L. N. Lipatova. Ranked Assessment of Food Security in the Volga Federal District Regions

https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.129.033.202503.406-423
EDN: https://elibrary.ru/tcvygs
УДК / UDC 338.439.053 (470.4)

Abstract

Introduction. Food security issues are among the top priorities of the state policy of the Russian Federation. Scientific research aimed at solving these issues has become particularly relevant after the introduction of a huge number of sanctions against our country, which also affected the agricultural sector. An assessment of food security is also required by noticeably accelerated inflation, which may lead to a decrease in the economic availability of food. The purpose of the study is to assess the food security of the subjects of the Volga Federal District on the basis of an integrated methodology.

Materials and Methods. The information base was Rosstat data, as well as materials from reputable open sources. The assessment was carried out based on the latest published complete data on the indicators included in the methodology. The use of a critical approach and logical techniques made it possible to generalize well-known methods and develop an author's approach; the standardization method – to bring indicators reflecting different phenomena into a comparable form; structural analysis – to assess the level of self-sufficiency of the region with food, as well as the sufficiency and balanced nutrition of the population. The ranking method is to distribute regions according to the level of food safety. The originality of the proposed approach lies in taking into account the fundamental provisions of the Russian Food Security Doctrine, standardizing indicators, reflecting the structure of balanced nutrition, and accounting for excess consumption.

Results. The assessment of food security according to the proposed methodology based on data for 2023 showed that the food security of the Russian Federation is ensured by 76 % (the main limiting factor is the low economic availability of food). The leader in the Volga Federal District is the Republic of Tatarstan, whose food safety is estimated at 80 % (the largest gap from the target was identified as nutrition). The top three also include the Republic of Bashkortostan and the Udmurt Republic (the final index is 0.78 of each, with constraints such as reduced economic accessibility in the first case and insufficient local production in the second). Completing the local ranking are Perm Territory (70 %, the main deterrent factor is a low level of self-sufficiency), Samara Region (67 %, the largest gap from the goal is the physical availability of food) and Saratov Region (67 %, the main deterrent factor is the low standard of living in the region).

Discussion and Conclusion. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the fact that a unique methodology for assessing regional food security has been proposed and tested, which allows for quantitative measurement, and therefore ensures the conduct of inter-regional comparisons and analysis of dynamics. The practical significance of the results obtained is determined by the possibility of their use in substantiating the decisions taken, and the proposed methodological approach in monitoring the food security of the subjects of the Russian Federation. The limitation in carrying out a quantitative assessment of regional food security is the specifics of the organization of state statistical accounting (the complete data required for this are published by Rosstat with a frequency of 1 every 2 years). In the course of constructive discussion on the pages of scientific journals, the methodology can be improved.

Keywords: food security, Volga federal district, quantifying food security, physical accessibility of food, economic accessibility of food, healthy diet, diet

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

For citation: Lipatova L.N. Ranked Assessment of Food Security in the Volga Federal District Regions. Russian Journal of Regional Studies. 2025;33(3):406–423. https://doi.org/10.15507/2413-1407.129.033.202503.406-423

REFERENCES

1. Drynochkin A.V. Some Aspects of Food Security in the Countries of Central and South-Eastern Europe. Sovremennaya Evropa. 2023;(1):88–99. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S0201708323010072

2. Soldatenkova O.I. Features of Ensuring Food Security in the Arctic Territories of North America. USA and Canada: Economics, Politics, Culture. 2023;(12):64–73. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2686673023120064

3. Khorolskaya M.V. German Food Security in Times of Crisis. Sovremennaya Evropa. 2023;(5):57–71. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S0201708323050054

4. Maxwell D., Adan G., Hailey P. at al. Using the Household Hunger Scale to Improve Analysis and Classification of Severe Food Insecurity in Famine-Risk Conditions: Evidence from three Countries. Food Policy. 2023;(118):102449. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodpol.2023.102449

5. Nicholson C.F., Stephens E.C., Kopainsky B., Jones A.D., Parsons D., Garrett J. Food Security Outcomes in Agricultural Systems Models: Current Status and Recommended Improvements. Agricultural Systems. 2021;(188):103028. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2020.103028

6. Chen Po-С., Yu M.-M., Shih J.-C., Chang C.-С., Hsu S.-H. A Reassessment of the Global Food Security Index by Using a Hierarchical Data Envelopment Analysis Approach. European Journal of Operational Research. 2019;272(2):687–698. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejor.2018.06.045

7. Caccavale O. M., Giuffrida V. The Proteus Composite Index: Towards a Better Metric for Global Food Security. World Development. 2020;(126):104709. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2019.104709

8. Nikolaev M.V. Assessment of Risk Farming Boundaries Shift under Climate Change. Proceedings of the Russian Geographical Society. 2015;147(1):54–65. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://izv.rgo.ru/jour/article/view/441/259 (accessed 08.03.2025).

