"We face a real risk of multiple famines this year. And next year could be even worse," Guterres warned in his video remarks to a UN General Assembly high-level special event entitled "Time to Act Together: Coordinating Policy Responses to the Global Food Crisis."
But, "we can avoid this catastrophe if we act now" and "if we act together to craft bold and coordinated policy responses," the UN chief noted, Xinhua reported.
This means immediately reintegrating Ukraine's food production, and Russia's food and fertilizer, into world markets, and keeping global trade open, he said.
Guterres also stressed the need to tackle the finance crisis in the developing world, and to urgently unlock all possible resources to enhance social protection and support smallholder and family farmers to increase productivity and self-reliance.
"And it means transforming food systems at every level -- to put affordable, healthy and sustainable diets within reach of every person, everywhere," he added.