Analyzing the impact of donor aid on food security in West Africa

Abstract

Despite the abundance of agricultural donor aid to the less-developed nations, especially in West African countries, little is known regarding its role in enhancing food security. This study argues that the flow of donor aid on the food security would have a sustainable impact since it has a multiplier effect on addressing the recipient countries food insecurity challenges. Therefore, by filling this gap, the research aims to analyze the impact of agricultural donor aid and food on food security in 16 West African countries between 2009-2018. The study adopted quantitative cross-country panel data and utilized the Two-Stage Least Square Regression model (2SLS) to examine to what extent donor aid has impacted food security selected indicators in the sub-region. This method was adopted to address the endogeneity problems in this research model specification, where it is assumed that there is a reverse causality between donor aid and food insecurity indicators. The findings concluded that agricultural aid impacts food accessibility and utilization, while food aid impacts stability in West Africa. From the result, the study recommends that government and donor partners need to increase investment in agricultural value-added through agricultural modernization and innovation, and also climate change mitigation measures to improve domestic food production in West Africa.