Farmers in Africa will need as much as $65-billion in loans annually to produce enough food to curb imports and cushion their economies from external shocks. The continent imports over 100-million metric tons of cereals at an annual cost of $75-billion, the African Development Bank said in a statement. Recent spikes in inflation, including increases in food prices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, further demonstrate Africa’s over-reliance on imports of food staples and agricultural inputs, it said.