Intra-Africa agricultural trade and hunger reduction: Africa economic analysis

Abstract

Using a time series but cross-sectional data from 1995 to 2018, this paper examines the impact of intraAfrica agricultural trade (export and import) and, hunger reduction mirrored by the Global Hunger Index [GHI], on economic growth per capita in the continent. The Balanced Panel data estimation technique is used as aided tool of analysis. However, the descriptive statistics and the Panel unit root test preceded the estimation of the three-stage Panel of Pooled Ordinary Least Square [POLS], Fixed Effect [FE] and Random Effect [RE] while decision taken is based on the Hausman test result. Findings show that the second-stage testing of FE was found to be most appropriate in explaining economic growth per capita. Specifically, the FE result shows that a negative coefficient is exhibited between intra-Africa agricultural trade - export (IAAE) and that of hunger index [HI] but not intra-Africa agricultural trade – import (IAAI). By implication, IAAE does not account for earlier allusion that the intra-African agriculture trade relationship is substantial at improving hunger and growth per head. Stiffer sanction against trade policy defaulters is the suggested recommendation.