Foreign Exchanges: the Podcast
Oct 7, 2026 · 18 min · 9 segments
Stories from Iran, Mali, Ukraine, and elsewhere Subscribe to *Foreign Exchanges* today and get **40% off your first year!** This is a public episode…
Derek DavisonHost
Moving on to the news, World Politics Review's Luca Mattei argues that the current El Niño may prove too intense for farmers in some countries to adjust to its effects.
"Farmers around the world are feeling the impact, but on the whole, agricultural systems have so far proven resilient.
Producers have adapted by varying their crop mix and finding alternative sources for fertilizers and other inputs, while policymakers have stepped in to offer support.
Still, this super El Niño will test how well those mechanisms can continue to absorb pressure as weather conditions evolve during relatively narrow agricultural production windows.
El Niño conditions are characterized by warmer than average ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific, which alter weather patterns around the world.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration currently forecasts a greater than ninety percent probability of a very strong El Niño system during the Northern Hemisphere's fall and winter.
The impacts on food security will vary substantially by country and crop, particularly given the severe inequality around the world when it comes to access to irrigation, fertilizer, credit, seeds, and reliable logistics.
Agricultural exposure will be particularly important across tropical regions and parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where growing seasons will coincide with El Niño-related shifts in rainfall.
On the positive side, global grain supplies are expected to provide a solid cushion.
The Food and Agriculture Organization projects that global cereal stocks at the end of twenty twenty-six to twenty twenty-seven season will be equivalent to nearly one-third of annual consumption, a relatively comfortable scenario by historical standards.
Moreover, grain reserves do not finance irrigation pumps or provide foreign currency for imports of key agricultural inputs.
The emerging food security pressure will therefore depend on the interaction between climate exposure, input availability, and the capacity of governments and farmers to respond in time." You can read the rest of that piece at World Politics Review.
Moving on to the news, World Politics Review's Luca Mattei argues that the current El Niño may prove too intense for farmers in some countries to adjust to its effects.
"Farmers around the world are feeling the impact, but on the whole, agricultural systems have so far proven resilient.
Producers have adapted by varying their crop mix and finding alternative sources for fertilizers and other inputs, while policymakers have stepped in to offer support.
Still, this super El Niño will test how well those mechanisms can continue to absorb pressure as weather conditions evolve during relatively narrow agricultural production windows.
El Niño conditions are characterized by warmer than average ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific, which alter weather patterns around the world.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration currently forecasts a greater than ninety percent probability of a very strong El Niño system during the Northern Hemisphere's fall and winter.
The impacts on food security will vary substantially by country and crop, particularly given the severe inequality around the world when it comes to access to irrigation, fertilizer, credit, seeds, and reliable logistics.
Agricultural exposure will be particularly important across tropical regions and parts of the Southern Hemisphere, where growing seasons will coincide with El Niño-related shifts in rainfall.
On the positive side, global grain supplies are expected to provide a solid cushion.
The Food and Agriculture Organization projects that global cereal stocks at the end of twenty twenty-six to twenty twenty-seven season will be equivalent to nearly one-third of annual consumption, a relatively comfortable scenario by historical standards.
Moreover, grain reserves do not finance irrigation pumps or provide foreign currency for imports of key agricultural inputs.
The emerging food security pressure will therefore depend on the interaction between climate exposure, input availability, and the capacity of governments and farmers to respond in time." You can read the rest of that piece at World Politics Review.
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