For example, about 30 per cent of Kenya's imported wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine, and in 2021, 44 per cent of Cameroon's fertiliser imports came from Russia.
As a result, 346 million people (a quarter of Africa's total population) are facing severe food insecurity.
In Kenya, the supply disruption and the increase in wheat price will affect the production and the price of bread, which is the third most consumed food item in the country.
Moreover, the pandemic and war in Ukraine have created a highly polarised world - unprecedented since the Cold War, which undermines the international community's capability to come together and address the world's most pressing issues.
Under such circumstances, how can African policymakers properly navigate the multiple headwinds?
Addressing food insecurity diligently
Africa is home to 60 per cent of the world's uncultivated arable land. This contrasts sharply with the African continent's incapacity to feed itself. In 2022, the African population will be equivalent to the Chinese and Indian populations.
Chinese and Indian populations will reach a tipping point and will decrease over the coming years.
By contrast, the African population will continue to grow over the next eight decades. In less than 40 years, the African population is expected to be greater than the Chinese and Indian populations combined.
Feeding this population under climate change is one of the greatest challenges for Africa.
Beyond the short-term emergency to address the threat of food insecurity caused by the Russian-Ukrainian war, African countries have an opportunity to draw lessons from this crisis and bring their agricultural sector up to par.
This includes, but is not limited to, investing in supporting technologies, building fertiliser factories, and building climate resilience by investing in climate-smart agriculture and adaptation.
Food security and climate change should be developed into a strategic policy design. Education is also key to improving agricultural labour productivity.
Failing to feed a young and fast-growing population can turn the expected demographic dividend into a demographic time bomb.
Fostering macroeconomic stability
The pandemic and the successive negative shocks dramatically deteriorated macroeconomic fundamentals in many African countries, particularly the sovereign debt balance.
As of February 2022, 23 African countries were either in debt distress or at risk of it.
Fiscal space and sound macroeconomic conditions will be key to properly respond to the various shocks faced by African economies.
Improving efficiency in public spending, and mobilising more domestic revenue by increasing tax administration efficiency, can contribute to building fiscal space and a sound macroeconomic framework, which is fundamental to sustaining economic recovery.
However, achieving this (that is, improving tax revenue collection and public spending efficiency) may entail structural reforms including technology adoption and fighting against corruption.
Inclusive and equitable recovery policies
Crises and recovery are uneven within and between countries.
While the most vulnerable are hit the hardest, they also experience slower recovery than others.
To ensure that no one is left behind, recovery policies need to be inclusive and equitable.
For instance, governments should pay attention to people falling into extreme poverty due to the Covid-19 pandemic and to those at risk of falling under the poverty line, and design policies that could help people to bounce back.
Governments can also leverage digital financial services to improve access to finance for the most vulnerable population.
People's vulnerability, political unrest and political instability
Insecurity, vulnerability, and social unrest hinder political stability and development prospects.
The current food insecurity and terrorism in the Sahel heighten the risk of social unrest on the continent. Governments need to take adequate measures to avoid setbacks in democratic progress.
To support an inclusive recovery, governments should engage in reducing people's vulnerability and developing social safety nets.
- Prof Ndung'u is the Cabinet Secretary, National Treasury and Economic Planning and Prof Azomahou is the Acting Executive Director and Director of Training, African Economic Research Consortium. This article was first published in the Foresight Africa 2023: Top priorities for Africa in 2023, published under the Brookings Institution, Africa Growth Initiative.