IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/envsyd/v38y2018i1d10.1007_s10669-017-9652-7.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food security in Africa: a cross-scale, empirical investigation using structural equation modeling

Author

Listed:
  • Riva C. H. Denny

    (Michigan State University)

  • Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt

    (Michigan State University)

  • Arika Ligmann-Zielinska

    (Michigan State University)

  • Laura Schmitt Olabisi

    (Michigan State University)

  • Louie Rivers

    (North Carolina State University)

  • Jing Du

    (Texas A&M University)

  • Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie

    (Michigan State University)

Abstract

Despite consistent gains in global agricultural productivity in the last 50 years, lack of food security persists in many regions of the world. Addressing this issue is especially pertinent in Africa where 39 of the nearly five dozen nations most at risk of food insecurity are located. We draw from interdisciplinary research to develop an empirical model that outlines the four interconnected aspects of food security—availability, access, utilization and stability. Given the complexity of this issue, we develop a model that considers agricultural, socio-political, and economic factors as drivers of food security and its manifestations, related in a complex system of relations that includes both direct and indirect paths. We use structural equation modeling with latent variables to specify a model that seeks to determine the primary drivers of food security over 55 years in Africa, West Africa as a region, and for a group of 5 West African countries: Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mali, Niger, and Nigeria. Empirical results reveal the critical importance of availability and accessibility for mitigating food insecurity.

