Geospatial and Climate Dynamics in West Africa: Analysing Impact of Weather Conditions on Food Security in Burkina Faso and Nigeria

Abstract

<title>Abstract</title> West Africa's food security is seriously threatened by climate change. There are a number of reasons for the current food crisis in West Africa, but climate change is one of the main ones. While the debate about the precise influence of climate change on food security lingers, the question of whether climate change really impacts on food insecurity remains largely unanswered, considering the fact that there are other factors which tends to impact on food security. Thus, the study explores the relationship between climate change and food security in West Africa using the case of Burkina Faso and Nigeria by analysing the extent of impact of weather conditions such as precipitation, temperature and humidity on food security. The study utilises Fully Modified Ordinary Least Square (FMOLS) and geospatial analysis. The findings of the study, among others showed that the included variables (Humidity, Precipitation, and Temperature) collectively account for a significant portion of the variability in food production across the observations, noting specially the impact of humidity on food security which has limited studies. The use of Geospatial analysis showed the impact of climate identifying the various state and the extent of climate change impact. The FMOLS results underscored the importance of considering weather conditions such as humidity, precipitation, and temperature in understanding food production dynamics. Policymakers and agricultural stakeholders can utilise these insights to develop adaptive and resilience strategies for mitigating the adverse effects of weather conditions on food agricultural productivity focusing interventions on communities with adverse impact, thereby promoting food security and sustainability.