Effects of Agricultural Financing on Food Production in West African Economic and Monetary Union Countries

Abstract

In a context where food crises are becoming increasingly recurrent, food sovereignty is now a necessary condition for the greater good of any nation. This research focuses on the issue of financing food production in WAEMU countries, which are particularly vulnerable to food crises. The objective is to analyze the effects of agricultural financing on food production in WAEMU countries over the period from 2000 to 2023. To complete the research, the IV-GMM method was used for the econometric estimation of the baseline model. The results show that agricultural financing positively and significantly influences the food production index and cereal production. Based on these results, economic policy recommendations emerge. These include implementing a food crop financing program, training agricultural entrepreneurs, and funding research and development. Therefore, it is important to establish an institutional framework with operational capacity for monitoring and controlling the financing program for this subsistence agriculture.