Russia-Ukraine crisis highlights Africa’s need to diversify its wheat sources

Published Apr 13, 2022

Tridge summary

The article emphasizes the dependence of African countries on wheat imports from Russia and Ukraine, with these two countries providing 27% of the global wheat trade. It highlights the risks of relying on a single source for food and the potential impact on political and military decisions. The article also discusses the history of wheat's role in shaping political strategies and decisions throughout history. Amidst the backdrop of the Russia-Ukraine war, the article underscores the need for African countries to diversify their wheat sources and increase domestic production to mitigate the effects of global food price fluctuations. The African Development Bank is taking steps to support African farmers by raising US$1 billion to implement climate-resilient technologies and increase yield efficiency. The article also touches on the divided voting patterns among African countries at the UN in response to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, suggesting that the issue of food dependency may have played a role in their decision-making.

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Original content

The war between Russia and Ukraine has highlighted just how much of the world’s wheat supply relies on these two countries. For instance, a recently released UN report shows a sample of 25 African countries that rely on wheat imports from Russia or Ukraine. Of this group, 21 import most of their wheat from Russia. Between 2018 and 2020, Africa imported US$3.7 billion in wheat (32% of the continent’s total wheat imports) from Russia and another US$1.4 billion from Ukraine (12% of the continent’s wheat imports). It’s crucial that African countries diversify their wheat sources for two key reasons. First, wheat forms an important component of diets. Not having enough brings the threat of hunger and political instability. Second, Africa’s dependency on Russian wheat imports will influence key political and military decisions. Given some African countries’ dependence on Russian wheat, it could’ve influenced how they voted on the two United Nations General Assembly resolutions ...

Source: The Conversation