UN: Grain Shortage Could Affect Much of Africa
2022-05-14
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1A leader of the United Nations Food and Agriculture program (FAO) said an already existing food crisis in Africa is getting worse.
2Abebe Haile-Gabriel is assistant director of the program.
3He said the war in Ukraine is to blame.
4"We have a very grim outlook going forward," he said of the food supplies in some African countries.
5He noted that about half of the continent's 54 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for wheat.
6And over 11 of the countries import fertilizer from Russia.
7Even before the war in Eastern Europe started in February, food prices in Africa were rising.
8The FAO said the cost of food staples rose 23 percent last year.
9That is faster than any year of the last 10.
10Many African nations depend on supplies from the World Food Program.
11Tomson Phiri of the WFP said the costs for the program are rising as more people need aid.
12The cost of grain in North Africa is increasing because those nations import a lot from Ukraine and Russia.
13In other parts of Africa, people can no longer easily buy cooking oils made from soy, corn and sunflower seeds.
14For Edwin Dapi of Zimbabwe, it is getting hard to feed his wife and four children.
15Dapi looked for vegetable oil at a food store in Harare.
16The 2-liter bottle costs about $2.76.
17His job pays him about $50 per month.
18A 2-kilogram bag of flour costs more than $1, Reuters reported.
19As he looked at the prices, Dapi said "I keep hearing it's because of Ukraine but I don't know what that has to do with us."
20Africa already has a food shortage, experts say, because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts and bad growing conditions because of climate change.
21Zimbabwe is one of the African nations having trouble feeding its people, along with East African countries Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan.
22In West Africa, military conflicts in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria have created a food crisis.
23The western nations are also dealing with floods and droughts.
24For a short time, Kenya felt safe from rising prices because it made food deals with several countries last year.
25Kenya made the change when Russia increased export taxes.
26Kennedy Nyaga of Kenya's United Grain Miller's Association said Kenya should have enough wheat to last until September.
27But it already ran out of maize, also called corn.
28The association is asking the Kenyan government for permission to import 360,000 tons of maize without paying import taxes, or duty.
29The group said the price of maize went up about 60 percent since December.
30A closer look at Zimbabwe shows the potential for a long-term food crisis, as it is not as well prepared as Kenya.
31Food production has gone down over the last 20 years due to changes in farm ownership, economic problems such as inflation and drought.
32The people there are already poor, as the country's National Statistics Agency says about half of its 15 million survive on less than $2 per day.
33They are struggling even more since March when the country's grain millers raised prices for wheat flour and maize by 15 percent, noting increased food prices because of the war in Ukraine.
34The FAO said Zimbabwe receives about 20 percent of its wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine.
35While the government says there is enough maize and wheat for this year, the miller's association approved another price increase in April.
36The group said it is looking for more grain so there can be enough until the harvest in October.
37The increase in grain and fuel prices is being passed on to regular people in Zimbabwe who see it as inflation.
38During the growing season, Zimbabwe's farmers depend on fertilizer for a healthy crop.
39But the price of fertilizer is about 30 percent higher than last year.
40The World Food Program's Maria Gallar Sanchez said if fertilizer costs remain high it will reduce production in Zimbabwe this year.
41A company that sells fertilizer throughout Africa said its costs have increased between 200 and 400 percent since January 2021.
42Boniface Mutize is a farmer near Harare.
43He said many farmers are trying to make their own fertilizer using animal waste.
44But it does not work as well as chemical fertilizers.
45He said many small farms will not be able to grow their own food next year.
46I'm Dan Friedell.
1A leader of the United Nations Food and Agriculture program (FAO) said an already existing food crisis in Africa is getting worse. 2Abebe Haile-Gabriel is assistant director of the program. He said the war in Ukraine is to blame. 3"We have a very grim outlook going forward," he said of the food supplies in some African countries. He noted that about half of the continent's 54 countries depend on Russia and Ukraine for wheat. And over 11 of the countries import fertilizer from Russia. 4Even before the war in Eastern Europe started in February, food prices in Africa were rising. The FAO said the cost of food staples rose 23 percent last year. That is faster than any year of the last 10. 5Many African nations depend on supplies from the World Food Program. Tomson Phiri of the WFP said the costs for the program are rising as more people need aid. 6The cost of grain in North Africa is increasing because those nations import a lot from Ukraine and Russia. In other parts of Africa, people can no longer easily buy cooking oils made from soy, corn and sunflower seeds. 7For Edwin Dapi of Zimbabwe, it is getting hard to feed his wife and four children. 8Dapi looked for vegetable oil at a food store in Harare. The 2-liter bottle costs about $2.76. His job pays him about $50 per month. 9A 2-kilogram bag of flour costs more than $1, Reuters reported. 10As he looked at the prices, Dapi said "I keep hearing it's because of Ukraine but I don't know what that has to do with us." 11Existing food crisis 12Africa already has a food shortage, experts say, because of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, military conflicts and bad growing conditions because of climate change. 13Zimbabwe is one of the African nations having trouble feeding its people, along with East African countries Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan. In West Africa, military conflicts in Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger and Nigeria have created a food crisis. The western nations are also dealing with floods and droughts. 14For a short time, Kenya felt safe from rising prices because it made food deals with several countries last year. Kenya made the change when Russia increased export taxes. Kennedy Nyaga of Kenya's United Grain Miller's Association said Kenya should have enough wheat to last until September. But it already ran out of maize, also called corn. 15The association is asking the Kenyan government for permission to import 360,000 tons of maize without paying import taxes, or duty. The group said the price of maize went up about 60 percent since December. 16Zimbabwe up close 17A closer look at Zimbabwe shows the potential for a long-term food crisis, as it is not as well prepared as Kenya. Food production has gone down over the last 20 years due to changes in farm ownership, economic problems such as inflation and drought. 18The people there are already poor, as the country's National Statistics Agency says about half of its 15 million survive on less than $2 per day. They are struggling even more since March when the country's grain millers raised prices for wheat flour and maize by 15 percent, noting increased food prices because of the war in Ukraine. 19The FAO said Zimbabwe receives about 20 percent of its wheat supply from Russia and Ukraine. 20While the government says there is enough maize and wheat for this year, the miller's association approved another price increase in April. The group said it is looking for more grain so there can be enough until the harvest in October. 21The increase in grain and fuel prices is being passed on to regular people in Zimbabwe who see it as inflation. 22During the growing season, Zimbabwe's farmers depend on fertilizer for a healthy crop. But the price of fertilizer is about 30 percent higher than last year. 23The World Food Program's Maria Gallar Sanchez said if fertilizer costs remain high it will reduce production in Zimbabwe this year. 24A company that sells fertilizer throughout Africa said its costs have increased between 200 and 400 percent since January 2021. 25Boniface Mutize is a farmer near Harare. He said many farmers are trying to make their own fertilizer using animal waste. But it does not work as well as chemical fertilizers. 26He said many small farms will not be able to grow their own food next year. 27I'm Dan Friedell. 28Dan Friedell adapted this story for VOA Learning English based on reporting by the Associated Press. 29Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 30Words in This Story 31grim - adj. causing feelings of sadness or worry 32staple -n. an important food that is eaten widely 33drought - n. extremely dry conditions affecting an area 34miller - n. a person or company that makes flour from grain