Usaid Warns Nigeria & Others As Food Prices Loom

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has warned Nigeria and other African countries to brace up for higher food prices, following recent developments that have temporarily halted Ukraine’s food exports to African countries. Isobel Coleman, Deputy Administrator for Policy and Programming at USAID, made this known on Thursday, August 4, 2023, during a virtual press conference. She noted that Russia’s withdrawal from the Black Sea Grain Initiative had already begun to trigger higher food prices worldwide. “This affects every country around the world, but it affects most acutely large import-dependent developing countries that have to spend much of their precious foreign exchange resources to purchase food to feed their population,” she said. Coleman warned that Russia’s withdrawal from the initiative, which in principle prevented Ukraine from exporting grain to Nigeria and other developing countries, would have dire consequences on food security in these countries.