THE MODERATING ROLE OF ICT IN CLIMATE-INDUCED FOOD INSECURITY: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTAN

Aim: Meteorological factors pose a significant threat to food security through disruptions in food availability, access, utilization, and stability.Extreme temperatures, erratic precipitation patterns, and extreme weather events adversely affect agricultural productivity, fisheries, and livestock, exacerbating inequalities in food access.This study examines the impact of meteorological factors on food security in Pakistan using the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) and investigates how household-level adoption of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) mitigates these effects across different climatic zones. Material and methods: Using district-level climatic data from NASA Power and household-level ICT adoption indicators sourced from the Pakistan Social and Living Standards Measurement 2019-2020 survey, the study examines the impact of climate factors on food security and examines the moderating effect of ICT. The estimation is done at the national and climatic zones utilizing linear (OLS) and quantile regression. Moreover, the direct and indirect effects of meteorological factors are calculated, and the moderating role of ICT is computed.Results: The findings reveal that all four meteorological variables negatively and significantly affect household food security.Among these, wind speed and precipitation exert the strongest adverse effects, particularly in tropical zones.The results also confirm regional heterogeneity, with the tropical zone being the most vulnerable.The quantile regression shows that the mitigation through ICT is most effective for households with a low level of food security.