As input costs are rising for African farmers and a food crisis continues to grow, African governments are increasing their support for small farms, according to fertilizer manufacturer Omnia Holdings. With the Russian invasion of Ukraine, there are fears that higher input prices will severely limit farmers’ ability to harvest grains, cutting overall crop production in a region already dealing with food insecurity.

In a conversation with Reuters, Omnia Holdings’ chief executive officer Seelan Gobalsamy stated, “What we’re seeing is a lot more support from governments for the smaller farmers, to aid those farmers because they have two roles – a subsistence role and a commercial role.”

African governments need to continue their support of smallholder farms in order to prevent significant exacerbation of the region’s food crisis. Recent events like the COVID-19 pandemic have not only put many in extreme poverty, but also triggered supply-chain disruptions and increases in input prices. Now, the Russian invasion of Ukraine threatens to further the issue. Without government support, hunger and poverty will likely increase as farmers in Africa will not be able to deliver staple crops and grains with the higher input prices and lack of imports from Russia and Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called Africa’s food stores a “hostage” of Russia’s invasion. In a speech delivered virtually to the Bureau of the Assembly of the African Union, he asserted, “[I] address you in a state of emergency, when we have a war. In an emergency for the whole world, when Africa is actually taken hostage. Hostage of those who started the war against our state.”

“We see governments, countries across the world being concerned about food security,” Gobalsamy agreed. “Everybody wants security of supply of fertilizer and that drives up prices, it also raises concerns about food security in the coming period.”

Since January 2021, Omnia Holdings said, prices for fertilizer feedstock have increased between 200% to 400%. Omnia supplies fertilizer in several sub-Saharan African countries and has also reported that it has seen a 30% revenue increase compared to the same period last year, due to the higher demand driven by the war in Ukraine. Russia is a leading global exporter of fertilizer and Ukraine is a major exporter of sunflower seed oil and corn. Combined, the two countries account for almost a third of the world’s wheat supplies. The war is driving up input prices, and thus African farmers may struggle to produce crucial crops.

In a region already dealing with food insecurity, it is essential that farms – especially those on a smaller scale – receive the support necessary to overcome increasing input costs. We hope to see African nations carry on with their support as the war in Ukraine, the COVID-19 pandemic, and other factors towards poverty and food insecurity continue.