Asymmetric effects of climate variability on food security in Morocco: evidence from the nonlinear ARDL model

Purpose This study aims to examine the asymmetric effects of average temperature (TP) and rainfall (RF) on the Moroccan food security, measured by the food production index (FPI), using annual data from 1961 to 2020. Design/methodology/approach The study uses the Climate Change and Food Security Framework (CCFS) developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and employs the nonlinear auto-regressive distributed lag (NARDL) model and various econometric techniques to show the effects of climate variability in the short and long-term. It also examines if the impacts on Moroccan food security are asymmetric by analyzing the positive and negative partial sums of mean temperature and rainfall. Findings The study shows that RF has a long-term relationship with FPI, with increased RF leading to increased FPI and decreased RF leading to decreased FPI. FPI responds more strongly and persistently to a positive shock in RF than to an adverse shock. The study also identifies an asymmetric relationship between FPI and RF, with increased TP enhancing food output in the long run and a decrease reducing food production in the long run. Research limitations/implications The current study could have some limitations. For instance, there are several other non-climate factors that might potentially impact food security. In particular, CO2 emissions which from the literature is a key variable that represent climate change impact on food security, was not included. The present research has not included those factors mainly because adding more variables to the model reduces the degree of freedom available to estimate the parameters, resulting in inaccurate results. Originality/value This paper contributes to the food security literature by utilizing the latest asymmetry methodology to decompose climate changes into their positive and negative trends and examining the contrasting impacts food production.