Social Inclusion, Innovation and Food Security in West Africa

Muhammad Khalid Anser,Michael Yao-Ping Peng,Danish Iqbal Godil,Romanus Osabohien,Busayo Aderounmu,Ademola Onabote,Junaid Ashraf

doi:10.3390/su13052619

Abstract

To achieve the United Nations Sustainable Goals (SDGs) by 2030, especially goal 2 (SDG-2) which is to “end hunger, achieve sustainable food security, improved nutrition and promote agriculture” this study examines how innovation and social inclusion affect food security in West Africa. The study applies the system Generalised Method of Moments (GMM) on a panel data of 15 West African countries for the period 2005–2018. The result from system GMM shows that innovation and social inclusion are drivers of food security. The implication of this is that increased level of social inclusion and innovation in West African may increase the level of food security by about 41.5% and 13.6% respectively. Therefore, the study concludes that to feed the growing African population, social inclusion should be improved to mitigate risk, vulnerability and socioeconomic shocks faced by farming households. In addition, innovation in agricultural should be enhanced to drive productivity, thereby leading to a sustainable food security.

Highlights

Africa has drawn global attention because of its various accomplishments and its dynamism
The dynamic social drive is aiding in transforming villages and creating awareness of initially neglected problems, and households and recent programmes and strategies across the continent have underscored the significance of social inclusion [1]
Food security shows as the average of 122.96 in West Africa during the study period, social inclusion shows an average of 3.28

Summary

Introduction

Africa has drawn global attention because of its various accomplishments and its dynamism. Irrespective of these attainments, the continent has drawn global attention for its considerable problems such as social exclusion, food insecurity, poverty, inequality and unemployment, among others [1]. The dynamic social drive is aiding in transforming villages and creating awareness of initially neglected problems, and households and recent programmes and strategies across the continent have underscored the significance of social inclusion [1]. The increase in the population growth rate has been recognised as one reason for increased food insecurity and slow economic growth in Africa. Considering that current food production practices employed across the continent are unsustainable, Africa is missing an opportunity to be self-sustaining, and even export food [1]. If Africa is to mitigate these roadblocks, agriculture needs to be modernised through the contributions of different technologies [2]

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion