Putin's War Threatens African Economies

 The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace published on 19 April 2022 an analysis titled "How the IMF and World Bank Can Support African Economies Hit Hard by Russia's Invasion of Ukraine" by David McNair.

In the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the prices of staple commodities such as wheat, barley, and vegetable oils have skyrocketed due in part because Russia and Ukraine are the breadbasket of the world.  They export a third of the world's wheat, a quarter of the world's barley, and 69 percent of the world's sunflower oil.  Ukraine's Black Sea ports are blocked and Russia has apparently shelled its granaries and mined farmland.  An acute food crisis is developing in west and central Africa.  Higher food prices are also adding to Africa's high debt service challenges.

Conflict at Ethiopia-Sudan Border

 Aljazeera posted on 12 January 2021 an article titled "Ethiopia Warns Sudan over Military Build-up Amid Border Tensions."

Ethiopia and Sudan have a long-standing border dispute over land being cultivated by Ethiopian farmers.  The problem has been exacerbated by the recent flow of some 60,000 refugees from Ethiopia's Tigray Region into this part of Sudan.  There has been a military build-up on both sides of the border and increasingly inflammatory rhetoric.  

Loss of Agricultural Land in Africa

The New York Times published on 30 July 2017 a long article titled "Loss of Fertile Land Fuels 'Looming Crisis' across Africa" by Jeffrey Gettleman.

Discussions of global agricultural land usually note that Africa has by far that largest percentage of unused cultivable land. Some suggest that Africa could feed the world in spite of the fact that Africa is a net food importer. This article points out that Africa's unused land is not as productive as often claimed. A recent NASA study explains that the degradation of Africa's agricultural land has resulted in more than 40 million Africans trying to survive on land whose agricultural potential is declining due to overuse and climate change. An expert at Michigan State University commented that the concept of land-abundant Africa is increasingly outdated. Finally, sub-Saharan Africa has the fastest growing population in the world, putting additional pressure on the land each year.