According to the Court of Auditors, Austria is insufficiently prepared when it comes to food security in the event of a crisis. Especially in the case of supra-regional and sudden damage events, the upgrading of land resources for regional food, for example, is far from being as it should be.
“Up-to-date risk analysis and concrete contingency plans for various crisis scenarios were missing,” the authority complains in a recent report. According to the Court of Auditors, a blackout, a loss of fossil fuel supplies or a national crop failure are among the scenarios that could have far-reaching consequences for food security in Austria.
Binding vote is missing
According to the Court of Audit, the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality should have a sufficient overview of the market and food supply on Friday – in normal times, in the event of imminent market disruptions and in crises.
Various ministries
Moreover, there would be no binding coordination between the services involved. In the event of a crisis, three different ministries would be responsible for measures in the areas of food, economic goods and energy: the Ministry of Agriculture, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Climate Protection.
Already in 2018, soil resources were not enough to make Austria completely self-sufficient, the RH refers to the research project “Soil requirements for food security in Austria”, commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture. This would demonstrate the need for urgent action to preserve farmland.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
