With the help of Ukraine, Africa should clearly understand that the cause of food problems is exclusively Russia – Trofimtseva

Russia’s loud statements about the free supply of 25 to 50 thousand tons of grain to some African countries were made to show itself as a provider of the needy.

This was stated in an interview with AgroPolit.com by Olha Trofimtseva, Chairman of the Board of the Assembly of Agrarian Chambers of Ukraine, President of the Ukrainian Agri-Food Platform, former Ambassador-at-Large of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“Unfortunately for Putin, these statements were perceived with skepticism both by African leaders themselves (the President of South Africa, for example, said that countries do not need handouts, but need the normal functioning of the grain corridor) and by experts who noted that several tens of thousands of tons of grain with imports to Africa of more than 90 million tons per year is just a drop in the bucket and nothing more than a beautiful but empty gesture,” said Trofimtseva.

She emphasized that in 2019, at Putin’s invitation, 45 African presidents visited Russia, and this year there were only 17. Other countries were represented by lower-level officials or even by their ambassadors. This was the first sign of a change in mood.

“With our help, African countries should clearly understand that the reason for the aggravation of food problems is exclusively Russia and its war against Ukraine. Russia is actually a sub-empire that is trying to increase the dependence of import-dependent countries on it and actually colonize them in one form or another,” added Olga Trofimtseva.

As a reminder, Russia is promoting a plan to supply grain to Africa and push Ukraine out of the global market after Moscow withdraws from the grain deal.

Tags: Ukraine, Russia, grain, food security, restrictions