Internet and Food Production: Panel Data Evidence from North African Countries

Although a considerable body of research has examined the relationship between information and communication technology and the food production process, less attention has been paid to whether internet utilization impacts food production in North African countries. This research seeks to investigate the short- and long-run relationship between internet utilization and food production in North Africa. Yearly datasets from four countries (Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt, and Morocco) are used, covering the period 1990-2021. Given that the tested series are of mixed integrated levels of I (0) and I (I), the study employs a panel autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) approach. The results show that internet usage and access to electricity favorably influence the food production index in both the long and short run. In the short run, food imports do not exhibit any significant effect on food production. In the long-run nexus, a considerable negative impact from food imports to food production is evident. The study concludes that internet usage represents a vital driver of food production and should be further strengthened by raising awareness of its importance in promoting food productivity among North African food producers. On the other hand, these results serve as a reminder for North African countries to establish a harmonious equilibrium between domestic food production and food imports.