Nexus between renewable energy and agricultural productivity in Somalia: Evidence from Fragile Foundations

Somalia has considerable land deterioration due to soil erosion and deforestation. These environmental stresses reduce agricultural productivity. Despite these challenges, the nation has renewable energy sources that haven’t been used yet. Using renewable energy sources in agriculture can significantly enhance food security. This study utilises an Autoregressive Distributed Lag model spanning 1990 to 2022 to measure the correlation between renewable energy and agricultural productivity in Somalia. The results of the long-term regression indicate that the agricultural sector in Somalia is positively influenced by renewable energy consumption and trade openness. This result shows that Renewable energy and trade openness improve agricultural productivity; however, FDI tends to reduce agricultural productivity in Somalia. The error correction model shows a negative link between FDI, trade openness and agricultural productivity in the short run. Nevertheless, Renewable energy consumption does not have a substantial short-run impact on agricultural productivity. The practical significance of this study lies in its provision of multiple strategies for improving the agricultural sector in Somalia. This study highly advocates for the use of renewable energy in Somalia’s agricultural sector. This can be further improved by fostering renewable energy and agricultural value chains to generate additional benefits.