Institutions, Sustainable Agricultural Intensification, and the Quest for Zero Hunger: Lessons for Emerging Economies

Zero hunger and agricultural development have always been inextricably linked, and increasing agricultural production and availability is the most direct route to bolstering food security. In light of the various theoretical frameworks for agricultural development, the sustainable agricultural intensification (SAI) concept stands out as a major school of thought that offers realistic answers to the problems besetting the global agricultural sector. Meanwhile, SDG16 calls for establishing transparent, accountable, and effective institutions at all levels. However, despite being recognized from a normative and conceptual standpoint, the interplay between institutions, SAI, and SDG2 is not adequately explored empirically. Hence, this study explores the mediation effect of institutions on the SDG2 performance carried through SAI using a panel dataset of 94 countries between 2000 and 2019. Three-stage least squares (3SLS) technique was used for the empirical estimation. The results indicate that there is a positive mediation impact of institutions on the attainment of SDG2 through SAI. In light of the findings regarding the mediation effect of institutions in relation to SDG2, robust evidence suggests that effective and cohesive policymaking through an inclusive institutional framework may increase the adoption of SAI, which would be conducive to achieving the SDG of zero hunger.