Deputy Majority Leader and Member of Parliament for Effutu, Alexander Kwamena Afenyo-Markin, has warned that the combined effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine could worsen food insecurity, deepen poverty and fuel instability across West Africa.
He made the remarks at the Crans Montana Forum in Geneva, Switzerland, where food security dominated discussions among global leaders and policymakers.
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Addressing the three-day international forum, Mr Afenyo-Markin cautioned that rising food prices could trigger “hunger riots” and heighten insecurity in several West African countries if urgent measures were not taken.
He noted that existing security challenges in the region, including insurgency, farmer-herder conflicts, banditry and kidnapping, had already compounded the food and nutrition crisis.
The Effutu MP, who also chairs the Agriculture Committee of the ECOWAS Parliament, said declining agricultural production and persistently high food prices would make it increasingly difficult for vulnerable households to access food unless governments strengthened support programmes.
Mr Afenyo-Markin acknowledged West Africa‘s position as one of Africa’s leading agricultural production regions but stressed that more needed to be done to improve resilience through sustainable land and water management, climate adaptation and support for farmers.
He cited Ghana’s School Feeding Programme and Planting for Food and Jobs initiative as examples of policies that could help reduce the impact of rising food prices and improve food security, urging the international community to collaborate with ECOWAS to replicate such interventions across the region.
The lawmaker also highlighted the ECOWAS Agricultural Policy (ECOWAP) as a key regional framework for improving agricultural productivity, promoting intra-regional trade and reducing poverty through sustainable food production.
He, however, warned that climate change, population growth, slowing agricultural output and political instability continued to pose significant threats to the region’s food security agenda.
The Crans Montana Forum brought together political leaders, policymakers, business executives and international organisations to discuss global political, economic and security challenges, with food security emerging as one of the key issues on this year’s agenda.
