Food Security and Weather Events: A Multidimensional Analysis in the West African Sahel for 2001–2017

Abstract

This paper analyzes the climatic factors that affected food security in the West African Sahel in 2001–2017. We estimate the impact of droughts and floods on the four dimensions of food security defined by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, based on a panel data model controlling for socioeconomic and political factors. Droughts and floods negatively affect food security with floods causing more damage. Since socioeconomic and political factors, especially conflicts, also play an important role, food security in the West African Sahel cannot be explained only by climatic problems, so that coordinated policies must be based on the four dimensions of food security.