At the close of 2022, between September to December, food prices soared around the world and with no signs of this abating in 2023, countries in Africa will have to move with speed to mitigate a looming food crisis.
Food inflation is particularly pronounced and severe in low-income and middle-income countries. According to most recent sector reports, up to 94.1% of low-income countries around the world suffer food inflation.
With increasing food prices, the cost of living is increasing, and it is no better in lower-middle-income countries of which 92.9% are contending with food inflation.
Also Read: Starvation, death threaten Horn of Africa stability
Even the upper-middle-income countries are also facing food inflation with 89% reporting unprecedented double-digit inflation.
According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), maize prices in December 2022 went up by 27% while wheat shot up 13% higher compared to the same period in 2021.
As we start the year, the IMF report shows maize and rice prices are 8% and 13% higher than in January 2022, respectively. Global food prices are expected to go higher on the backdrop of ongoing war and increased energy costs.
The Russia-Ukraine war continues to make global markets unstable. Trade restrictions that have been imposed are gravely affecting global cereal supply, worsening the world’s food security and as a result social tensions are increasing especially in low-income countries that depend on food imports.
The end result is that these low-income countries are putting pressure on global powers for increased aid. The Global Network Against Food Crises released a report last year titled, ‘2022 Financing Flows and Food Crises’ in which it warned that “…countries that experience food crises receive the most humanitarian financing.”
Across the Horn of Africa, for example, there are numerous reports of failing rains and worsening famine which only means these countries require more aid.
“When considering allocations to countries based on drivers of food crises, countries where conflict and insecurity are the main drivers absorb the largest share of humanitarian and development assistance,” reads the report in part.
Backing up the sentiments is the World Bank which at the end of 2022 warned that high fertilizer prices are bound to worsen global food insecurity especially in Africa.
Higher fertilizer prices make it more expensive to produce food which in turn makes the final produce even more expensive worsening the food inflation dilemma.
Also Read: Strengthen fertilizer value chains- African Development Bank
Already, the situation is such that Africa is expected to face irregular food production throughout 2023 and all through 2024. Owing to the increased fertilizer prices, among other factors, the World Bank cautions that, “205 million people are in acute food insecurity in 45 countries worldwide.”
According to the report, “fertilizer prices have tripled since early 2020,” and as a result smallholder farmers in Africa and other low-income countries around the World are not able to produce to meet growing demands in their countries.
Giving perspective into the crisis is the IFPRI which explores the impacts of food inflation on children malnutrition. The report shows that the food inflation starts to affect children in low-income countries very early, even before they are born.
Inflation means that pregnant women do not get the nutrition they need which means their babies are born malnourished only to suffer more malnutrition throughout their infancy and toddler stages.
“As such, there is an urgent need to improve women’s nutrition and health before and during pregnancy to guarantee prenatal health and nutrition support for mothers and children,” the report implores.
As of December 2022, 19 countries have implemented 23 food export bans, and eight have implemented 12 export-limiting measures.
In attempts to mitigate the worsening food inflation and the impending food security crisis, the World Bank announced US$30 billion to be issued in aid to increase food production by subsidizing fertilizer and boosting trade.
The funds were released in April last year and by September, the World Bank had committed US$8.1 billion across 47 countries most of which are in Africa.
Key recipients include a US$315 million loan $315 million loan that was extended to Chad, Ghana and Sierra Leone to help against food insecurity and build resilience of food systems.
Another US$500 million went to Egypt under an ‘Emergency Food Security and Resilience Support Project’ to help the country address the needs of vulnerable households and ‘support reforms that will help improve nutritional outcomes.’
Tunisia recipients received a US$130 million to help improve food supply especially in the face of reduced wheat and dairy imports among other the food needs.
As for the Eastern and Southern Africa zones, US$2.3 billion was issued to fund the ‘Food Systems Resilience Program for Eastern and Southern Africa’, to assist countries mitigate worsening food insecurity.
The World Bank envisages that this funding will help enhance inter-agency response to the onset of the food crisis and build resilience in agricultural production.
Through the World Bank funding, it is hoped that Africa will have some form of sustainable development of their natural resources expand their market access which should help stabilize their food systems.
Stepping in to bolster the World Bank efforts is the G7 which convened a meeting and formed an organ that was dubbed ‘the Global Alliance for Food Security.
The purpose of this G7-funded organ is to support World Bank efforts by pushing for concerted response to the global food crisis. Through the Alliance, the Global Food and Nutrition Security Dashboard, a public portal has been formed allowing access to timely information to help improve coordination in response to the global food crisis.
To back it all up are FAO, IMF, WFP and WTO who jointly released a Joint Statement on the Global Food Security and Nutrition Crisis, admitting that there is need for concerted global action.
Some progress has been made thus far, including provision of support to the vulnerable countries especially in Africa, facilitating trade to increase or at least sustain the international supply of food, increase production, and funding climate resilient agriculture.
However, despite this progress, global food inflation continuous to live millions in Africa in crisis. Food prices continue to increase and social tension is worsening by the day.
