Abstract
The South Asian region has faced multiple challenges in the last few decades. This region is susceptible to climate change due to the presence of both drought-prone and coastal areas. It also faces the problem of increasing food-insecurity due to the recent events of crop failure consequent to natural calamities. This study examines the nexus between agricultural production and food security amidst climate change for the South Asian nations from 2000 to 2019. From the empirical investigation, using Driscoll-Kraay and Panel-Corrected Standard Error estimators, we get robust results in the presence of cross-sectional dependence and heteroskedasticity. The simultaneous equation model using 3SLS is also used for the robustness check, considering the probable endogeneity issue in the model. The findings of the study reveal that agricultural production, fertilizer consumption, and land under cereal production play a substantial and positive role in determining food security in the South Asian nations. Furthermore, the varying rainfall patterns coupled with rising temperature, as well as the increasing level of CO2 emissions are found to impede food security in these nations. Additionally, non-climatic factors related to agriculture and land-use are also found to induce CO2 emissions, which is a major cause of climate change. Therefore, from a policy perspective, this study suggests that to ensure long-term food security in the South Asian nations, the government should implement effective policy measures, which include the decarbonization of the agricultural sector by encouraging the use of renewable energy sources and promoting climate-resilient agricultural practices.
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Data availability
The dataset has been compiled from the following secondary sources: https://climateknowledgeportal.worldbank.org/download-data. https://ourworldindata.org/co2-and-other-greenhouse-gas-emissions. https://databank.worldbank.org. https://www.fao.org/statistics/en/.
Notes
Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations.
Abbreviations
- SDG:
-
Sustainable development goals
- CO2 :
-
Carbon dioxide emissions
- GFSI:
-
Global food security index
- FSI:
-
Food security index
- FAVI:
-
Food availability index
- FACI:
-
Food accessibility index
- FSTI:
-
Food stability index
- FUTI:
-
Food utilisation index
- AAR:
-
Average annual rainfall
- AAT:
-
Average annual temperature
- LUCP:
-
Land under cereal production
- AGP:
-
Agricultural production
- FC:
-
Fertilizer consumption
- CPI:
-
Consumer price index
- PCA:
-
Principal component analysis
- CSD:
-
Cross sectional dependency
- CIPS:
-
Cross-sectionally augmented im-pesaran
- CADF:
-
Covariate augmented dickey fuller
- PCSE:
-
Panel corrected standard error estimator
- DSK:
-
Driscoll-Kraay estimator
- VIF:
-
Variance-Inflation factor
- ARDL:
-
Autoregressive distributed lag
- FGLS:
-
Feasible generalised least square
- FMOLS:
-
Fully modified ordinary least square
- DOLS:
-
Dynamic ordinary least square
- IPCC:
-
Intergovernmental panel on climate change
- SOFI:
-
State of food security and nutrition in the world
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Acknowledgements
The authors give due credit to the Climate Change Knowledge Bank and the World Development Indicators of the World Bank for making their data sources accessible. The authors also acknowledge the secondary data made available on food security by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations. Finally, the authors acknowledge the help of their friends and co-workers. No funds were allocated to support the study in any way.
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Behera, B., Haldar, A. & Sethi, N. Agriculture, food security, and climate change in South Asia: a new perspective on sustainable development. Environ Dev Sustain (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03552-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10668-023-03552-y