II Международная студенческая научная конференция Студенческий научный форум - 2010

Throughout the world's history the problem of  providing people with food was very important. In the whole world from 13 to 18 million people die every year from hunger and malnutrition. More than 1 billion are constantly hungry. 

Ensuring national security is considered the most important priority of state policy in most countries. The national policy is commonly divided into economic, territorial, food, social and environmental. Loss of control into one of these areas may soon lead to a loss of positions in all others. 

The Federal law «On food security in Russian Federation» defines food security as the state of the economy, which ensures food independence and guaranteed the availability of food for the population in the quantity required for an active and healthy life. As for criteria, 80% of food in Russia must be produced in its own agricultural sector for ensuring food security. The real state of affairs today testifies about complete loss food security in our country. 

Major Trends and Problems of Food Security in Russia

Food security is the state's ability to satisfy the needs of the population for food providing the resources, capabilities and guarantees, regardless of the external and internal threats in quantity, quality and range, corresponding to accepted standards and norms. 

The concept of food security has two aspects in this interpretation: the social economic (ability to meet the needs) and political  economic (ability to mobilize domestic resources and agro industrial potential of the country to ensure these needs). 

The level of food security is implemented in a system of criteria and indicators. Moreover, food security level is not important in general, but its threshold (critical) value in specific[1]. 

It should be noted that in Russian laws the concept of "food security", its goals and objectives have not been defined yet. 

We can highlight three components here, basing on international experience: 

• 1. food security is the state of the country's economy, which ensures food independence and stability;
• 2. the physical and economic ensuring of food in accordance with physiological norms is guaranteed for population of the country;
• 3. food security is the quality and safety of consumed food.

Status of food security of Russia in recent years has araisen serious concerns, despite advances in agrarian industry sector, because high import dependence on certain types of food could trigger food crisis. The physical availability of food in our country is provided at the minimum level of consumption, because of poor availability of basic resources in agricultural complex. 

Russia, which occupied recently the sixth place in the world  in food consumption, now is rated 42th. Expenses on food continued to be significant for their share, and play a decisive role in the dynamics of final consumption in the structure of household consumption. But most of the population live below the poverty line, and they are not able to meet even physiological standards. Delays in payment of wages and social benefits affected adversely on the food supply. 

Foreign countries formed about 36% of cash resources for the food market. Thus, the share of foreign supplies of meat is estimated at 41%, milk - 27% in our market. In particular, import of pork from the beginning of this year has grown by 29%, dry milk - almost doubled[2]. All of this greatly increases the food market's dependence on import and seriously harms the interests of national agriculture. 

In addition, the consumption of certain types of food is below the recommended standards. The consumption of meat is 81% of normal, milk and dairy products - 80%, fish and fish products - 55%, vegetables - 75%. At the same time, consumption of bread exceeded by 15,2%, sugar - by 30%[3]. 

It should be noted that there are short-term shortages of certain types of food in some regions, and consumers are not protected from sharp fluctuations in food prices. This is due to several factors: 

• different levels of development of agriculture and food industry in the regions of Russia;
• lack of market infrastructure;
• high tariffs on transportation and the shortage of railway rolling stock;
• oligopolization of food markets in some regions;
• high barriers to access on producers in the food market, etc.

Lack of operational reserves of food from the state can not provide sufficient assistance with worsening food situation in the regions. 

Growth of agricultural production ensured the growth in consumption and changes in dietary habits of the population.  Consumption of the most valuable products of animal origin and vegetables is increased while maintaining the consumption of potatoes and bread 

Activities for improving food security

In developed countries there are two main approaches to food security improvement:

• 1. priority to support national agricultural producers (EU);
• 2. equal support for both agricultural producers and consumers of food (U.S.).

Russia needs to develop legislative mechanisms of growing the economic access to food for all population groups and food quality for solution of food security problems:

• providing priority support to the most needy people;
• more effective use of mechanisms to support the regions in which enough food is not produced, or which are caught in extreme situations;
• improved system of safety and food quality and controlling it t along the production chain.

Activities aimed at elimination of internal and external threats to food security:

• optimum combination of state and market price regulation for agricultural products;
• regulation of import volumes of the main strategic types of food;
• creation of a single food market of the CIS countries with the phasing out of customs duties and charges and harmonization of pricing policy;
• progressive reduction of import of those food products whose production can be carried out in Russia.

Conclusion

Food security of the state is assured if in case of  products import's out the food crisis does not arise. For example, we should following the criteria in order to ensure food security in Russia on staple foods needed: 

• the share of Russia's grain should be at least 90% of the market;
• sugar, vegetable oil, fish and fish products must be at least 80%;
• our own meat and meat products, milk and milk products must be at least 85-90%.

Russia needs to use the positive experience of foreign countries to achieve food security.

The final result of achieving food security will be the stability of domestic sources of food and raw material resources and the availability of necessary resources, including reserve funds.

Reference Literature

1. A. Gordeev, Food security under threat of Russia: Agriculture Minister spoke about the dangers of importing - Access: http://www.newsru.com/russia/27oct2008/minselhoz.html (in Russian)

2.      A. Gordeev, Status of food security, Russia and measures to ensure. Access: http://www.mcx.ru/news/news/show_print/2820.150.htm    (in Russian)

3. V. Yesipov, G. Mahovikova, Internal and external threats of Russia's food security - Access:http://geopolitika.narod.ru/New/ugrozi.htm (in Russian)