The African Development Bank (AfDB) has approved a new loan framework of up to $5.1bn (nearly R82bn) to mitigate the impact of the global energy and fertiliser crisis resulting from the war in the Middle East on countries across the continent.The Global Energy and Fertiliser Crisis Response Framework enables the bank to provide targeted support to address the immediate effects of the crisis and strengthen African states against future shocks. It will be financed through $4.1bn in AfDB lending and up to $960m from the African Development Fund, the bank’s concessional lending arm.“The ongoing crisis in the Middle East continues to pose a significant external shock to African economies, reflected in rising global prices for energy, food, fertilisers and other commodities on which many African countries remain heavily dependent and import massively,” the AfDB said in a statement.“Disruptions to global trade routes and logistics, including key maritime corridors, are compounding these pressures by increasing transport costs, delaying deliveries and amplifying supply chain fragility.”The facility is valid for a year, after which it will be reviewed for extension, the AfDB said, adding that it will be demand-driven, with support tailored to address specific vulnerability levels with an appropriate financial and policy response.Meanwhile, there appears no end in sight to the war between the US and Iran which broke out in late February.On Wednesday Iran said it had attacked 10 ships near the Strait of Hormuz ​— through which about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passes — after the US sank five Iranian oil tankers, in the biggest declared wave of tit-for-tat attacks on shipping by both sides since the start of the conflict, Reuters reported.The attacks in and around the vital ‌waterway sent the price of oil surging, with the international Brent crude benchmark breaching $100 a barrel for the first time since July. In South Africa, higher fertiliser and fuel costs due to the supply constraints caused by the war have been a headache for wheat farmers in the Western Cape, now compounded by their crop coming under strain because of drought, said Wandile Sihlobo, chief economist at the Agricultural Business Chamber of South Africa (Agbiz).“This has been a challenging time for the wheat farmers. Not only are they seeing a poor crop, but they also started the season with higher input costs due to the US-Iran war and lower commodity prices at the time of planting because of the plentiful global wheat supplies,” Sihlobo said on Wednesday.“For a typical wheat farmer, fertiliser accounts for about 35% of the input costs, with fuel accounting for around 13%. With these key inputs increasing sharply, farmers were under financial strain as the season began. Consequently, the farmers reduced the area they planted for wheat.”Annually, wheat plantings in South Africa are down 7% from the previous season, the decline being mainly in the Western Cape, which accounts for two-thirds of national area plantings.The AfDB’s loan framework will support the response to the pressures African farmers are facing as the conflict in the Middle East rages disrupts global trade and as the continent works to build stronger fertiliser markets and more local supply, vice-president for agriculture, human and social development Martin Fregene said.In May, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation’s director-general Qu Dongyu warned that the global fertiliser scarcity caused by disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz would lead to lower yields and tightening food supplies in the latter half of 2026 and into 2027. He said import-dependent countries in Africa, Asia and parts of the Middle East were among the most exposed, especially those already facing acute food insecurity, economic fragility or climate-related shocks. According to a brief published by the AfDB in April, about 80% of fertiliser used across Sub-Saharan Africa is imported, often at prices much higher than in Europe due to freight, financing and logistics. When global supply falters, Africa’s farmers often feel the economic shocks the most. Business Day