A commentary published by AllAfrica warns that the war in Iran, which began on 28 February 2026, is triggering a compounding global food crisis, with the most severe consequences expected to fall on Africa. The conflict has disrupted the Strait of Hormuz — through which roughly 20% of the world's traded oil passes — driving urea fertilizer prices up more than 40% since late February and prompting the world's largest urea producer, Qatar's state-run plant, to curtail output. The crisis compounds existing damage from the Russia-Ukraine war, which had already cut off a corridor supplying around 30% of Africa's grain imports and 50% of its fertilizer imports, and analysts warn that Africa's chronic underinvestment in domestic food production and near-total dependence on imported inputs leaves the continent dangerously exposed to successive geopolitical shocks.