Farmers in Africa are set to benefit from aid to boost the production of food across the continent. It comes as the continent faces a food crisis following the disruption in the supply of cereals including wheat and soya beans due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
The African Development Bank has approved a 1.5 billion dollar grant to help farmers in Africa grow more food to feed themselves.
It’s been a difficult year for Africa as the continent tries to recover from the disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Cost of goods and services have increased in the first quarter of the year amid hikes in global fuel prices.
Many countries in Africa rely on the import of wheat, maize, and soybeans and have been severely affected by the cut in supply because of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Analysts say the continent will lose over 30 million tonnes of food imports that would have come from Russia and Ukraine. And the effect is that the price of food has gone up by an average of 45 percent since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started, according to analysts. And it could drive an additional 30 million Africans into acute food poverty.
The African Development Bank hopes to reverse the trend by supporting 20 million smallholder farmers across Africa with the 1.5 billion dollar African Emergency Food Production program.
Farmers will also be given certified seeds and access to agricultural fertilizers to help them boost food production. It is hoped that about 38 million tons of food would be produced by the end of the two-year program.
Source: sabcnews
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