The integration of information and communication technology (ICT)into Somali agriculture has the
potential to transform traditional practices, which enhances efficiency and increases production.
Despite ICT’s transformative potential, comprehensive empirical studies analysing its combined
influence with foreign direct investment (FDI) on food production in Somalia remain scarce.
Employing the autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL)technique and Kernel-based regularised least
squares(KRLS) methodology, this study examines these relationships using time series data from 1990
to 2022. The findings reveal that agricultural labour, cropped land area, and trade openness
significantly enhance food production in the short- and long-run. Remarkably, mobile phone usage
exhibits a positive association with food production in Somalia, which reinforces the critical role of
digital communication. Conversely, internet usage negatively affects food production, potentially
reflecting challenges in integrating technology with traditional practices. Capital and FDI demonstrate
adverse but statistically insignificant effects. By reinforcing the ARDL findings further, the KRLS
analysis further demonstrates the heterogeneous effects of these variables. Specifically, there is an
increasing marginal impact of agricultural labour, land, FDI, trade openness, and mobile usage on
food production, while capital and internet usage exhibit decreasing marginal effects. Based on these
insights, this study suggests optimising land use, fostering ICT adoption, addressing inefficiencies in
capital investments, and enhancing trade openness to support sustainable agricultural growth.