Will hunger follow the heat?

Darkness

The 21st century is just around the corner. But we still suffer from natural phenomena. There is a catastrophic lack of air conditioners (we are not talking about well-fed Moscow). Old ventilation systems are acting up. People get sick on trains and subways. But summer will end, and its consequences will continue - in autumn, and winter, and spring. A catastrophe with a crop scorched in the scorching sun threatens to result in an increase in food prices and nullify all successes in the fight against inflation.

“Low prices for social grades of bread will be under threat,” said Tambov Governor Oleg Betin, and proposed conducting an audit of grain reserves and planning their use.

The state promised to support agriculture, which literally went bankrupt this year. We are talking mainly about guarantees and loan deferments for farmers who, trusting officials, have taken out loans for the future harvest. Several such bankruptcies in different regions have already ended in suicide - farmers were driven to despair and saw no brightness in the future. Of course, we need to help them. But it is equally important to do at least something to prevent such situations. This is not the last heat wave in our lifetime. But we’ll probably think about it when the thermometer hits 40 again.

Sluggish and unconcrete promises to help agricultural producers suggest that they either don’t want to help them seriously or don’t know how. Insurance against catastrophic weather conditions has never been realized - this year no more than 5% took advantage of it, and even then, mainly large agricultural holdings. Not only has irrigated agriculture been ruined, but no one even talks about its revival. In some regions - for example, in the Ulyanovsk region, water is supplied hourly and in a thin trickle. There is no talk of increasing purchasing prices for those crumbs of the harvest that were saved through heroic efforts... Where the promised billions will go is a mystery.

How catastrophic this drought is will become clear in the fall. Pessimistic experts suggest an increase in prices for flour, bakery products and pasta - from 10% to 25%, for vegetables - up to 15%. The delayed impact will be on meat production - there will simply be nothing to feed cows and poultry. But all this will not happen before autumn. Then it will be too late to wave your fists, and a new headache will appear - the Russian winter. It's still a natural disaster.