Samantha Power, administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), appeared to celebrate what the administration considers the silver lining of global fertilizer shortages due to Russia's war on Ukraine.
"It is just another catastrophic effect of Putin's unprovoked invasion of Ukraine," Power told ABC "This Week" on Sunday. "We've gone to Congress asking for a substantial increase in humanitarian assistance."
Food prices have gone up 34 percent compared to this point a year ago, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said.
Russia and Ukraine are major global wheat and grain producers, accounting for up to 90 percent of wheat and grain imports for the Middle East and some African nations, she explained.
Power, however, wants people to look on the bright side of the fertilizer shortage—it'll usher in more "natural solutions."
"Fertilizer shortages are real now because Russia is a big exporter of fertilizer. And even though fertilizer is not sanctioned, less fertilizer is coming out of Russia," Power said. "As a result, we're working with countries to think about natural solutions like manure and compost. And this may hasten transitions that would have been in the interest of farmers to make eventually anyway, so never let a crisis go to waste, but we really do need this financial support from the Congress to be able to meet emergency food needs…"
Biden official Samantha Power celebrates fertilizer shortages that will force farmers to “hasten transitions” to “natural solutions, like manure and compost.”
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) May 1, 2022
“Never let a crisis go to waste." pic.twitter.com/rZ5uMy0K5U