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Bloomberg: Putin’s communications bombardment on Africa’s food crisis raises alarm in Europe

European governments have been alarmed by a Russian disinformation campaign trying to deflect criticism that President Vladimir Putin’s war with Ukraine risks leaving millions of people in Africa facing starvation, Bloomberg reports.

Russian diplomats have attacked the media in recent months to push the narrative that sanctions, not Russian blockades, are causing grain and fertilizer shortages in Africa. The PR offensive shows how the months-long war in Ukraine is turning into a global propaganda battle as food, fuel and nutrient prices skyrocket.

EU and UK officials who recently met with their African counterparts at meetings in New York and Rwanda expressed concern that the Russian message is gaining ground, said senior European diplomats who asked not to be named. In response, European governments are increasing their engagement with leaders on the continent and stepping up their own information campaigns to counter the Russian narrative, diplomats said.

A senior European intelligence officer said the Kremlin had engineered the debate as a means to get sanctions lifted and intended to use the threat of world hunger as a bargaining chip in any future peace talks. Moscow has focused much of its influence operations on Africa and the Middle East, the official said.

The US and EU have not imposed sanctions on Russian agricultural products and say there is no link between sanctions against Moscow and grain or fertilizer exports from Russia or Ukraine.

That has not stopped officials in Russian embassies across Africa from placing blame for the crisis on the West. Recent examples include Russia’s ambassador to Djibouti posting a graphic on Twitter accusing the EU of lying about gas and food shortages, while a Russian diplomat in South Africa wrote an editorial in the Mail & Guardian newspaper titled “The Russian embassy rejects the accusation of “causing world famine” spread by Western propaganda.

Online conspiracy communities in South Africa have also been targeted, he said.

The head of the United Nations World Food Programme, David Beasley, said Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports was a “declaration of war” on global food security, with 49 million people in 43 countries facing starvation.

“Since the war in Ukraine began, the price of food and fuel has risen dramatically in countries around the world,” he said on June 24. “Now, millions of people may starve.”

Global food prices surged to a record high after Russia’s February 24 invasion disrupted grain and vegetable oil exports through Ukraine’s Black Sea ports, adding to cost pressures from logistics disruptions and a rebound in consumer demand. after the coronavirus pandemic. This has exacerbated the hunger crisis affecting countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

While Ukraine and the US and its European allies blame Russia for blocking exports and Moscow points the finger at Kyiv, UN-sponsored talks have so far failed to reach a compromise on resuming deliveries.

Before the war, Russia and Ukraine accounted for three-quarters of the world’s sunflower oil exports, about 30 percent of wheat and 15 percent of corn, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Grain shortages have driven prices higher, with global benchmarks for wheat and corn up 22% and 12% respectively this year.

“The crisis is caused by Russia. Without this invasion we would not be in the situation we are in,” said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist of the South African Chamber of Agribusiness. “The price shock is inevitable and this is directly related to the war.”

Food costs account for 40% of consumer spending in sub-Saharan Africa, compared to 17% in advanced economies.

In 2020, Africa imported $4 billion worth of agricultural products from Russia, 90% of which was wheat, while $2.9 billion worth of wheat, corn, sunflower, barley and soybeans came from Ukraine, according to Sihlobo . FAO data shows that Eritrea and Somalia were almost entirely dependent on Russia and Ukraine for wheat supplies last year, while Tanzania, Namibia and Madagascar relied on them for more than 60% of supplies.

Russian and Ukrainian harvests and exports have soared over the past decade, and farmers in the region typically produce at lower costs than more traditional suppliers such as Canada and the US, which has helped keep wheat prices low. Their proximity to North Africa also reduces transportation costs compared to suppliers located further away.

Part of Russia’s propaganda effort has been to amplify statements by African officials that can be seen as supporting Russia’s argument. After African Union president Macky Sall met Putin for talks on June 3 in the resort town of Sochi, Sall said the sanctions had worsened the food crisis.

“The anti-Russian sanctions have worsened the situation and now we have no access to grain from Russia, especially wheat,” said Sall. “And, most importantly, we don’t have access to fertilizers. The situation was bad and now it has gotten worse, creating a threat to food security in Africa.”

Colonial legacy

Russia can capitalize on its historic role of supporting liberation movements in parts of Africa during wars and struggles against colonialism and white supremacy—support that helped the former Soviet Union undermine the U.S. and Europe as part of its Cold War strategy to gain influence in Africa. By contrast, the United Kingdom and France, as former colonial powers, still attract suspicion.

“What we’re seeing are narratives that focus very specifically on how the US is orchestrating this conflict with NATO in order to starve the planet,” Ayad said. “Colonialism must be taken into account with African disinformation. This is what the Kremlin is counting on: to invite Western states and not the Kremlin as an imperial power.”

The risk is “very high” that Putin will attempt to establish a narrative that the West is responsible for the famine threatening Africa, German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Andrea Strasse said on June 3. “This is a narrative we want to strongly resist,” she said.

French President Emmanuel Macron said last week at the Group of Seven leaders’ summit in the Bavarian Alps that he would announce measures in September to step up the “fight against disinformation”. In a press conference, he referred to Russia’s attempts to link the food crisis to sanctions as “fake news”.

The Russian propaganda campaign has gotten under the skin of Americans.

“The Russian government’s attempts to deflect responsibility for its actions by blaming others for the worsening crisis in the global food system are reprehensible,” the US State Department said in a June 22 statement titled “Lies to the World about Global food security”. “The Russian government should stop weaponizing food and allow Ukraine to safely send its grain so that millions of hungry people in the Middle East and Africa can be fed.”

Source: Capital

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