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Curated by Marc Reverdin |
Food Security at the Munich Security Conference 2026
As the Munich Security Conference came to a close, we wanted to share with you highlights related to food security which emerged as an important theme linking geopolitics, economic stability, and climate resilience at the 2026 edition. Discussions across the Plenary and side events underscored a growing consensus: food systems are no longer solely a development or humanitarian concern, but a matter of strategic security and defense.
In this context, the MSC Food Security Task Force, launched in 2024, issued a Joint Statement on the Resilience of Food Systems as Forward Defense, underscoring the growing fragility of global supply chains and calling for greater diversification and stronger local production, supported by public–private partnerships.
The Plenary session, "War of Nutrition: Resilience Against Food Weaponization," framed food systems as a core geopolitical and security issue. Speakers, including NATO Parliamentary Assembly Secretary General Benedetta Berti, Egyptian Senator Amira Saber Qandil, IFAD President Álvaro Lario, and European Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Christophe Hansen, emphasized how conflict, economic pressures, and climate shocks are increasingly destabilizing food security, particularly in fragile regions. In this context, the weaponization of food was described as taking the form of deliberate attacks on agricultural infrastructure, blockades restricting food and humanitarian flows, and the use of food access as a tool of coercion and recruitment. Panelists stressed the link between food insecurity, displacement, and recruitment into armed groups, arguing that food systems must be treated as strategic infrastructure in security planning.
The discussions also focused on strengthening resilience across the food value chain, notably by investing in local production, storage, processing, and supporting infrastructure. They also underscored the importance of water security and climate adaptation, especially in regions facing recurrent environmental shocks, and pointed to the social and political consequences of food insecurity, including its effects on migration and rural stability.
In this broader context, Christophe Hansen highlighted Europe's strategic dependencies on external agricultural inputs, including Russian and Belarusian fertilizers and Russian grain, warning that reliance on a limited number of suppliers increases exposure to coercion and supply shocks. He argued that food and agriculture should be fully integrated into EU–NATO resilience discussions. Álvaro Lario added that long-term resilience depends not only on stabilizing input markets but on building strong regional production systems and ensuring farmers have access to finance, infrastructure, and markets, so that production translates into income, stability, and lasting food security.
The Order of Malta held an event which underscored the need to strengthen local production in vulnerable countries, mobilize public and private financing amid shrinking humanitarian budgets, and adopt integrated approaches that link agricultural development, resilience-building, and migration prevention, recognizing food insecurity as a key driver of instability and forced displacement. Furthermore, the panel featured interventions from FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torrero Cullen, who warned that agrifood systems must be treated as strategic infrastructure, as environmental degradation, biological threats, conflict, and trade disruptions can rapidly transform local shocks into global crises without sufficient diversification and preparedness.
Innovation and technology were highlighted at the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) Innovation Forum, which showcased scalable solutions to strengthen food systems and emergency response. Additional discussions, including those convened by the Center for Climate and Security and the Crop Trust, reinforced the message that food system resilience, crop diversity, and reduced strategic dependencies are integral to long-term stability and security.
Do not hesitate to get back to us should you wish to further discuss strategic opportunities within the MSC.