By Kester Kenn Klomegah*
MOSCOW | 14 July 2025 [IDN] — As global geopolitical dynamics evolve, Africa is anticipated to adapt accordingly. It has gone far, particularly with Russia, opening new directions in bilateral economic cooperation after their joint historic summits. It is also time to make critical appraisals of Russia’s policy towards Africa. By 2026, Russia’s strategic plan to ensure and support food security may fade away from its policy mainstream.
The first and second summits witnessed agreements and declarations signed to resounding applause, with a resolute commitment to increasing food and agricultural products, including grains and chicken meat, across Africa. There was also an underlying promise to ferry an unspecified huge amount of fertilisers to Africa.
African leaders expressed excitement at the announcement of this partnership with the Russian Federation. But now these aspects of Russian-African collaboration on food security would likely change, primarily due to Africa adopting an import substitution policy and redirecting focus on radical measures to improve domestic agricultural production.
On 13 May, the Intergovernmental Commission for Trade and Economic Cooperation, during the meeting in St. Petersburg, Economic Development Minister Maxim Reshetnikov, who co-chaired the meeting with Planning and Investment Minister Kitila Mkumbo, noted Tanzania’s geographical location as a single window for Russian products entering the East African market.
More than 40 Russian companies are currently interested in exporting animal products, and a few others to Tanzania and the East African region. The participants emphasised that the country could be a conduit and entry-gate through which to reach the East African region with Russia’s agricultural exports, and that would generate an estimated US$15 billion in revenue for the Russian government.
What is important, and the most interesting fact here, is that the Tanzanian economy is heavily based on agriculture. It has a vast arable land for farming. But the Tanzanian, like many other African leaders, are readily addicted to spending a huge budget importing goods that they can produce locally.
According to the Economic Development Minister, Maxim Reshetnikov, many potential state buyers expressed interest in such imports and reiterated Russia’s preparedness to ensure food security.
In a similar direction, earlier on, as reported by Interfax Information Agency, the Agroexport Centre of the Ministry of Agriculture listed 25 African countries. In an interview, Russian Union of Grain Exporters and Producers Chairman, Dmitry Sergeyev, at the 4th Russian Grain Forum in Sochi, emphasised that the potential export destinations for Russian grain crops in the current season included Algeria, Kenya, Nigeria, Libya, Morocco, Tunisia, Tanzania and Sudan in Africa. In recent seasons, shipments to Algeria, Israel, Kenya, China, Libya and Morocco have increased manifold or even by an order of magnitude. The first shipments were made to Djibouti, Gambia, the Central African Republic, and Eritrea.
Russia functions as a reliable wheat supplier to countries throughout Africa
“Russia is a reliable exporter of wheat to countries in Africa. We currently occupy a third of the entire African wheat market, exporting to 40 African countries overall. The most notable success of recent years was the sharp increase or start of exports to Algeria, Libya, Kenya, Morocco, Tunisia, and Tanzania,” Dmitry Sergeyev told Interfax News Agency.
The African grain market held many prospects in light of fast population growth, the growing middle class and increasing purchasing power. However, it would be a mistake to refer to Africa as a monolith, as it has five sub-regions, which differ significantly from each other. Therefore, Russia is developing its relationship with different African countries in various ways.
“On the other hand, there are some other countries in central and southern parts of the continent, which often lack sufficient infrastructure and are logistically hard to reach — we have to interact with them via international traders. Increasing grain exports to Africa requires a comprehensive approach encompassing logistics, storage and processing. We are already taking certain steps in this direction,” explained Dmitry Sergeyev.
Given its keenness not only in supplying but also in increasing agricultural products and fertilisers, Russia’s ultimate aim was to raise revenue from these importing African countries. These African countries are blessed with vast expanses of fertile land, and their human resources are enormous; they just need support and encouragement from government institutions and agencies. Local African agriculturists have complained bitterly of a gross lack of state support, and yet governments allocated huge part of the national budget to import goods and services that could be made and obtained at home.
African leaders, by sacrificing local production and under-utilising available resources, are solidarising their interests. Russia consistently challenges American and European hegemony and has asked Africa to transact deals using its local currencies. Resultantly, Africa has to abandon the importance of the American dollar, and still pursue corporate agreements to review and possibly extend AGOA for the next ten years. In 2024, financial remittances amounted to US$58 billion from the United States to Africa.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin and Russian companies rarely announce financial figures for investment in various sectors. The stark reality is that Russia, at best and based on its rising ‘soft power’ and political influence, could further balance strategic powers by building comprehensive investment partnerships in Africa.
Praise for Kremlin and warning of Africa’s dependence
Local Russian media reported a series of Russia’s exports to Africa, praising the Kremlin’s efforts to feed Africa, but further warned against Africa’s growing dependence on imports. Policy experts have set more alternative tones at both Russia-Africa summits and several similar conferences, instead focusing on stronger agricultural initiatives inside Africa. Generally, the proposed suggestion was to push for greater collaboration on Africa’s greater self-reliance on domestic agricultural production. These have, since then, remained a top-scale challenge featuring in Russia-Africa economic cooperation.
As PhosAgro’s First Deputy CEO, Siroj Loikov, noted during the briefing in early July 2025, PhosAgro not only continues to strengthen its position as the leader in terms of total supply of all mineral fertilisers to the priority Russian market, but also remains a key supplier of phosphate-based fertilisers to the countries of the Global South, including African countries. Over the past decade, PhosAgro’s exports have nearly doubled and achieved 8.6 million tonnes in 2024.
Today, Africa is a key focus for the Company’s international growth strategy. PhosAgro supplies its products to 21 African countries. The top five African importers of the Company’s agrochemical products include South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire, Ethiopia, Morocco, and Mozambique. With its extensive product line, PhosAgro is well-positioned to address the specific needs of African regions, offering customers the best solutions while also making a significant contribution to the continent’s food security.