Suggested Citation

  • Riva C. H. Denny & Sandra T. Marquart-Pyatt & Arika Ligmann-Zielinska & Laura Schmitt Olabisi & Louie Rivers & Jing Du & Lenis Saweda O. Liverpool-Tasie, 2018. "Food security in Africa: a cross-scale, empirical investigation using structural equation modeling," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 6-22, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:38:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10669-017-9652-7
    DOI: 10.1007/s10669-017-9652-7
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s10669-017-9652-7
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s10669-017-9652-7?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Robert L. Paarlberg, 1999. "Politics and Food Insecurity in Africa," Review of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 21(2), pages 499-511.
    2. Kostas Stamoulis & Alberto Zezza, 2003. "A Conceptual Framework for National Agricultural, Rural Development, and Food Security Strategies and Policies," Working Papers 03-17, Agricultural and Development Economics Division of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO - ESA).
    3. W. W. Rostow, 1959. "The Stages Of Economic Growth," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 12(1), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Food and Agriculture Organization, 2015. "The State of Food Insecurity in the World Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets: Taking Stock of Uneven Progress," Working Papers id:7595, eSocialSciences.
    5. Bhattacharya, Jayanta & Currie, Janet & Haider, Steven, 2004. "Poverty, food insecurity, and nutritional outcomes in children and adults," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 839-862, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Galeana-Pizaña, J. Mauricio & Couturier, Stéphane & Figueroa, Daniela & Jiménez, Aldo Daniel, 2021. "Is rural food security primarily associated with smallholder agriculture or with commercial agriculture?: An approach to the case of Mexico using structural equation modeling," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 190(C).
    2. Fitsum Assefa Adela & Joachim Aurbacher & Gumataw Kifle Abebe, 2019. "Small-scale irrigation scheme governance - poverty nexus: evidence from Ethiopia," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 11(4), pages 897-913, August.
    3. Arika Ligmann-Zielinska & Louie Rivers, 2018. "A holistic vision for food security research," Environment Systems and Decisions, Springer, vol. 38(1), pages 3-5, March.
    4. Wilna Oldewage-Theron & Abdulkadir A. Egal, 2021. "Is food insecurity a problem among the elderly in Sharpeville, South Africa?," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(1), pages 71-81, February.
    5. Giulio Fusco, 2022. "Climate Change and Food Security in the Northern and Eastern African Regions: A Panel Data Analysis," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-10, October.
    6. Sankhulani, Linda, 2021. "Impact evaluation of conservation agriculture on smallholder farmers’ livelihood in Zambia and Tanzania," Research Theses 334762, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    2. Leonardo Monasterio, 2011. "The Regional Inequality Frontier: Brazil (1872-2000)," ERSA conference papers ersa10p353, European Regional Science Association.
    3. Bin Amin, Sakib & Taghizadeh-Hesary, Farhad & Khan, Farhan & Manal Rahman, Faria, 2024. "Does technology have a lead or lag role in economic growth? The case of selected resource-rich and resource-scarce countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C).
    4. Čermák, Michal & Ligocká, Marie, 2022. "Could Exist a Causality Between the Most Traded Commodities and Futures Commodity Prices in the Agricultural Market?," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 14(4), December.
    5. Ibrahim Alshomaly & Walid Shawaqfeh, 2020. "The Effect of Export Diversification on the Economic Growth of West-Asian Arab Countries," Journal of Social Sciences (COES&RJ-JSS), , vol. 9(2), pages 429-450, April.
    6. Vu, Trung V., 2020. "Economic complexity and health outcomes: A global perspective," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 265(C).
    7. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider, 2008. "Food Stamps and Food Insecurity: What Can Be Learned in the Presence of Nonclassical Measurement Error?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(2), pages 352-382.
    8. Nour Mohamad Fayad, 2024. "The Causality Between Corruption and Economic Growth in MENA Countries: A Dynamic Panel-Data Analysis," International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, International Journal of Finance, Insurance and Risk Management, vol. 14(1), pages 28-49.
    9. Seo-Hee Park & Byung-Jin Park & Dong-Hyuk Jung & Yu-Jin Kwon, 2019. "Association between Household Food Insecurity and Asthma in Korean Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-11, June.
    10. Achuo, Elvis & Nchofoung, Tii & Asongu, Simplice & Dinga, Gildas, 2021. "Unravelling the Mysteries of Underdevelopment in Africa," MPRA Paper 111556, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    11. Ranney, Christine K. & Gomez, Miguel I., 2010. "Food Stamps, Food Insufficiency and Health of the Elderly," Working Papers 126968, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    12. Syed, Qasim Raza & Durani, Farah & Kisswani, Khalid M. & Alola, Andrew Adewale & Siddiqui, Aaliyah & Anwar, Ahsan, 2024. "Testing natural resource curse hypothesis amidst geopolitical risk: Global evidence using novel Fourier augmented ARDL approach," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C).
    13. Richard Mbunda, 2016. "The Developmental State and Food Sovereignty in Tanzania," Agrarian South: Journal of Political Economy, Centre for Agrarian Research and Education for South, vol. 5(2-3), pages 265-291, August.
    14. Jolejole-Foreman, Maria Christina & Olofin, Ibironke & Fawzi, Wafaie & Fink, Gunther, 2016. "Associations between Food Scarcity during Pregnancy and Children’s Survival and Linear Growth in Zambia," 2016 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Boston, Massachusetts 235111, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    15. Ansari, S. A. & Khan, W., 2018. "Relevance of Declining Agriculture in Economic Development of South Asian Countries: An Empirical Analysis," AGRIS on-line Papers in Economics and Informatics, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Faculty of Economics and Management, vol. 10(2).
    16. Hiep Ngoc Luu & Tram-Anh Nguyen & Dung Thi Thuy Nguyen & Lan Thi Mai Nguyen & Edie Johari, 2024. "Shareholder Litigation Rights and Bank Dividends," Journal of Financial Services Research, Springer;Western Finance Association, vol. 66(3), pages 263-295, December.
    17. B. Venkatraja, 2022. "Does Foreign Direct Investment Reduce Carbon Emission? Evidence from the Panel of BRICS Countries," Economic Thought journal, Bulgarian Academy of Sciences - Economic Research Institute, issue 4, pages 429-451.
    18. Colleen Heflin & Michah W. Rothbart & Mattie Mackenzie-Liu, 2022. "Below the Tip of the Iceberg: Examining Early Childhood Participation in SNAP and TANF from Birth to Age Six," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 729-755, April.
    19. Abiodun F. Okunlola & Adewale R. Aregbeshola, 2023. "Re-Engineering Financial Resources through Development Finance in Africa: A Review of the Literature," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-19, December.
    20. Tricia Glazebrook & Emmanuela Opoku, 2020. "Gender and Sustainability: Learning from Women’s Farming in Africa," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(24), pages 1-20, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:envsyd:v:38:y:2018:i:1:d:10.1007_s10669-017-9652-7. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.