KEYIR NEWS - As Moscow touts itself as Africa's steadfast grain partner, a growing chorus of analysts is branding the spectacle as a geopolitical charade rather than a solution to the continent’s agricultural woes.
In the wake of successive Russia-Africa summits, grandiose pledges were made: an uptick in Russian grain, poultry and fertiliser shipments to African ports, with declarations framed as lifelines for the continent’s food security. But behind the optics, critics say, lies an alarming deepening of Africa’s dependency on foreign imports while domestic agricultural capacity stagnates.
Russia, commanding over a third of Africa's wheat market, now eyes further expansion, with fertiliser conglomerates like PhosAgro planning to double exports to the continent within five years. More than 40 Russian firms are eyeing East Africa via Tanzania, which they view as a commercial gateway. Meanwhile, fertiliser deals and logistics corridors are being cemented, with Moscow raking in billions.
Yet, the irony remains stark: African nations flush with arable land and youthful labour are sinking national budgets into importing the very goods they can cultivate. From Djibouti to Dakar, critics lament that leaders have embraced what one analyst dubbed "food security theatre" performative partnerships masking agricultural neglect.
In contrast, industrial magnate Aliko Dangote is urging a paradigm shift. With his urea plant in Lagos and expansion plans into East Africa, Dangote exemplifies the case for African-led agricultural industrialisation. His message: Africa must cultivate its own future.
Institutions like Afreximbank and the African Development Bank echo the sentiment, urging a decisive policy pivot from import addiction to local production.
Russia’s grain diplomacy may offer short-term reprieve, but unless Africa seizes control of its food systems, critics warn it risks swapping one form of dependency for another, this time, not colonial but commercial.