The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group’s Board has approved a $1.5 billion facility to support African countries as the Russian-Ukraine war impacts food prices and availability.

Philip Boahen, AfDB’s Chief Agriculture Policy Economist and Coordinator of Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme, said this at Tamale, Ghana, on Saturday.

Mr Boahen said the facility will “provide 20 million African smallholder farmers with certified seeds,” as well as “increase access to agricultural fertilisers and enable them to produce 38 million tonnes of food rapidly.

“This would be a US$ 12 billion increase in food production in just two years,” the AfDB said.

The bank, on its website, also said that with the disruption of food supplies arising from the war, Africa now faces a shortage of at least 30 million metric tonnes of food.

AfDB said that food like wheat, maize, and soybeans imported from both countries were majorly affected by the war.

The bank said that the $1.5 billion African emergency food production facility is an unprecedented comprehensive initiative to support smallholder farmers in filling the food shortfall.

The AfDB said it would provide fertiliser to smallholder farmers across Africa over the next four farming seasons, indicating it will use its convening influence with major fertiliser manufacturers, loan guarantees, and other financial instruments to provide the fertilisers.

The bank said the facility would produce 11 million tonnes of wheat, 18 million tonnes of maize; six million tonnes of rice; and 2.5 million tonnes of soybeans.

“It will also support market growth and post-harvest management, and create a platform to advocate for critical policy reforms to solve the structural issues that prevent farmers from receiving modern inputs.” 

(NAN)