ukraine because the U.S. is likely to give any concession to keep Israeli interests unscathed. In the final analysis, Israel is a thousand times more important for the political clique ruling America.

Russia retains many important cards which Putin can play to minimize the harm incurred as a result of the massive and unprecedented western sanctions.

Indeed, in addition to using overwhelming conventional firepower against the Ukrainians, Russia could always “threaten to use” its massive nuclear arsenal to hasten the advent of doomsday for the entire world. True, there is a vast gap between threatening to use and actually using. But authoritarian rulers are usually more daring in dealing with a Mutual Assured Destruction (MAD) situation than leaders answerable to their peoples.

Many political pundits believe that narrowing Russia’s horizons and pushing Putin to the corner could make him somewhat suicidal, or at least make him contemplate taking some unthinkable and unusual feats. Putin is already in a state of deep disillusionment with the West. Hence, maximizing pressure on him by the US is likely to seriously decrease his mental equanimity and maneuverability. That would make the Russian dictator a very dangerous man, indeed.

Russia is effectively using it energy weapon to subjugate America’s European allies, who depend to a large extent on Russian gas supplies.

Nonetheless, an unmistakable Russian tacit or explicit threat to help Iran develop a nuclear deterrent would likely neutralize all American-Israeli magic.

I am not erudite in game theory and should never underestimate would-be US reactions. However, given Israel’s virtually complete control of the American government, It seems it would be very expedient for the Russian leadership to seriously consider this scenario.

The Merge: Should You Be Worried About Ethereum’s Most Awaited Upgrade?

For over two years, Ethereum developers have been working on Ethereum’s massive software update, known as The Merge. As part of a multi-phased upgrade to address Ethereum’s security and scalability model, the upgrade with switch the Ethereum network from the Proof of Work (PoW) consensus to the Proof of Stake (PoS) model.

But what exactly is The Merge? How will Ethereum’s giant leap towards becoming a leaner and cleaner altcoin affect the investors? Should you invest in ETH 2.0?

An Introduction to Ethereum 2.0 and The Merge

Cryptocurrencies are often criticized for their energy and time-investive operations. But, despite the concerns, most altcoins skills operate on PoW models that require an array of high-end machines to solve complicated puzzles and mine new coins.

However, in recent years, the Ethereum network has been working towards adopting a more efficient and cleaner mining process called Proof of Stake. But, the massive transition does not happen overnight. For years, Ethereum developers have been battling bugs and hurdles. And finally, in December 2020, the network introduced ETH 2.0.

Ethereum 2.0, also known as serenity, is an upgrade of Ethereum’s blockchain. The primary motive of the upgrade is enhancing the network’s efficiency, speed, and scalability. The upgrade will allow faster and larger transactions along with easing obstructions.

However, the organization aims to rebrand Ethereum 2.0 as an upgrade and not an entirely new network. The company now identifies ETH 1 as the execution layer where the smart contract and network rules reside. Whereas ETH 2 is referred to as the consensus layer that’ll ensure that devices contributing to the network are acting according to Ethereum’s rules.

These two layers are expected to come together later this year in an event known as ‘The Merge.’

When will The Merge Happen?

Ethereum 2.0 is launching in three phases. Beacon Chain, the first phase of the upgrade went live on 1st December 2020. This phase introduced staking to the Ethereum blockchain. This is the key shift of the network from the PoW mechanism to the PoS consensus.

The second phase, named The Merge, will merge the Beacon chain to the Ethereum network. This massive software update, salted for 19th September 2022, will make the network substantially faster, cheaper, and more efficient to use.

The final phase would be The Shard Chains. This upgrade will play a key role in boosting the network’s scalability. Instead of settling all the operations on a single blockchain, the Shard will spread this operation across 64 different chains, thus reducing congestion.

By combining all these upgrades, operating the Ethereum node will be far simpler since there will be far fewer data to store. The complete upgrade is expected to be concluded by 2023.

Why Ethereum 2.0?

One of the primary reasons behind the Ethereum network’s upgrade is scalability. The current Ethereum network can only support a few dozen transactions per second. Thus causing a lot of delay and congestion.

However, ETH 2.0 promises up to 100,000 transactions per second.

Another major reason behind the upgrade is addressing the security issue. ETH 2.0 will have an approved set of validators that will make for a more centralized system and enhance network security.

However, for creating a PoS Ethereum network, at least 16,384 validators are needed. And experts fear that this might make the network much more de-centralized and compromise the security of the network.

What Does the Merge Mean for Investors?

The Merge will be the biggest launch in the crypto space since the launch of the De-Fi in summer 2020. The introduction of Ethereum into an asset that institutional investors are compelled to own. Experts believe it could also be the marker that inverses the bottoming process in the crypto market.

The crypto investors and enthusiasts are eagerly waiting for The Merge. However, despite the date announcements, many fear that the launch could still get delayed again.

“It has been announced in very similar wording six times before; ‘this is the one’ may just be hopium”

Hiesboeck, Uphold

But, since the announcement, Ether’s value has climbed almost 40%. Bitcoin and smaller altcoins have also followed the lead.

According to technical chart analysis by cryptocurrency, things do look fairly good for Ethereum. But it won’t be able to achieve a $1,700 value unless it can maintain a price of over $1,294 over the coming days or weeks.

Should You Invest in ETH 2.0?

Along with Bitcoin, Ethereum is considered one of the safest crypto investments. However, financial experts still caution you not to invest over 5% of your investment portfolio in cryptocurrency.

With the world on the verge of a global recession, you should prioritize strengthening your energy funds, paying off debts, and investing in a retirement account before putting money into crypto, even if it is a coin as trusted as Ethereum.

The crypto market is defined as the most speculative and risky asset class. Therefore, no matter how tempting ‘The Merge’ hype may seem, don’t invest any more money than you’ll be okay losing.