The African Development Bank (AfDB) has developed a $1.5bn Africa Emergency Food Plan to protect the continent from the negative consequences that may come from sthe Russia-Ukraine war in terms of food security.
The plan is now before the bank’s Board for approval.
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AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina announced this Tuesday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja while briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on steps being taken by the bank to avert food crisis in Africa.
He said the Russia-Ukraine war would create global problems, and particularly for Africa, which imports a huge percentage of its food from the two countries.
“Already, the price of wheat has gone up about 60%. Maize and other grains will also be affected. There may be fertilizer crisis, as there would be about 2m metric tons deficit. And that’ll affect food production by about 20%. Africa will lose $11bn worth of food, and coming shortly after COVID-19, that would be rather serious.”
Speaking on Nigeria, Adesina said in the wet season of 2022, at least five million smallholder farmers would be helped to cultivate one million hectares of maize, 1m hectares of rice, and 250,000 hectares of sorghum and soybeans, respectively.
“In total, our support will help Nigeria to produce 9.5m metric tons of food. States that’ll benefit from the assistance include Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Imo, Cross River and the Federal Capital Territory,” Adesina said.
Buhari lauded the AfDB for planning ahead of whatever negative consequences that might arise from the Russia-Ukraine war.
He said the borders were closed to encourage local farmers and stop smuggling.
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