Food and peace? Exploring the link between conflict and food insecurity in Africa

This paper contributes to the literature on the costs of conflict, focusing
\non the important channel of its effect on food security. It does this by examining whether people in conflict zones lack sufficient food and whether this can
\nbe directly attributed to armed conflicts. It uses the Afrobarometer household survey and data from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data
\nProject (ACLED) for conflict indicators, specifically the number of battle-
\nrelated events at the regional level. The dataset spans 2012–2022 across 29
\nAfrican countries.The effect of battle-related events (i.e., battle deaths) on
\nfood insecurity is evaluated using a two-way fixed effect and a weighted regression framework that directly addresses unobserved heterogeneity. The
\nmodel shows that a rise in battle-related events in a region leads to increased
\nfood insecurity and this result is found to be robust. When more intense food
\ninsecurity is considered conflict is also found to have an even larger effect.
\nThis provides evidence that conflict has a significant impact on food security
\nin Africa. This has important health implications and adds to the evidence of
\nthe important legacy costs of conflict that can last long after the conflict ends.