Clean Cooking Energy Adoption and Household Food Security in West Africa: Panel Data Evidence

ABSTRACT Achieving Sustainable Development Goal 2 (Zero Hunger) and Sustainable Development Goal 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy Access) remains a major challenge in Sub‐Saharan Africa, yet their interaction remains insufficiently understood. This study examines the association between liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) adoption for cooking and household food insecurity in five West African Economic and Monetary Union countries: Benin, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea‐Bissau, Mali, and Togo. Using household panel data from the 2018/2019 and 2021/2022 Enquête Harmonisée sur les Conditions de Vie des Ménages surveys, we measure food insecurity through the Food Insecurity Experience Scale and combine correlated random‐effects models with entropy balancing estimators to address selection concerns. Results show a robust negative association between LPG adoption and household food insecurity across multiple indicators. LPG users experience a four to nine percentage‐point lower probability of food insecurity, particularly regarding dietary quality, diversity, and adequate food consumption. Heterogeneity analyses reveal stronger associations among rural households and substantial variation across countries, reflecting differences in energy access, infrastructure, and socioeconomic contexts. Although interpreted as associations rather than causal effects, the findings highlight the potential role of clean cooking transitions in complementing food security and nutrition policies for vulnerable households and supporting sustainable development efforts across regions.