The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently announced plans to establish “grain hubs” in Kenya as well as other parts of Africa, in order to combat food insecurity in Africa.

President Zelensky spoke at the United Nations General Assembly September 19, where he accused Russia of weaponizing numerous commodities, including food and energy. While in New York, Zelensky met with Kenyan President William Ruto and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, according to BBC News.

In a statement regarding the meeting, Ruto said that the Ukrainian president was committed to establishing a “grain hub” in the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa, but the leaders did not provide any details on how the grain hub would be set up or how grain would be transported to Kenya.

During separate discussions between Zelensky and Ramaphosa, the Ukrainian President said the country was looking for alternative ways and routes to supply grain to Africa. Ukraine has been an increasingly important exporter of grain to Africa. About 6.26 million tons of Ukrainian wheat was exported to Africa in the 2021-22 marketing year (June-July), accounting for nearly 12pc of African wheat imports, according to Argus Media.

The plan for “grain hubs” comes after the Russian government announced July 17 that it was backing out of a wartime trade deal that allowed Ukraine to send grain exports to other countries in the Middle East, Africa and Asia via the Black Sea.

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was created to limit global food shortages caused by Russia’s war in Ukraine, has allowed over 32 million metric tons of grain to be transported to the rest of the world since the conflict began in 2022.