Millions in Sahel and West Africa risk food insecurity due to Ukraine conflict

The impacts of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine risk pushing an additional seven to 10 million people in Sahel and West Africa into food insecurity, the World Bank Group has warned.

Already 38 million people in the region are facing acute food insecurity due to poverty, fragility, climate change, environmental degradation and low agricultural productivity.

Both West Africa and the Sahel region depend highly on food imports, therefore the global food crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict has hit them hard, further deteriorating food security.

Already, markets across the region are experiencing skyrocketing prices of oil, rice and wheat among other products on the international market, with poorer households spending disproportionately more on food.

The World Bank data indicates that the price of wheat, a staple food for many households in the region, increased by 60 percent at the start of June compared to January 2021.

Additionally, the cost of fertilizer, an essential product for productive agriculture, has surged to almost three times since the war began, compared with a year ago.

The bank projects that the knock-on effect to reduce food production over the coming years as soaring prices compel many farmers to use less fertilizer.

"Today, with soaring inflation, unfortunately many people in Africa are struggling to have access to basics such as food products," Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank vice-president for western and central Africa said.

Globally, the conflict shockwaves are expected to have complex and long-lasting impacts with international prices forecast to remain at historically high levels through the end of 2024, the bank said.

Moreover, the war is altering patterns of trade and production in ways that will aggravate food insecurity and inflation.

"These jolts come after two years of COVID-19 pandemic disruption, creating a blow to an already fragile global food system grappling with climate extremes," the bank said.

The World Bank is supporting countries in the region to fight against food insecurity both in a short and long-term basis.

Toward that end, the bank is mobilizing support for emergency responses as well as working with its humanitarian partners to monitor regional food insecurity and draw up Food Security Preparedness Plans.

It's also adopting regional approaches to build food systems resilience across Western and Central African countries, noting that most of the food insecurity root causes and consequences defy national borders.

One of such programs is the $716 million Food System Resilience Program that aims to benefit more than 4 million West Africans by increasing agricultural productivity through climate-smart agriculture, promoting intraregional value chains and building regional capacity to manage agricultural risks.

The other program is the Great Green Wall, an African-led regional initiative that promises climate-smart solutions to transform the region's economies and ecosystems.

The initiative seeks to restore 100 million hectares of degraded land and generate 10 million jobs in rural areas by 2030. This will help in supporting people's ability to respond and adapt to climate risks.

The World Bank has committed to investing $5.6 billion between 2020 and 2025 in 11 countries that are taking part in the initiative.

Over 60 projects are focused on transforming livelihoods in the Great Green Wall through landscape restoration, improved food systems and access to climate-resilient infrastructure.

The bank said smart investments are essential for making Africa's economy more resilient, achieving inclusive growth and combating food insecurity.