For weeks now, the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been destabilising global trade. The fluctuating commodity prices are being felt worldwide – including in our partner countries.
Tanzania, Chad, India: Oil and gas shortages disrupt daily life
“In Tanzania, price adjustments were announced on 1 April 2026. The price of petrol has now notably risen by 33.4%,” reports Betty Malaki, Country Representative of SWISSAID Tanzania. In India, meanwhile, a shortage of cooking gas is causing problems for households, restaurants and street vendors. Some smaller businesses have already temporarily reduced their operations or ceased them altogether.
The situation is even more serious in Chad, where food prices have risen across the board: at the market, the price of meat has already doubled, and fish now costs 1.5 times as much as it did a month ago, according to Olivier Ngardouel from the Chad Coordination Office. Fuel is also twice as expensive today as it was in March.
In the rural areas where SWISSAID operates, supply shortages and price hikes are particularly noticeable. Due to higher fuel prices, some transport companies have suspended their services or raised their fares. Around Kolkata, tickets have risen by 67%, shares SWISSAID India. Many local farmers can no longer afford to travel to the markets as often, facing significant losses to their income.
The dangers of relying on imported fertilisers
But behind the oil and gas crisis, another one – less conspicuous but all the more serious – is looming: the fertiliser crisis.
Within mere weeks, supplies have been cut off, disrupting farm work in many regions around the world. The supply disruption could not have come at a worse time in the agricultural year: in many places, the sowing period is underway or about to start.
The Global South, too, is hit hard by this situation. In many African countries, like the SWISSAID partner countries Tanzania and Chad, farmers are heavily dependent on imported fertilisers. If prices suddenly skyrocket or supplies fail to arrive, farmers are forced to reduce the quantities they use, switch to other crops, or even forgo sowing certain plots.
Such decisions, made under much duress, can result in considerable crop losses. For many farmers, this subsequently means less food for their own consumption, reduced incomes, and increasing food insecurity. It is clear: every international crisis has a direct impact – not just on their fields, but also on their plates.
The World Food Programme (WFP) thus estimates that, by the end of 2026, a further 45 million people could be experiencing food insecurity should the conflict continue beyond the middle of the year.
Just and autonomous food systems thanks to agroecology
The crisis highlights a structural problem, explains Francesco Ajena, SWISSAID Senior Advisor for agroecology: the dependence on a globalised agricultural system that is concentrated in the hands of a few large corporations and relies on imported fertilisers. A mere four multinational corporations (ChemChina/Syngenta, Bayer, BASF, and Corteva) dominate 62% of the global fertiliser and pesticide market.
However, alternative solutions already exist – such as agroecology, which SWISSAID has been promoting for a long time. It is an approach which relies on local resources and natural methods to improve soil quality. Thanks to agroecology, farming families can reduce their costs as well as stabilise their yields. Above all, it offers farmers a way to overcome their dependence on imported fertilisers and pesticides, regain their autonomy, and protect themselves better against external shocks – such as disruptions in global supply chains caused by wars.
SWISSAID therefore advocates for a food system based on real independence and justice. Through promoting local cycles and adopting sustainable, natural farming methods, people in the Global South will have a chance to achieve genuine food sovereignty.