Over the next five years, PhosAgro expects to double deliveries to the continent. There were some praises, but on the other side, significant concerns over the extremely high cost of logistics and the resultant effects on prices for importing African governments.
In addition, leading agronomy researchers and practitioners say Russian chemical fertilisers and their agrochemistry are not compatible with the local soil conditions. Therefore, the practical solution would be to settle for suitable alternatives. It would be in line to adopt import substitution, to largely cut importation costs and preserve the environment. Moreover, local production invariably creates some employment for the youth.
Way to ‘heaven’ through self-reliance
Speaking at the 32nd Afreximbank Annual Meeting, Entrepreneur Aliko Dangote believes Africa could be a ‘Heaven’ within five years (until 2030)—if Africans think boldly and act with purpose. His position was that Africans can shape their future, urging leaders to prioritise long-term development over reliance on foreign industrial sources.
Dangote has already exemplified this ‘local self-reliance’ through his US$20 billion refinery in Lagos—the largest single-train facility in the world—which is already reshaping Africa’s energy landscape and challenging Europe’s US$17 billion gasoline export market. Furthermore, Dangote plans to generate US$30 billion in revenue next year and become the top global urea exporter, bringing his vision of African industrial might closer to reality.
Reports indicated that Nigeria’s first-class entrepreneur, Aliko Dangote, would establish under a significant agreement to engage in large-scale production of fertiliser for Eastern Africa—the estimated US$3 billion aims at stabilising supply and enhancing agricultural productivity. Ethiopia and neighbouring countries have faced shortages and, worse, have spent much importing from abroad. The shortages have also worsened due to foreign currency constraints, logistical delays and geopolitical instability.
Located near the Ethiopia-Djibouti logistics corridor, the Dangote Fertiliser, the largest granulated urea fertiliser complex in Africa, has played a vital role in reducing Nigeria’s reliance on imported fertilisers and supporting the country’s agricultural sector. The expansion is interpreted as part of measures to solidify Dangote Fertiliser’s presence in the African fertiliser market, ensuring regular supply, and supporting regional agricultural growth.
Several policy experts have, over the past few years, suggested to African leaders and their governments to drastically halt the importation of agricultural items that can be produced locally, and redirect funds to support local farmers. The most prominent reasons are obviously to increase regional productivity, create employment, and address multiple obstacles confronting African agricultural production.
Recently, the Boards of Directors of the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) and the African Development Bank have advised African leaders to halt imports and announced financial allocations for the African agricultural sector. Shareholders in both banks have also been advised to accelerate efforts in boosting intra-African agriculture.
Afreximbank is supporting
Under an agreement, Afreximbank is financing the construction works related to the fertiliser plant based in Soyo, Angola. This transformative US$2 billion fertiliser plant project reflects the commitment of OPAIA Group to the Southern African country’s industrial and agricultural development, in partnership with globally renowned technical companies, such as KBR, TOYO Engineering Corporation, WeDO, and Wuhan Engineering Company.
Speaking at the signing ceremony on behalf of the President of the Bank, Ms. Oluranti Doherty, Managing Director, Export Development at Afreximbank said: “Afreximbank is pleased to lead the mobilisation of capital for this project, recognising the importance of Amufert SA’s ammonia and urea production plant to regional and national food sovereignty, via the localisation of fertiliser production in Angola. When commissioned, the fertiliser plant will facilitate higher agriculture yields, higher production, and an increase in export volumes of agricultural products from Angola.”
Agostinho Kapaia, Chairman of OPAIA Group, said: “This project represents much more than the construction of a factory. It is a key element in the economic development of Angola and Africa, a driving force for the growth of industry and a concrete solution to the urgent need to increase agricultural production and guarantee food security for future generations.”
With a production capacity of 4,000 metric tons per day, the Amufert S.A. plant is expected to revolutionise Angola’s agricultural sector, significantly reducing the country’s reliance on imported fertilisers. The project will generate significant benefits, including the creation of 4,700 jobs — 3,500 during the construction phase and 1,200 permanent positions once completed. It will also contribute to Angola’s economic diversification by leveraging natural gas resources, thereby reducing reliance on oil revenues.
Additionally, the initiative will support farmers by ensuring a consistent supply of affordable, high-quality fertilisers, boosting agricultural productivity and enhancing food security. This will not only enhance Angola’s agricultural resilience but also position the country as a leader in fertiliser production across Africa. Surplus production will enable Angola to become a key fertiliser exporter within Africa, fostering regional economic integration and promoting intra-African trade.
In this changing era, Africa particularly needs to heighten its focus on domestic issues primarily related to food security, creating employment and steps toward attaining economic sovereignty after several years of the so-called political independence.
Nonetheless, the expectations are that Africa’s leadership ambitions and maximising agricultural production should be treated as an inseparable condition of the current geopolitical era. Africa is expected to showcase its economic sovereignty, highlight technological advancements in the sector, and share this progress by creating value-added exportable agricultural products with the rest of the world.
In a short, the challenges of Russia’s increased agricultural exports remain high. At the same time, the focus on investment in local production in Africa may ultimately have to be reviewed taking into serious consideration import substitution measures being adopted by African States. For championing environmental urgency and import substitution policy, Africa is obligated to lead a bold policy shift, not for geopolitical solidarity but for attaining its full-fledged economic sovereignty.
*Kester Kenn Klomegah has a diverse work experience in the field of policy research and business consultancy. His focused interest includes geopolitical changes, foreign relations and economic development related questions in Africa with key global powers. [InDepthNews]
Image: Russia’s Stavropol region supplied poultry meat to Liberia. June 2025. Source: Local Russian media
