Title: Extent and drivers of intra-regional trade in food products in ECOWAS

Authors: Damilola Felix Arawomo; Abdulazeez A. Badejo

Addresses: Surveillance and Forecasting Department, Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Nigeria ' Economics Department, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria

Abstract: Agriculture is the mainstay of the economies in most of ECOWAS countries. Ironically, however, persistent food shortage arising from constraints on agriculture is exposing many of them to threats of extreme hunger and starvation. Trade in food products has been identified as a very critical factor in safeguarding food security for the world's poor. This study therefore examined the extent and drivers of intra-regional trade in food products in ECOWAS and the two monetary zones (WAEMU and WAMZ) in the sub-region. Poisson Quasi Maximum Likelihood of Santos-Silva and Tenreyro was used to estimate the gravity model. While exporter income discourages intra-regional trade in food products, importer income promotes it. Landed area irrigated and the land available for cultivation promotes intra-regional trade in food products in ECOWAS. It is only in WAMZ that colonial ties and border enhance intra-regional trade in food products.

Keywords: intra-regional trade; food products; PQML estimator; ECOWAS countries; Economic Community Of West African States; agriculture; food shortages; agricultural constraints; food security; gravity model; trade drivers.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTGM.2015.072798

International Journal of Trade and Global Markets, 2015 Vol.8 No.4, pp.310 - 323

Received: 11 Mar 2015
Accepted: 23 May 2015
Published online: 03 Nov 2015 *

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