In February 2022, war erupted between Russia and Ukraine.These two countries account for about 12 percent of the total calories traded in the world, raising serious concerns about the implications for global food security. Although it is too early to draw a conclusion on the capacity of the world to absorb these stressors and rebound, past trends, early macroeconomic impacts, and policy responses can provide a glimpse of possible impacts. As pointed out by Mme Sacko (the African Union Commissioner for Rural Economy and Agriculture) and Mr. Mayaki (the former CEO of AUDA-NEPAD), while Africa is still recovering from the socioeconomic repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine conflict poses another major threat to the global economy, with many African countries being directly affected. Wheat consumption in Africa is projected to reach 76.5 million tons by 2025, of which 48.3 million tons or 63.4 percent, is projected to be imported outside the Continent. Russia and Ukraine are major players in the export of wheat and sunflower to Africa. Thirty-two percent of total African wheat imports come from Russia and 12 percent from Ukraine. The presentation will present early impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on food and nutrition security in Africa as well as a review of policy responses.
Dr. John Ulimwengu is a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute (https://www.ifpri.org/profile/john-ulimwengu). He holds a Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Ohio State University (USA), and Master in Development Economics from Williams College (USA). His research interests include resilience, food systems, poverty dynamics, and network analysis. Since 2007, Dr. Ulimwengu has been involved in strategic research on the transformation of agricultural sector in Africa under the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Program (CAADP) agenda. In 2017-2021, he was the Africa-wide coordinator of the Regional Strategic Analysis and Knowledge Support System (ReSAKSS, www.resakss.org).