The Impact of Renewable Energy Consumption, Fertiliser Consumption and Agricultural Economic Growth on Agricultural Carbon Emissions: An Application of FMOLS and DOLS Approaches

Abstract

Abstract We used data from the Food and Agriculture Organisation for the period 1990 to 2019 to investigate the impact of renewable energy consumption and agricultural economic growth on agricultural carbon emissions in Africa. Thirty-four countries were included in the study based on the availability of data. This paper is the first to examine this association in Africa and sheds light on the empirical puzzle by implementing panel fully modified ordinary least square (PFMOLS) and dynamic ordinary least square (PDOLS) estimation techniques. The empirical results established that agriculture growth had a strong, statistically significant positive impact on agricultural carbon emissions. However, the results on quadratic show a negative relationship between agriculture growth and agricultural carbon emissions. The results showed a negative relationship between renewable energy consumption and agricultural carbon emissions. On Granger causality, the result shows that there is a unidirectional causality between agriculture growth and agricultural carbon emissions. Based on these findings, we recommend that countries promote and encourage the use of renewable energy to curb agricultural carbon emissions. There is a need to adopt agricultural practices that have the potential to limit carbon emissions.