Until sustainable food security is established through modernizing agriculture and ensuring adequate support for local farmers, Russia’s grain supply would still remain as a soft bait (i) to reinforce the existing time-tested relationships with Africa and (ii) to solicit endorsement for the unprovoked war in Ukraine.

In a speech delivered, 20th March 2023, during the interparliamentary conference ‘Russia-Africa’ held in Moscow, President Vladimir Putin described six African countries as the least developed and poorest in the world that are urgently in need grains, alternatively referred to as humanitarian aid, to feed its population.

The beneficiary African countries – Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Eritrea, Mali, Somalia and Zimbabwe – have warm-heartedly expressed their highest gratitude for the wonderful ‘food-gift’ that was promised, and was chorused in a speech in July 2023 at the second Russia-Africa summit held in St. Petersburg.

During that Russia-Africa summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin promised what was referred to as ‘grains at no-cost delivery’ (when it was first announced to an ear-deafening applause at the inter-parliamentary conference March 20), and as expected, the Russian Agriculture Ministry has accomplished that mission by despatching a total of 200,000 metric tonnes as humanitarian aid to these African countries. (For further detailed information on this, read the transcript on the Kremlin’s website)

“After the Russia-Africa summit, we have been maintaining relations with African countries and building cooperation,” Patrushev told Putin during Kremlin meeting. “As a result, we were able to deliver this volume of wheat to these countries quite quickly.” He also told Putin that Russia expected to export up to 70 million metric tonnes of grain in the 2023-2024 agricultural year. In the previous season, Russia shipped 66 million tonnes worth almost $16.5 billion.

This 200,000 metric tonnes humanitarian aid to Africa has been given unprecedented world-wide publicity. Russian state TV in the past month showed white bags of wheat marked “gift from the Russian Federation to Burkina Faso” and printed with the flags of both countries. “It shows Russia’s solidarity for the Burkinabe people and the good, strong relations between our two countries,” Nandy Some-Diallo, Burkina Faso’s minister for solidarity and humanitarian action, said at a ceremony to mark the donation in January.

TASS state news agency put it most blankly: “Russia has completed delivery of wheat to six poorest African countries. At the 2023 Russia-Africa Summit, Putin vowed to supply Russian grain free of charge to........

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