NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 18 — Kenya has regretted Russia’s decision to pull out from the Black Sea Grain Initiative, a lifeline for African countries battling a drought-triggered food crisis, as a stab in the back.
Reacting to the news of Russia’s withdrawal from the discretionary arrangement on Monday, Foreign Affairs Principal Secretary Korir Sing’Oei said the Horn of Africa will bear the brunt.
“The decision by Russia to exit the Black Sea Grain Initiative is a stab on the back at global food security prices and disproportionately impacts countries in the Horn of Africa already impacted by drought,” Sing’Oei contended.
Russia announced its decision not to extend its participation in the deal as allies hoped for its renewal on Monday. The grain deal committed participating nations to guarantee the safe shipment of Ukrainian grain through ports in the Black Sea.
The accord has been crucial in supporting global efforts to forestall a food crisis amid a continued surge in the cost of living, partly blamed on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia and Ukraine are the world’s largest producers of agricultural products including wheat, corn and barley.
UN-Turkey brokered deal
The grain deal brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July 2022 saw almost 33 million metric tonnes of grain exported.
Sing’Oei’s comment on Russia’s withdrawal from the deal came even as the United Nations Secretary General António Guterres promised to move with speed to find a solution.
“This will remain the focus of my efforts, taking into account the rise in human suffering that will inevitably result from today’s decision. We will stay fixed on finding pathways for solutions,” he said.
Guterres urged the global committed to remain committed to “advancing global food security and global food price stability” even as he emphasized that there was “too much at stake”.
The UN chief noted that grain prices which had fallen for as much as thirty-five under the grain deal had started started rising following the news of Russia’s termination.
Kenya, as have other nations in the Horn of Africa, has reported one of the longest droughts in recent years stretching over two years.
Hardest hit regions included the country’s Arid and Semi-Arid Land counties having endured three severe droughts in the decade from 2010-2011, 2016-2017 and 2020-2022.
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