Food security effects of agricultural land expansion in Sub-Saharan Africa

Sub-Saharan Africa remains one of the major strongholds of food insecurity in the world, despite the fact that, the region hosts two-third of the world’s uncultivated arable land. This study examines the role played by the recent increase in agricultural land in improving the region’s food security situation. We employed the Generalised Method of Moment in system to study the association between the expansion of agricultural land and two the accessibility and utilisation dimensions of food security. The results survive a battery of robustness checks, providing robust evidence supporting the claim that agricultural land expansion improves food security by reducing the undernourishment prevalence and improving access to water source. Nevertheless, the advantages of increased food security resulting from the conversion of forests and other natural habitats into agricultural land must be assessed against the substantial environmental expenses, including heightened carbon emissions, reduced ecosystem services and biodiversity, risk of disease, and impacts on local living standards and livelihoods.