North African solutions to the food crisis in Africa: the role of fertilizers and supportive policies

Abstract

Global market disruptions and the lingering effects of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, exacerbated by the war between the Russian Federation and Ukraine and amplified by the growing effects of climate change, are deepening food insecurity in Africa. International fertilizer prices increased rapidly over 2021 and 2022, reaching a peak in April 2022. Prices were already at a raised level at the end of 2021 because of trade disruptions driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine exacerbated the fragile situation and pushed fertilizer prices to their highest levels in recent years. Although fertilizer prices have since eased slightly, they remain high compared with the average of recent years. Moreover, the global fertilizer market is affected by fertilizer price volatility, which generates uncertainty and impedes the access of farmers, especially smallholders, to the inputs that they require.