Purpose The COVID-19 pandemic revealed the dependence on food imports by many Sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries, highlighting a structural weakness and the crucial role of international trade in addressing food insecurity in these regions. Given the region’s climate sensitivity, limited infrastructure, and political instability, the study empirically investigates how agricultural trade openness influences food security in SSA. Design/methodology/approach The study employs the generalized method of moments (GMM) technique to examine the effect of agricultural trade openness on food security across 41 SSA countries from 2001 to 2021. The analysis captures both food and non-food agricultural trade openness to assess their distinct impacts on food security indicators such as the prevalence of undernourishment and average protein supply. Findings The results reveal that agricultural trade openness significantly reduces undernourishment and increases average protein supply, indicating a positive relationship between trade liberalization and food security in SSA. The findings suggest that enhanced agricultural trade, both in food and non-food agricultural products, can improve food availability and access in the region. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature by providing comprehensive evidence from SSA on how disaggregated agricultural trade (food v and non-food) affects food security, addressing the inconsistency in previous findings. It offers policy-relevant insights by recommending reduced trade restrictions on food imports in the short term and promoting the export of non-food agricultural products to generate foreign exchange for sustainable improvement in food security.
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