According to Dr. Solomon Gizaw, African nations collectively expend approximately $20 billion annually on importing wheat.
The ongoing Ukraine-Russia crisis, the head of Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT) Clearinghouse, who stated this during a Train-the-Trainer workshop on wheat seed production in Kano Nigeria
has led to supply disruptions and increased wheat prices in Africa, resulting in substantial financial burdens for the continent.
Dr. Gizaw pointed out that Nigeria possesses the necessary resources to cultivate wheat domestically, not only to sustain itself but also to supply neighboring African nations.
He added that “the fight between Russia and Ukraine impacted the whole of Africa and has caused a lot of supply disruption because Africans were the major importers of wheat across the continent.
“Africa around this time” he further said “annually spends nearly $20 billion to import wheat from other parts of the world. They import fertilizer and wheat from Ukraine and Russia and as a result, the war between the duo has disrupted the supply of wheat and fertilizer,’’
DR Gizaw noted that the result of the Russia-Ukraine war has been an increase in both wheat prices and disruption in supply across African nations. he however expressed optimism that Nigeria could achieve self-sufficiency if the current trajectory of wheat production is sustained.
Data has shown from January to September 2023, Nigeria’s wheat imports amounted to N783.26 billion, marking an increase of N28.66 billion compared to the corresponding period in 2022, which recorded NN753.60 billion in imports.
This has resulted in price hike of these products occasioned by Russia Ukraine war which has disrupted global supply chains and caused a spike in the commodity’s price on the global market.