Uganda's Kampala - The decision by Russia on Monday to renege on a deal that permitted the sale of Ukrainian agricultural products through a secure Black Sea passageway during the ongoing conflict is already having an impact far from the front lines of battle in Ukraine.
Ukraine's grain exports have long provided food for East African nations frightened by climate change. Now, analysts fear, a termination of the deal might result in higher consumer costs and put more burden on farmers and aid agencies that are already trying to respond to problems like violence and drought.According to observers, Russia's withdrawal from the grain project might result in severe food shortages in countries in a region already affected by climate change.
Debisi Araba, a food policy strategist and a former managing director at the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF), said, "We already know or can predict to a fair degree the impact the pausing of exports from that region to the rest of the world, especially East Africa and the Horn of Africa."
"We should expect to see an inflationary pressure on the price of grain, especially on countries that are dependent on imports -- where these grains are mostly staples feeding millions of people -- pushing more people into vulnerability and insecurity," he continued.
In July 2022, Turkey and the UN began talks on the Black Sea Grain Initiative. It let ships carrying fertiliser and agricultural items to sail from three Ukrainian ports to Turkey's Bosporus strait via carefully planned paths that skirted minefields and passed Russian warships.
Since the deal was reached last year, around 32.8 million tonnes of Ukrainian maize, wheat and other commodities have been shipped.
More than half of this food was donated to underdeveloped nations, frequently in the form of 313 metric tonnes of Ukrainian wheat to the World Food Programme alone.
88.199 SRY