Abstract
With an area of 603,000 square kilometres, Ukraine is the largest state whose borders lie entirely in Europe. On 24 February 2022, Russia launched a major attack on Ukraine. An end to the hostilities is not yet in sight. This war is having primarily direct consequences to Europe, but global supply chains are also being affected. One of these is the trade of food, more specifically, the export of grains. Almost 30% of global wheat exports have so far come from Ukraine and Russia. As supply shocks lead to significant price increases in global food markets, the reduction or loss of export volumes due to the war in Ukraine and trade restrictions with Russia is already having negative consequences for the food security of many countries in Africa. This chapter describes the problem and its implications and suggests some measures that may be deployed to mitigate the impacts, as well as discuss the problem in the context of the SDGs.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
References
Ali AA, Azaroual F, Bourhriba O, Dadush U (2022). The Economic Implications of the War in Ukraine for Africa and Morocco. 9
BBC News (2022, March 17) How many refugees have fled Ukraine and where are they going? https://www.bbc.com/news/world-60555472
Byrne J (2022) Concern higher fertilizer prices may cause surge in crop production costs. https://www.feednavigator.com/Article/2022/03/14/Concern-higher-fertilizer-prices-may-cause-surge-in-crop-production-costs
Chipman K, Durisin M (2022, March 7) Wheat settles at all-time high as war paralyzes Ukraine trade. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-07/wheat-climbs-nearer-to-record-as-ukraine-supply-paralyzed-by-war
Dludla S (2022) Russia-Ukraine crisis threatens food security in the country, says Agri SA. https://www.iol.co.za/business-report/economy/russia-ukraine-crisis-threatens-food-security-in-the-country-says-agri-sa-cdbc949d-ffb9-48d4-b33a-08e0c8ea533e
Elkin E (2022, February 25) Nitrogen fertilizer jumps by record on Russian supply concerns. Bloomberg.Com. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-02-25/nitrogen-fertilizer-jumps-by-record-on-russian-supply-concerns
FAO (2021) The State of food security and nutrition in the world 2021: transforming food systems for food security, improved nutrition and affordable healthy diets for all. FAO. https://doi.org/10.4060/cb4474en
FAO (2022) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. https://www.fao.org/home/en
Farmers-Review-Africa (2022, March 9) Ukraine crisis highlights importance of food security. Farmers Review Africa. https://farmersreviewafrica.com/ukraine-crisis-highlights-importance-of-food-security/
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2022)
Greenwood PL (2021) Review: an overview of beef production from pasture and feedlot globally, as demand for beef and the need for sustainable practices increase. Animal 15:100295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.animal.2021.100295
Ismail MR, El-Hosary AA, El-Badawy MEM (2020) Comparison among three different testers for the evaluation of new maize inbred lines (Zea mays L.). Maydica 65(1):6
Mhlanga D, Ndhlovu E (2022) The Implications of the Russia-Ukraine War on Sustainable Development Goals in Africa (SSRN Scholarly Paper No. 4226510). https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.4226510
Nasir MA, Nugroho AD, Lakner Z (2022) Impact of the Russian–Ukrainian conflict on global food crops. Foods 11(19):Article 19. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods11192979
Pereira P, Bašić F, Bogunovic I, Barcelo D (2022) Russian-Ukrainian war impacts the total environment. Sci Total Environ 837:155865. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155865
Rawtani D, Gupta G, Khatri N, Rao PK, Hussain CM (2022) Environmental damages due to war in Ukraine: A perspective. Sci Total Environ 850:157932. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157932
Ritchie H (2019) Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. Our World in Data. https://ourworldindata.org/global-land-for-agriculture
Sweeney E (2022) Ukraine invasion causing environmental crisis – experts say it could take years to fully realise impact. Business Insider. https://www.businessinsider.co.za/russian-invasion-ukraine-experts-say-cause-environment-crisis-2022-3
WFP (2022a) Food security implications of the Ukraine conflict. World Food Programme, pp 1–4. https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000137463/download/
WFP (2022b) Implications of Ukraine conflict on food access and availability in the Eastern Africa Region. Research Assessment & Monitoring RBN, pp 1–6. https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000137463/download/
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Section Editor information
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2023 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this entry
Cite this entry
Leal Filho, W., Platje, J.J., Eustachio, J.H.P.P., Hunt, J.D. (2023). Collateral Damage: War in Ukraine Endangers Food Security in Africa. In: Leal Filho, W., Dinis, M.A.P., Moggi, S., Price, E., Hope, A. (eds) SDGs in the European Region . Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals – Regional Perspectives. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91261-1_105-1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-91261-1_105-1
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-91261-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-91261-1
eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences