By John Ikani
African Union head Macky Sall on Friday urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to take into account the suffering in African countries from food shortages caused by the conflict in Ukraine.
Putin on Friday hosted Sall, who is also Senegal’s President and Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU Commission, in the southern Russian city of Sochi on the 100th day of Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine with global food shortages and grain supplies stuck in Ukrainian ports high on the agenda.
AFP quotes President Sall as saying that President Vladimir Putin should “become aware that our countries, even if they are far from the theatre [of action], are victims on an economic level” of the conflict.
He also said due to Western sanctions “we no longer have access to grain from Russia and especially fertiliser” that is crucial for Africa’s “already deficient” agriculture.
“That really creates serious threats to the food security of the continent,” Sall added.
He added that food supplies should be “outside” of the West’s sanctions on Russia.
Prior to the conflict, more than 40% of wheat consumed in Africa came from either Ukraine or Russia.
Before he left Senegal, President Sall’s office said the visit was aimed at freeing up stocks of cereals and fertilisers that are currently blocked in Ukrainian ports.
African countries have been particularly affected by the price increases caused by the war.
More than 44% of wheat consumed in countries on the continent comes from Russia and Ukraine, according to UN figures. Wheat prices have soared around 45% as a result of the supply disruption, according to the African Development Bank.
The UN has warned that 18 million people are facing severe hunger in the Sahel, the part of Africa just below the Sahara Desert where farmers are facing their worst agricultural production in more than a decade.
Another 13 million people face severe hunger in the Horn of Africa region as a result of a persistent drought.
Putin did not mention grain supplies but said Russia was “always on Africa’s side” and was now keen to ramp up cooperation.
