Guest Africa
Conflict in Ukraine worsens food insecurity in West Africa, FAO says
Audio 04:04
Robert Gueï, head of the West Africa and Sahel sub-regional office for the FAO.
© un.org/
By: Sébastien Németh Follow
4 mins
The Ukrainian crisis and its consequences throughout the world.
In West Africa, Ukraine and Russia are major suppliers of food and agricultural products.
The conflict cuts off the region from some of these inputs, leading to a series of harmful consequences for the sector, while the region is already weakened.
Analysis with Robert Gueï, head of the West Africa and Sahel sub-regional office for the FAO.
Advertising
What is the impact of the Ukrainian crisis on agricultural production in the ECOWAS region?
Russia and Ukraine are countries that supply the sub-region for more than 50% of the needs, first in potash and also for foodstuffs such as wheat, corn and the countries most concerned are Togo, Senegal, Gambia, Cape Verde, etc.
It is a rather complicated situation which is already aggravating the food insecurity situation that we had due to Covid and conflicts and even civil insecurity.
There is a deficit of 1.2 to 1.5 million tons of fertilizer, due to the crisis
Concretely, how does this translate for the populations?
We recently undertook a study, and the study showed the level of direct dependence in the areas of fertilizer, wheat, vegetable oils, etc.
But the study also highlighted the indirect effects of the Ukrainian crisis on inflation, currency depreciation and economic risks.
When we add to that the worsening of the food insecurity situation that we had, then the situation is much more complicated.
There is a deficit of 1.2 to 1.5 million tonnes of fertilizer, due to the crisis, and this will correspond to almost 20 million tonnes of cereal deficit which constitutes approximately a quarter of the production of 2021 which was 73 million tons.
On a daily basis for the inhabitants, how does this translate?
By the fact that farmers, and even the poorest populations, will become even more vulnerable.
In the month of July to August this year, we were to reach nearly 40 million people who were going to be in increased food insecurity, which means that people will not be able to meet their daily basic food needs.
Have West African states not taken steps to mitigate the impact of this Ukrainian crisis?
There have been States which have reduced imports of products, and there are also donors who are helping countries, but we say that States must be able to diversify their imports.
But secondly, we must even make an immediate investment in agriculture, so that today states can produce what they eat, and they can eat what they produce.
And so for that, having an immediate fertilizer purchasing and distribution policy is what we are proposing, and we are already working with the States for that.
Ensure that quality seeds are mobilized immediately for distribution, production tools,
and then the technical support that goes with it to be able to help the most vulnerable populations who can produce in the off-season and for next year's season.
But these measures will not be sufficient, States must be able to invest more in the development of priority value chains, the value chains of maize, rice, sorghum, millet, cassava... So, these are priority value chains that must be developed immediately, but with investments, subsidies, training of producers and also support for distribution, the transformation of distribution at the market level.
We must use this crisis as an opportunity to be able to have this food sovereignty
Is this an evolution that African states cannot do alone? Are these colossal investments for them?
Yes, this is why the FAO is appealing to ECOWAS, to all these States, to all the technical and financial partners to come together.
It's true, we can give money to the States, but the States must also have the capacity to develop programs, bankable projects, and implement them.
We must use this crisis as an opportunity to be able to have this food sovereignty.
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_EN
Russia
Ukraine
Feed
sahel
Agriculture and Fishing
Africa