Exploring the links between energy and food security and impacts on sustainable livelihoods in developing countries

The provision of safe and nutritious food fundamentally depends on
energy access in the form of cooking fuel, lighting and heating.
Universal access to clean energy remains one of the world’s major
challenges today. In addition to its direct effects on food security,
poor households in rural areas rely on traditional and solid fuels as
primary energy sources for cooking and lighting, which are likely to
have severe environmental and health implications. While several
studies recognize the importance of energy in food production and
consumption, the different channels through which clean energy
access can impact food security at the household level have not
been empirically explored. This proposal aims to understand and
evaluate the direct and indirect links between energy and food
security, and the impacts on household welfare in rural areas in Sub-
Saharan Africa (SSA). I will use panel survey data on households in
rural Ethiopia to analyze the determinants of energy consumption,
and the impact of energy security on household development
outcomes, such as nutrition, off-farm income, health and intrahousehold
labor allocation. I will also investigate the extent to which
impacts differ by gender. The results will support policymakers to
systematically think about interactions, synergies and trade-offs
between the energy and food, which are often studied in isolation.