The UN has warned that the Ukraine conflict could lead to a "hurricane of hunger and a meltdown of the global food system."

And that's because, combined, Ukraine and Russia account for nearly 30 percent of global wheat exports, 20 percent of corn exports, and more than 80 percent of sunflower oil exports.

With ports and shipping routes closed, corn that was harvested last year in Ukraine can't go anywhere, and there's genuine concern that when this year's crop is ready in July, there won't be enough labor or fuel to run the combines.

So where will be worst affected by this food crisis? And what lessons can be learned to improve global food security?

In this edition of The Agenda with Stephen Cole, Monika Tothova, an economist at the UN's Food & Agriculture Organization talks about what the body is doing to minimize the impact on the food supply chain.

The program is also joined by Pekka Pesonen, secretary-general of COPA and COGECA, which between them represent more than 70 national farming organizations across Europe, to discuss how fellow farmers can help their Ukrainian counterparts at this time of crisis.

And Professor Ruth Oniyang'o, founder and editor-in-chief of the African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, talks to the show about the knock-on effects of the Ukrainian conflict across Africa, and what more needs to be done to improve food security globally going forward.

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