Russia-Ukraine Battle: Wheat Import to Africa Hits $20b

Russia-Ukraine Battle: Wheat Import to Africa Hits $20b

Because the warfare between Ukraine and Russia lingers, the price of Africa’s dependency on wheat importation from Europe has risen to $20 billion.

The elevated dependency of Africa on the European market, together with Nigeria that sources about 90 per cent of its wheat demand overseas, has continued to weaken efforts to harness manufacturing ranges within the continent.

The Head of Clearinghouse, Applied sciences for African Agricultural Transformation (TAAT), Dr Solomon Gizaw, made the revelation, yesterday, in Kano on the opening of a workshop on wheat seed manufacturing in Nigeria.

Gizaw defined that African nations had been paying the worth for the Ukraine-Russia disaster, which had obstructed the provision chain and escalated the price of wheat importation, failure to make the most of its potential.

Gizaw regretted that African nations had refused to construct a self-sufficient mechanism in wheat manufacturing regardless of its plentiful arable land, out there sources and expertise deposits, describing it as an unsightly growth threatening meals safety within the continent.

He mentioned: “In Africa, we’ve the expertise, land, water and the individuals. If we deliver collectively and work collectively, Nigeria can feed itself and the remainder of African nations.”

Earlier, TAAT programme coordinator, Dr. Chrys Akem, expressed fear that Nigeria was nonetheless backward within the wheat manufacturing revolution in comparison with Ethiopia and Sudan, which had change into self-sufficient in wheat manufacturing.

He mentioned the workshop was supposed to chart methods for the manufacturing of sorts of wheat seed in Nigeria and to construct capability on greatest agronomy practices within the continent.