NIGERIA. Borno State: The price of wheat, gasoline, and flowers has risen in Nigeria and other African nations as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, which began on February 24, reached its fifth month.
The United States of America and 18 other African nations that depend on Ukraine for their wheat are also affected.
In Borno State, professor Abba Gambo of the Faculty of Agriculture, Yobe State University (YSU) Damaturu, presented a lead paper titled “Global Food Crisis and Its Impact on the Nigerian Agricultural Sector” on the United Nations (UN) food system transformation pathways.
Professor Gambo noted that both Russia and Ukraine supply wheat to Nigeria and that half of the world’s population has created a significant challenge for the general public.
“Wheat is used to produce bread, flour, pasta, and cakes and as well the World Food Programme (WFP) also got about 50 percent of its annual food supplies from Ukraine and Russia, therefore there is a need for an urgent remedy to save lives,” Gambo noted.
Gambo continued by saying that Ukraine alone is responsible for 25% of the world’s demand for fertiliser.
Since Russia’s first missile attack on Ukraine, the cost of a single bag of NPK fertiliser has risen from $13 (#7,000) to $55 (#30,000), respectively.
Solution to food crisis
President Macky Sall of Senegal and the Chairman of the African Union (AU) were in Russia to press for a lenient stance on the restriction on Ukraine’s ability to sell wheat to African nations in order to address the issue of food scarcity and crisis.
The European Union (EU) had earlier pleaded for the release of about 22 million metric tonnes of wheat stored in Ukraine.
Also Read: Nigerian Government Urged to Use Technology to Monitor Oil Theft and Vandalism
