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From Maputo to Malabo: public agricultural spending and food security in Africa

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  • Charlotte Fontan Sers
  • Mazhar Mughal

Abstract

Africa is the world’s biggest battleground in the fight against hunger. African governments and the international development community have increasingly focused on finding ways and means to end hunger and ensure the right and access to food for the continent’s burgeoning population. Public spending on agriculture is one such measure. This study examines the role government spending on agriculture has played in enhancing the state of Africa’s food security over the past 25 years. We examine the existing relationship between the two, whether this relationship varies over time and space, and whether it depends on the amount spent. We explore various aspects of food security and check whether spending on research and development follows the same patterns as the overall public agricultural spending. We find some evidence of significant beneficial effects of public agricultural spending on food security but only for the countries which allocate greater proportions of their budgets to agriculture. Spending on agricultural research and development also shows a positive impact on Africa’s food security. There also exists some evidence supporting the temporal effects of public spending. We consider that the Maputo Declaration commitment to allocate at least 10% of public spending to agriculture pertinent.

Suggested Citation

  • Charlotte Fontan Sers & Mazhar Mughal, 2019. "From Maputo to Malabo: public agricultural spending and food security in Africa," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 51(46), pages 5045-5062, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:applec:v:51:y:2019:i:46:p:5045-5062
    DOI: 10.1080/00036846.2019.1606411
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    Cited by:

    1. Henri Njangang & Sosson Tadadjeu & Joseph Keneck-Massil, 2024. "Natural Resources and Undernourishment in Developing Countries? Is There a Curse?," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 87(7), pages 1887-1921, July.
    2. Arrouna Keita, 2024. "Public Agricultural Expenditure Efficiency and Food Security in Sub-Saharan African Countries: Cash Crops or Food Crops?," Working Papers 2024.17, International Network for Economic Research - INFER.
    3. Osinubi, Tolulope Temilola & Apanisile, Olumuyiwa Tolulope, . "Effect of Agricultural Investment On Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa: What Role Does Institution Play?," International Journal of Food and Agricultural Economics (IJFAEC), Alanya Alaaddin Keykubat University, Department of Economics and Finance, vol. 9(2).
    4. Etian Ngobeni & Chiedza L. Muchopa, 2022. "The Impact of Government Expenditure in Agriculture and Other Selected Variables on the Value of Agricultural Production in South Africa (1983–2019): Vector Autoregressive Approach," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(9), pages 1-17, August.
    5. Sidney Madsen & Rachel Bezner Kerr & Noelle LaDue & Isaac Luginaah & Chipiliro Dzanja & Laifolo Dakishoni & Esther Lupafya & Lizzie Shumba & Catherine Hickey, 2021. "Explaining the impact of agroecology on farm-level transitions to food security in Malawi," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(4), pages 933-954, August.
    6. Mazhar Mughal & Charlotte Fontan Sers, 2020. "Cereal production, undernourishment, and food insecurity in South Asia," Review of Development Economics, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 24(2), pages 524-545, May.
    7. Sidney Madsen, 2022. "Farm-level pathways to food security: beyond missing markets and irrational peasants," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 39(1), pages 135-150, March.
    8. Kamenya, Madalitso A. & Hendriks, Sheryl L. & Gandidzanwa, Colleta & Ulimwengu, John & Odjo, Sunday, 2022. "Public agriculture investment and food security in ECOWAS," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    9. Marta Marson, 2025. "Effects of public expenditure for agriculture on food security in Africa," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 68(6), pages 2673-2704, June.
    10. Kamenya, Madalitso A., 2020. "The impact of public agricultural investment on food security and nutrition in ECOWAS," Research Theses 334764, Collaborative Masters Program in Agricultural and Applied Economics.
    11. Charlotte Fontan Sers & Mazhar Mughal, 2023. "Food riots redux: lessons from the 2007-08 food crisis," Working Papers hal-03973284, HAL.
    12. Nkegbe, Paul Kwame & Abdul Mumin, Yazeed, 2022. "Impact of community development initiatives and access to community markets on household food security and nutrition in Ghana," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C).
    13. Essossinam Ali & Nimonka Bayale, 2024. "Impact of Public Agricultural Investment on Crops Production, Households’ Welfare, and Employment Generation Opportunities in Togo, West Africa," The European Journal of Development Research, Palgrave Macmillan;European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI), vol. 36(1), pages 161-193, February.

    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • Q18 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Agriculture - - - Agricultural Policy; Food Policy; Animal Welfare Policy

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