Geopolitical, Trade, and Fertilisers.
Implications for Agricultural Production and Food Security
The 12th OEET Workshop will be held on December 4–5, 2026, in Turin, in person (online participation can be organized under specific circumstances). The Workshop will address issues related to trade, with a focus on fertilisers and their implications for agricultural production and food security in developing and emerging countries, with an emphasis on the MENA region.
Fertiliser imports are not only an essential input for domestic agricultural production but also play a key role in global food systems, as they are heavily demanded by countries that serve as major hubs for cereal exports to highly populated and arid regions. Recent geopolitical developments, namely the US–Israeli conflict with the Islamic Republic of Iran and Lebanon, have added a source of vulnerability by disrupting shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and restricting access to both agricultural inputs and natural gas, a key input for fertiliser production. Together with the ongoing war in Ukraine, the trade war, and the weakening of multilateralism, these developments have disrupted supply chains, accelerated nearshoring and friendshoring, and increased the risk that local supply-side constraints spread across international markets, threatening agricultural production and food security well beyond the countries initially affected.
Theoretical and empirical contributions are welcome on issues related to (but not limited to):
- The analysis of agrifood trade and disruptions due to the changing geopolitical framework.
- The analysis of the role of fertilisers, especially in relation to food security.
- The implications of disruptions in fertiliser value chains for food trade.
- Policy responses to disruptions in global fertiliser and agricultural commodity markets.
- Fertiliser and energy.
- The impact of geopolitical developments on fertilisers’ prices and consequences.
We invite submissions of complete papers or advanced drafts (long abstract in English of up to 300 words) by October 6, 2026 to:
Logistic information about the meeting will be posted in due time on the websites of OEET and Collegio Carlo Alberto (CCA): The Workshop is financed by the PRIMA research project “STAPLES - STable food Access and Prices and Lower Exposure to Shocks”, of which OEET-CCA is partner.
