US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen says the US government and its partners are leading efforts to stabilise global energy prices by introducing a cap on the price of Russian oil, which should help mitigate further price shocks on emerging economies and reduce Russian revenues.

While the policy is in the early stages of implementation, the US Treasury estimates it could result in about $6-billion in yearly savings for the 17 largest net oil-importing African countries.

Yellen spoke at a Green Climate Fund-assisted agriculture site, in Zambia, on January 24, outlining what the fund, the World Bank and the US government is doing to improve food security in Africa, which has deteriorated severely since the onset of the Ukraine war, as well as climate adaptation, which is generally lagging in African countries.

The number of people facing acute food insecurity has risen to 345-million across 80 countries; in Zambia, about two-million people face acute food insecurity and nearly half of the population is unable to meet their minimum caloric intake requirements, Yellen cites.

She says global food systems have been taking strain for some time owing to a combination of factors, such as regional conflicts, climate change and Covid-19’s economic disruptions. She highlights that strained food systems are most apparent in Africa, especially amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which has put further strain on food, fuel and fertiliser prices.

Additionally, Yellen points out that the Ukraine war has led to significant supplies of wheat, corn and sunflower oil being more expensive or unavailable. In turn, higher global energy prices have raised shipping costs for food and other commodities, while the price of fertiliser has hurt agricultural output in communities across Africa.

During the Africa Leaders Summit, hosted in Washington, in December, US President Joe Biden and Yellen met with African heads of State to discuss how the US can refocus its efforts to strengthen food security. Yellen says the US would like Africa to participate fully in global food and fertiliser markets and supply chains, as well as have a significantly lower dependence on humanitarian aid.

Last year, the US committed $13-billion in humanitarian and food security assistance globally, including $2-billion worth of lifesaving assistance in Africa.

The US has also rallied countries and international organisations to avoid export restrictions and impediments to humanitarian aid delivery. The US itself has made sure to exempt food and key agricultural commodity exports from sanctions programmes to further enable the flow of products into global markets.

Yellen confirms that the US government is also working with international finance institutions to increase their food security efforts.

For example, the World Bank is implementing up to $30-billion in projects to respond to the food crisis in Africa. This facility is expected to benefit 20-million smallholder farmers in Africa, and enable them to rapidly produce up to 38-million tons of wheat, maize, rice and soybeans to meet the demands of the continent.

However, Yellen states, as acute needs are tackled now, entities must also take a longer view and scale up investment in long-term food system resilience, as climate change is afoot.

She points out that storms, floods and droughts in Africa have increased in severity and frequency, hurting agricultural yields as a result. Yellen says farmers are often the first witnesses of the changing climate and its consequences.

To this end, the US government recognises the need for Africa to take urgent action to adapt their agricultural practices and technology to be more climate-resilient. The US is advancing climate adaptation efforts through its latest $155-million contribution to the Global Agriculture and Food Security Programme.

To address food security in the longer term, Yellen also deems it necessary for Africa to develop its infrastructure and logistics capabilities. In this regard, the G7 Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment will mobilise hundreds of billions of dollars over the next five years into a range of global infrastructure investments.

Yellen emphasises the importance of partnerships to solve the continent’s challenges, and says the US Treasury remains committed to assisting in this regard.