New evidence in the relationship between trade openness and food security in Sub-Saharan Africa

Abstract

Background

Since 2015, food insecurity has been a more serious threat than the previous years with a record high observed from the year 2020 onwards, especially in developing countries. This record could be due to response measures, notably the closure of borders due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This implies that trade openness have played an important role in achieving food security in the world. However, the debate on the effect of trade openness on food security remains no consensus in the economic literature. It is in this context that this paper aims to re-examine the effect of trade openness on food security in sub-Saharan African countries.

Methods

Panel data covering 37 Sub-Saharan African countries over the period from 2004 to 2018 were mobilized. We use a dynamic empirical model based on the system Generalized Method of Moment (GMM) to control the unobserved heterogeneity and potential endogeneity of the explanatory variables. As food security is a multidimensional concept, we used four indicators (“average dietary energy supply adequacy”, “average protein supply”, “per capita food supply variability”, and “share of dietary energy supply”) to capture food security. To improve the robustness of the empirical effect of openness on food security, we also used globalization as an alternative factor to trade openness.

Results

The empirical results show that trade openness significantly improves food security in 37 Sub-Saharan African countries. However, in the presence of political instability, a deterioration of the food security situation is observed. The results reveal also that the quality of institutions, economic growth, remittances, human capital, and the importance of the agricultural sector are also factors favouring the level of food security in sub-Saharan Africa countries.

Conclusion

Any policy aimed at trade openness must consider the quality of institutions to achieve the expected results.