Abstract
The Horn of Africa is the most food insecure region in the world. More than 40 percent of the population in the region is malnourished. This study aims to examine the effects of climate change on food insecurity using panel data from the Horn of Africa. The GMM estimator of the dynamic panel model was used to analyze the impact of climate change. The study findings show that food insecurity in the Horn of Africa is adversely affected by temperature. Keeping all other inputs constant, an increasing the mean temperature and carbon dioxide emissions by 1percent results in an increase in food insecurity of 0.357 percent and 0.026 percent, respectively. It was also observed that a 1 percent increase in precipitation resulted in a 0.023 percent decrease in food insecurity. The study results indicate that cereal yield, food production index, and political stability were significant and negatively influenced food insecurity. This study concluded that climate change results in food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, and food availability is expected to be reduced in the region. In order to cope with the adverse consequences of climate change, adopting high-temperature and drought-resistant varieties of improved food crops is advisable to ensure food availability and food security for the region.
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by Yadeta Bedasa (PhD Candidate) and Amsalu Bedemo (Associate Professor). The first draft of the manuscript was written by Yadeta Bedasa (PhD Candidate) and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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Bedasa, Y., Bedemo, A. The effect of climate change on food insecurity in the Horn of Africa. GeoJournal 88, 1829–1839 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-022-10733-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10708-022-10733-1