Analysis of the Impact of Aquaculture and Agriculture on Food Security under the Pressure of Pollution

Abstract

Both aquaculture and agriculture are essential for food security in Europe, but they face different challenges and opportunities. A sustainable and balanced approach that considers both sectors is needed to ensure that Europe can meet its food needs while protecting the environment and promoting economic growth. This research is aimed at studying the economic analyses of the effect of aquaculture versus agriculture production on future food security in the EU27 region from the era between 1990 and 2023. Resolve challenges of endogeneity, employing econometric estimators such as the robust least squares (RLS), two-stage least squares (2SLS), and ordinary least squares (OLS), producing crucial insights. The analysis reveals that in the EU27 region, agricultural production has a higher impact than aquaculture production on influencing food security. Moreover, in the EU13 developing countries, aquaculture production has a higher impact on food security than in the EU14 developing countries. On the other hand, in the EU14 developed countries, agriculture production plays a significant role in food security in comparison with the EU13 developing countries. From another perspective, economic growth, governance, and fossil fuel consumption variables play a significant role in food security in the EU13 members compared with the EU14 members. Based on the study's findings, policymakers in the EU27 region are advised to provide policies targeted at advancing the aquaculture sector top priority to achieve food security in the future, especially in EU14 developed countries. Additionally, this study suggests that decision-makers in the EU13 members need to improve the efficiency of agriculture production to meet the food security targets.