An accelerated billion-dollar plan aimed at boosting wheat production in Africa should be put in place to avoid possible food shortages, particularly those linked to the war in Ukraine. This is what the African Development Bank (AfDB) has just announced, which is organizing an investment forum to raise funds for operations.
The AfDB is currently raising funds to help 40 million African farmers use climate-resilient technologies and increase their production of wheat varieties adapted to the continent’s climate, said Akinwumi Adesina, the institution’s president.
Wheat imports account for about 90 percent of Africa’s $4 billion trade with Russia and almost half of the continent’s $4.5 billion trade with Ukraine, he said. precise. “We’re really going to step up our efforts to raise this money,” Adesina said. If there is a time when we really need to drastically increase food production in Africa, for its food security and to mitigate the impact of this food crisis stemming from this war, it is now. »
The war in Ukraine and the sanctions imposed on Russia disrupted cereal exports at a time when world stocks were already limited, increasing the risk of a large-scale food crisis. The two countries alone produce more than a quarter of global wheat exports, and the United Nations has warned that the already high cost of food could rise another 22% if the conflict continues crippling trade and reducing next production .
The risks are particularly high for Africa, where, according to Mr. Adesina, some 283 million people were already suffering from hunger before the start of the war.
The Bank’s plan aims to increase production of wheat, rice, soybeans and other crops to feed about 200 million Africans. the president of the ADB plans in this sense a meeting of the ministers of finance and agriculture of the continent to discuss the best way to finance this plan.
“New methods have already enabled Ethiopia to increase its wheat production. The country now hopes to be self-sufficient in grain supply within three years,” says Adesina. Surplus production could then be exported to countries like Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, he added.
In addition to supporting food production, the African Development Bank has embarked on a campaign to accelerate the financial closure of 42 projects worth about $58 billion that are already underway.