9. Dudek H., Myszkowska-Ryciak J. Food Insecurity in Central-Eastern Europe: Does Gender Matter? Sustainability. 2022;14(9):5435. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14095435

10. Bach-Faig A., Wickramasinghe K., Panadero N. et al. Consensus-Building Around the Conceptualisation and Implementation of Sustainable Healthy Diets: a Foundation for Policymakers. BMC Public Health. 2022;(22):1480. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-13756-y

11. Rahman S.M.E., Mele M.A., Lee Y.T., Islam M.Z. Consumer Preference, Quality, and Safety of Organic and Conventional Fresh Fruits, Vegetables, and Cereals. Foods. 2021;10(1):105. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods10010105

12. Vigar V., Myers S., Oliver C., Arellano J., Robinson S., Leifert C. A Systematic Review of Organic Versus Conventional Food Consumption: Is There a Measurable Benefit on Human Health? Nutrients. 2019;12(1):7. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12010007

13. Kovzunova E.S., Ruyga I.R. A Conceptual Approach to Assessing the Food Security of a Macroregion Based on Mathematical Modeling Methods. Prodovolstvennaya politika i bezopasnost. 2022;9(2):177–196. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.18334/ppib.9.2.114467

14. Prokopyev M. [Methodological Aspects of the Formation of the Concept and Assessment of Food Security]. Problemy teorii i praktiki upravleniya. 2017;(8):20–31. (In Russ.) https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=29904791

15. Dolganova Y.A. Conditions for Improving Food Security as a Factor of Ensuring the Economic Security of the Region. Economic Security. 2023;6(2):569–594. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.18334/ecsec.6.2.117855

16. Andreeva M.V., Kirik O.B., Borisova A.S. Improving the Level of Food Security of the Region: Cluster Approach. Vestnik universiteta. 2021;(8):107–115. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://vestnik.guu.ru/jour/article/view/3028?locale=ru_RU (accessed 08.03.2025).

17. Reshetnikova E.G. Institutional Problems in Food Economic Accessibility Amidst New Global Challenges. Food Policy and Security. 2023;10(2):237–246. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=53947749

18. Nagovitsyna E.V., Davydova Yu.V. Mark Technique of the Assessment of the Condition of Food Security of the Kirov Region. Fundamental Research. 2015;(12,6):1258–1262. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://fundamental-research.ru/ru/article/view?id=39768 (accessed: 10.15.2024).

19. Reshetnikova E.G. Conditions for Achieving Food Security Criteria During the New Global Challenge. Bulletin NGIEI. 2021;(1):105–114. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: http://vestnik.ngiei.ru/?page_id=1986 (accessed: 10.15.2024).

20. Shagaida N.I., Uzun V.Y., Ternovskiy D.S., Shishkina E.A. Assessment of the Economic Availability of Food in Russia in the Context of Food Security. Voprosy ekonomiki. 2024;(6):73–95. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) https://doi.org/10.32609/0042-8736-2024-6-73-95

21. Bogachev A.I., Dorofeeva L.N. Main Approaches and Practice for Assessing Food Security of the Region. Bulletin of Agrarian Science. 2024;(1):101–114. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://ej.orelsau.ru/2024,1(106).pdf (accessed: 10.15.2024).

22. Timofeyeva G.V., Akmaeva R.I., Aitpaeva A.A. The Region Food Security: Innovative Approaches to Assessing. Vestnik NSUEM. 2017;(4):36–43. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://nsuem.elpub.ru/jour/issue/view/29/showToc (accessed: 10.15.2024).

23. Gataullin R.F., Nusratullin V.K. Food Security the Republic of Bashkortostan: Ways of its Software. Fundamental Research. 2015;(7,2):371–375. (In Russ., abstract in Eng.) Available at: https://fundamental-research.ru/ru/article/view?id=38703 (accessed: 10.15.2024).

About the author:

Lyudmila N. Lipatova, Dr.Sci. (Sociol.), Cand.Sci. (Econ.), Professor, Chair of Economics, North-West Institute of Management, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (57/43 Srednii Prospekt VO, St. Petersburg 199178, Russian Federation), Professor, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9357-6708, SPIN-code: 5196-2749, lipatova-ln@ranepa.ru

Availability of data and materials. The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the authors on reasonable request.

The author has read and approved the final manuscript.

Submitted 07.01.2025; revised 15.05.2025; accepted 23.05.2025.