Exploring the Relationship between Energy and Food Security in Africa with Instrumental Variables Analysis

Abstract

The well-being of human populations and their sustainable development are strongly predicated on energy and food security. This is even more true of Africa due to often suboptimal food production, undernourishment, and extreme poverty. This article researches the relationship between energy and food security using Cobb–Douglas production functions based on the World Development Indicators data for 28 African countries. The methodological approach includes cross-sectional dependence and unit root tests, instrumental variables two-stage least-squares and generalized method of moments, and panel Driscoll–Kraay standard errors. Results suggest that the promotion of energy security promotes food security. This is possible because food production and distribution are energy-intensive. Therefore, energy is fundamental to achieving food security and zero hunger. The availability, affordability, accessibility, and acceptability of energy can thus help to fix the growing agricultural production shortage in Africa. An important policy focus should be on achieving energy security.

Does energy poverty increases starvation? Evidence from sub-Saharan Africa

“…Given these statistics, it appears that most of the work done so far on the link between energy and food security has focused on the microlevel (Ahlborg and Sjöstedt 2015 ; Islam et al 2017 ; Kirubi et al 2009 ; Mushtaq et al 2009 ). The present study goes beyond the previous studies by adopting a macroeconomic perspective in line with previous authors such as Sola et al ( 2016 ), Nkiaka et al ( 2021 ), Candelise et al ( 2021 ), and Zakari et al ( 2022 ). In addition, several theories have been developed to show the link between energy and food security.…”

“…Nkiaka et al ( 2021 ) through spatial analysis found that energy security improves food security. Using Cobb–Douglas production functions based on the World Development Indicator data for 28 African countries, Zakari et al ( 2022 ) find that promoting energy security promotes food security. This is possible because food production and distribution are energy-intensive activities.…”

“…Given the proven importance of energy to people, some countries have made huge progress in terms of access to electricity for their populations. But others are still lagging behind, such as South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, with rates of 94.39% and 46.74% respectively, while Latin America and the Caribbean, East Asia and the Pacific, and the Middle East and North Africa show figures of 97.23%, 98.12%, and 98.42% access to electricity (IEA et al 2020;World-Bank 2022). Given these statistics, it appears that most of the work done so far on the link between energy and food security has focused on the microlevel (Ahlborg and Sjöstedt 2015;Islam et al 2017;Kirubi et al 2009;Mushtaq et al 2009).…”

Invisible among the vulnerable: a nuanced perspective of energy poverty at the intersection of gender and disability in South Africa

“…The report specifically showed that this group is more likely to be unsatisfied in life, food insecure, and have limited opportunities for skill development. However, other studies have also observed these factors (life satisfaction and food insecurity) to influence energy poverty (Bielski et al, 2021;Churchill et al, 2021;Lin and Okyere, 2022a;Zakari et al, 2022). Therefore, we expect them to indirectly explain how the intersection between females and disabilities affects energy poverty.…”

“…It is not surprising that recent studies have observed energy poverty and food insecurity to interact. Using data on Africa, Zakari et al (2022) found food insecurity positively associated with energy poverty. In Poland, food insecurity has been noted to be an obstacle to achieving energy security (Bielski et al, 2021).…”