Horticultural exports and food security in Senegal
This article (PDF) in the journal Global Food Security investigates the effect of horticultural export growth on food security in Senegal. Horticultural exports from developing countries are expanding. While concerns are rising about the consequences of this growth for local food security, there is no empirical evidence that directly measures this impact. Therefore, this paper aims to provide evidence for Senegal, one of the African countries with a sharp growth in horticultural exports. Using secondary data and panel survey data, the link between horticultural exports and the availability, access, utilization and stability components of food security is analyzed. Results suggest that horticultural exports contribute to the capacity to import food, and do not jeopardize availability of food at the macro-economic level. At the micro-economic level, it is found that female wage employment in the horticultural export sector reduces the probability of self-reported food insecurity, improves the quality of food consumption, and shortens the hunger season. For male wage employment no significant effect was found. These effects are likely related to the higher income levels of households with employees, differences in expenditure patterns across gender and a low competition for land and labor between production for the export sector and the domestic market.
A related article by the same researchers can be found here.