Media reports Russia increasing Africa support with recent food exports

(MENAFN) Russia is increasing its humanitarian assistance to African nations with a new delivery of 709.5 tons of food aid to Burkina Faso scheduled for May, according to a report by Izvestia citing the Russian Foreign Ministry.

Additionally, Russian Agriculture Minister Oksana Lut confirmed that preparations are underway to send up to 20,000 tons of wheat to Niger, with more aid possible if further agreements are reached. Lut stressed that Russia’s domestic supplies can meet ongoing international humanitarian needs, and such aid decisions are made at the presidential level, depending on coordination between respective national leaders.

The Foreign Ministry also highlighted recent aid deliveries, including 559 tons of peas and 164 tons of sunflower oil to Zimbabwe in December 2024, and 29,400 tons of diesel fuel to the Central African Republic in January 2025. In January, over 1,600 tons of grain were also delivered to Ethiopia, and 65 tons of wheat were sent to Mali via Guinea’s port of Conakry in December.

Vsevolod Sviridov, deputy director at the Higher School of Economics’ Center for African Studies, noted that African nations have the potential to become less dependent on aid over time. He suggested Russia could help by offering agricultural technologies, such as drones, fertilizers, and region-specific seeds, rather than relying solely on traditional food shipments.

Earlier this year, Agriculture Minister Dmitry Patrushev reported to President Vladimir Putin that Russia had completed the delivery of 200,000 tons of wheat to six low-income African nations—marking the country’s largest humanitarian food relief effort to date.

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