The Africa Development Bank (AfDB) has earmarked $1.5 billion for Africa Emergency Food Plan on account of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine
President of the AfDB, Dr Akinwumi Adesina,who disclosed this when he met with President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday,said the food plan is awaiting the ratification of the bank’s Board.
He lamented that due to the war, the price of wheat has gone up about 60percent, adding that maize and other grains will not be spared from the crisis.
He noted that there may be fertilizer crisis, as there would be about 2 million metric tons deficit.
He said:”To prepare against the evil day, the AfDB has developed a $1.5 billion Africa Emergency Food Plan, which is now before the bank’s Board for approval. It will affect food production by about 20%. Africa will lose $11 billion worth of food, and coming shortly after COVID-19, that would be rather serious”
Adesina 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.
He added: “We were not ready for COVID-19, but we are now planning to avert food crisis on the continent. There is plan to help farmers cultivate wheat, maize, rice, sorghum, and soybeans. It will mitigate the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.”
He said in the wet season of 2022, at least 5 million small holder farmers would be helped to cultivate 1 million hectares of maize, 1 million hectares of rice, and 250,000 hectares of sorghum and soybeans, respectively.
He added:“In total, our support will help Nigeria to produce 9.5 million metric tons of food.States that will benefit from the assistance include Kano, Ogun, Oyo, Kaduna, Imo, Cross River, and the Federal Capital Territory. Mr President, you have a passion for agriculture. We are behind you strongly, and we want to ensure Nigeria won’t feel the impact of the food crisis.”
