Land degradation and food security nexus in Sub Saharan Africa

Abstract

Introduction: This article explores the relationship between land degradation and food security in Sub-Saharan African countries, shedding light on the critical issues faced in the region. Land degradation, caused by factors such as poor rainfall, deforestation, erosion, and other major causes, significantly impacts the fertility of the soil, leading to food security challenges. Understanding the impact of desertification, poor rainfall, drought, and extreme climate change in Africa is crucial to addressing food security problems in the region. Method: The study utilizes data from the World Development Indicators and employs instrumental variable estimation (IV), panel OLS and pooled OLS methods to analyze the relationship between food production (as a proxy for food security) and various independent variables, including arable land area, fertilizer consumption, agricultural irrigated land area, and average precipitation depth. Results: The findings reveal three different types of regression analyses. The first analysis was to Instrumental variable estimation (IV). When we used rainfall and GHG as an instrument for land productivity, proxy land degradation, we found that land productivity and cereal yields increases food productions, proxy food security. The second analysis, a random-effects Generalizing least square regression, indicates that fertilizer consumption and average precipitation depth are significant predictors of food production. However, arable land area and agricultural irrigated land area do not significantly impact food production. Interestingly, agricultural irrigated land shows a positive effect on food security in Sub-Saharan African countries, while arable land (as a proxy for land degradation) has a negative impact on food security in the region. The third analysis, a multiple linear regression, supports the results of the Generalizing least square regression, demonstrating that fertilizer consumption and average precipitation depth are significant predictors of food production. However, arable land area do not significantly influence food production. Remarkably, agricultural irrigated land is found to be a positive predictor of food production and serves as a proxy for food security. Discussion: In conclusion, this study highlights the detrimental impact of land degradation on food security in Sub-Saharan African countries. It emphasizes the significance of factors such as fertilizer consumption, land productivity-proxy land degradation, cereal yields, Greenhouse gas emission, average precipitation depth, and the role of agricultural irrigated land in addressing food security challenges in the region.