Summary

US President Donald Trump speaks to reporters after stepping off Air Force One upon returning to Joint Base Andrews in Maryland on July 19, 2026. Trump is returning to the White House from New Jersey, where he attended the 2026 World Cup Final. (Photo by Mandel NGAN / AFP) … Says fertilizer shortage, higher fuel cost to hit sub-Saharan Africa By Nkiruka Nnorom The United States has warned that Iran’s disruption of shipping in the Strait of Hormuz will worsen food insecurity in Nigeria and other parts of sub-Saharan Africa due to fertilizer shortages and rising energy costs. Speaking at a UN Security Council Open Debate on Food Insecurity in New York, Amb. Jennifer Locetta, Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs, US Mission to United Nations, said the Iranian regime’s attacks in the Strait were obstructing nearly one-quarter of global oil trade and roughly one-third of the global fertilizer trade. “We are outraged that the Iranian regime continues its egregious and unconscionable efforts to disrupt freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” Locetta said. The US envoy said the fertilizers being blocked from passing through the Strait were necessary for food production in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and parts of Southeast Asia. A significant portion of global urea and other nitrogen-based fertilizers moves through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway linking the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. The Strait handles about 20 percent of the world’s oil and nearly 33 percent of global fertilizer shipments. “The projected loss in agricultural outputs in the coming months mean less food, higher prices, and more hunger in places like Sudan, Nigeria, and the DRC,” she said. Locetta noted that increased fuel costs from the blockade were already hurting humanitarian operations. She noted that the proce hikes in conflict zones like Syria and Gaza “threatens the precarious food security gains made by humanitarian actors and the communities they serve.” The World Food Programme now projects an additional 45 million people will suffer from acute food insecurity globally as a result of the crisis, she recalled. Citing data from the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, Locetta said more than 16 million people in the DRC need food assistance, with armed groups blocking humanitarian routes and an Ebola outbreak threatening millions more. In Sudan, she said, parties to the conflict have reportedly used food access and availability as a war tactic, and called for rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access throughout Sudan. The ambassador added that natural phenomena like El Niño also risked pushing tens of millions into acute hunger. Locetta said the US remained committed to feeding the hungry under UN Resolution 2417, adopted in 2018. She announced that Washington had recently committed more than $1 billion in assistance to UNICEF and WFP to address global humanitarian, nutrition, and food security needs. The US is also “actively pursuing options to respond to fertilizer shortages.” “The United States will not abandon the needy or leave them to suffer hunger, whether the result of conflicts or natural disasters,” she said. The US remarks at the UN Security Council came amid growing concerns that the Iran-Israel tensions and attacks on shipping in the Middle East could extend the global food crisis into 2027, with sub-Saharan Africa among the worst hit regions. Nigeria’s agriculture sector, for instance, depends heavily on imported fertilizers, with an estimated 70 percent of the country’s fertilizer and other key farm inputs sourced from outside. The country has been battling rising food prices, driven by insecurity in farming communities, high transport costs, flooding, and the removal of fuel subsidy in 2023. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, food inflation stood at 22.22 percent in July 2026. The UN’s Cadre Harmonisé report also projected that over 31 million Nigerians could face acute food insecurity between June and August 2026 if urgent action is not taken. The World Food Programme and FAO have repeatedly warned that fertilizer shortages and high diesel costs were already forcing many Nigerian smallholder farmers to reduce planting or switch to less input-intensive crops, threatening output in the 2026/2027 farming season. Disclaimer Comments expressed here do not reflect the opinions of Vanguard newspapers or any employee thereof.