Food security: Russia-Ukraine war makes Africa more vulnerable

The head of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called on G7 nations to help anticipate future food shortages as Russia’s war in Ukraine squeezes supplies, pushes prices to record highs and threatens already vulnerable nations.G7 is an informal grouping of seven of the world&#039;s advanced economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.According to the FAO, already in 2021, approximately 193 million people were acutely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance, up nearly 40 million people from 2020.“It is in this dramatic context that we now face the war in Ukraine,” director general Qu Dongyu said.Russia and Ukraine are important players in global commodity markets, and the uncertainty surrounding the conflict has caused prices surges, particularly of wheat, maize and oilseeds, as well as fertilisers. These increases come on top of already high prices driven by robust demand and high input costs as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.In March, the FAO Food Price Index reached its highest level (160 points) since its inception in 1990, and only dipped slightly in April.Wheat export forecasts for both Russia and Ukraine have been revised down since the start of the war. Despite other market players such as India and the European Union boosting their offers, supply remains tight and prices will likely remain elevated in the coming months, Qu said.Heavily reliantCountries that are heavily reliant on wheat imports include Egypt and Turkey, but also a number of sub-Saharan countries such as Congo, Eritrea, Madagascar, Namibia, Somalia and Tanzania.Meanwhile, countries that are heavily dependent on fertilisers imported from Russia include key cereal and high-value commodity-exporting countries like Argentina, Bangladesh and Brazil.The FAO has proposed a global Food Import Financing Facility to help nations deal with rising food prices. The mechanism, which is strictly based on needs and limited to low and lower middle-income net food-importing countries and selected beneficiaries of the International Development Association, could benefit almost 1.8 billion people in the world’s 61 most vulnerable countries.The facility has been designed to include smart conditionality to act as an automatic stabiliser for future funding. Eligible countries will commit to added investments in agriculture, thus reducing future import needs.

Food security: Russia-Ukraine war makes Africa more vulnerable

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

Please login to leave a comment

Food security: Russia-Ukraine war makes Africa more vulnerable

Comments

Namibian Sun 2026-09-21

Please login to leave a comment

Subscription Required to Access Content ×

Login

Subscription Required to Access Content