Climate Change, Land Degradation and Sustainable Development in Africa? Evidence for AfCFTA Implementation

Abstract

This study assesses the effect of climate change and land degradation on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2 indicators (agricultural productivity, crop yields, agricultural output per capita, livelihoods, and economic growth) for different African regions. Using data from 46 African countries (1990–2022), we employ the Panel-Corrected Standard Errors (PCSE) and the Feasible Generalized Least Squares (FGLS) techniques to show that both climate change and land degradation have substantial negative impacts on the pursuit of achieving SDG2, especially in agriculture, forestry, and fishing. We also show that some specific indicators of climate change, like rainfall patterns, had positive impacts on SDG2, while indicators of land degradation such as deforestation and resource depletion hindered progress. Thus, the study provides evidence of a critical need for integrated policies and strategies encompassing climate change adaptation and mitigation, land restoration and conservation, and sustainable agricultural practices in Africa.