Each state cares about its security.What is needed for the optimal life of the population of the country? This is protection from threats, satisfaction of primary needs, and only then a number of spiritual and cultural needs. No one will deny that one of the primary needs of any person is the need for food. The state should take care of the food security of its inhabitants. This is one of the main goals of economic and agrarian policy. About what the food security of Russia is, will be described in detail in our article.
Protection of the food environment
The first document evidencing thethe need for food security, appeared in the Roman Empire. That was a special declaration, which indicated the duty of any ruler to protect the right of people to have access to safe food for life and health. The right to freedom from hunger was proclaimed.
In the Doctrine of Food SecurityThe Russian Federation does not have such pathos definitions, as in the document of ancient Rome. But there are clear indications of security elements, existing problems and threats, ways to protect the population from hunger and much more. In addition, a clear definition of food security is given: this is the economic state of the country, in which the social independence of Russia is protected, and the economic accessibility of food is guaranteed at affordable prices and in the necessary quantities.
Security in the area of food security should be maintained for social and economic stability in the country and for the purpose of maintaining an active and healthy lifestyle.
The role of food security
Food is a basic indicatorstandard of living. The way in which the population feeds indicates the degree of its economic development. Food was and will be the main criterion by which it is possible to assess the level of social and economic well-being in the country. It is necessary to prove why it is food that is the fundamental factor in the development of a particular state.
Lack of water and food occurs most often due tonatural disasters, which can be caused by war, natural disasters, economic crises, radical political or social changes, etc. At the same time, it is the limited availability of food products that leads to the same wars, crises, revolutions, etc. Thus , on food products everything is tied up initially.
The food security of Russia iscentral problem in the system of national well-being. The economic and political situation in the country depends on it. There are several criteria for assessing the state of food security in the state:
- the level of economic and physical accessibility of food products;
- the level of consumption of basic types of food per capita;
- volumes of production in agricultural, marine and other spheres for the extraction of food products;
- the volume of state reserve funds and much more.
Sociologists have long calculated the levelfood security in the Russian state. It's about the state of "just above average." Most likely, the assessment could already change, because in late 2017, the authorities announced the depletion of the reserve fund.
National security system
What should be understood as a system of nationalsecurity? First, this is a concept of a socio-political nature. It includes elements of the security of a society, a state, or an individual in various fields: economics, ecology, information, etc.
To meet the needs of citizens indifferent areas need to work a lot. Moreover, it is necessary to understand the priority order of needs. Here you need to refer to the famous social requirements pyramid, developed by Abraham Maslow. The psychologist argued that the primary need is protection from all sorts of threats. A person should feel at ease and safe, and only then will other requirements arise. It is just the need for food and drink. If a person satisfies himself in this, spiritual needs will arise: in communication, love, respect, etc.
About the pyramid of Maslow is obliged to remember the state. That is why the Doctrine of Food Security of the Russian Federation, though informally, is more important, for example, in the Fundamentals of Cultural Law.
How satisfied are the needspopulation in food, it is possible to draw conclusions about its well-being. In turn, the level of well-being of the population affects social peace. It is unlikely that people satisfied at least in their primary needs, will think about the violent overthrow of power, revolution and other radical ways of dealing with the state.
National security strategy
The problem of food security is acutemanifested in the 90s of the last century. Then the Russian authorities were not able to somehow improve the situation in the country. Social support of the population was zero, and therefore the people had to act independently.
The significant step that power has taken in90s, was the development and implementation of the Food Security Doctrine. The document spoke about the current situation in the country and the goals for the next few years. Subsequently, the Doctrine changed several times. The latest version of the document was adopted in 2010, and its provisions were taken as the basis for the development of the National Security Strategy until 2020. This is a document of 2015, which slightly complemented the Doctrine. Thus, the Strategy says about supporting the food sector by artificially creating competition in various fields.
The strategic objective of the food systemsecurity is the continuous and full provision of Russian citizens with high-quality agricultural and fish products. The guarantee of security is the stability of domestic production and the availability of the necessary reserves and reserves.
The National Security Strategy spelled out measures, the implementation of which will help the development of food security in the country. Here is what should be highlighted:
- implementation of the budget subsidy policy for the food sector;
- optimal combination of market and government price regulation;
- import controls on food strategy;
- regulation of the level and structure of retail food prices.
Thus, the goal of the State National Security Strategy is to support the optimal level of production in the country.
Statistics
Doctrine aimed at providingfood security, designed for the period 2013-2020. There are many numbers in the document — desirable indicators and thresholds. So, for the indicated period in the total volume of commodity resources it is necessary to achieve the following threshold indicators:
- grain - not less than 95%;
- fish products - from 80%;
- dairy products - at least 90%;
- meat products - from 85%, etc.
Are the indicated requirements met?According to the statements of sociologists, the plan is fulfilled only by one third. From this, it can be concluded that the current food security is not assessed satisfactorily.
For a better understanding of the situation inRussia should take a look at world figures. According to experts, already 1 billion people in the world have limited access to food and clean water. The UN Agricultural Committee predicts a slowdown in food growth of 0.3% over the next 10 years. Strike a blow to the market and severe climate change. At the moment, we can talk about a quarter of rapidly degrading agricultural land.
Russian Federation on the general background lookspretty well It is not among the top ten countries in the food safety rating, but ranks 29th. Affects bioclimatic potential. However, there are also inhibiting factors - for example, low government support.
Impact of sanctions
За последние три года показатели Russia's food security dropped sharply. It is easy to guess what this may be connected with: foreign sanctions played a significant role in the socio-economic degradation of the country. Did they really have such a detrimental effect on the country's economy, or is this a common myth? Let's try to figure it out.
Needless to say, how much dependsthe country's national security from its own foreign policy? The connection of these two factors is indisputable. Some Russian politicians, however, prefer to deny this connection. In their opinion, food and other security will not change in any way when foreign sanctions are imposed on the country. Is there any logic to this? The answer has already been given by many experts. In their opinion, the sanctions entail the following problems:
- the need for import substitution - the procedure is rather complicated and costly;
- the emergence of negative processes and additional risks in Russia's performance on the world stage (Russia's membership in the WTO is already in question);
- the intensification of the problems of state subsidies to agriculture;
- implementation of the State Program (Doctrine) in the conditions of slowing economic growth in Russia, therefore, moving away from many goals and requirements set earlier;
- the emergence of complex macroeconomic conditions and systemic problems in the agricultural sector;
- differentiation of the participation of Russian regions in matters of food security;
- increased monopoly in many sectors of the economy;
- the fall of the ruble against the world exchange rate, etc.
All these problems are more than enough,to abruptly and forcedly change the current economic course. There can be only one conclusion: one cannot underestimate the impact of sanctions imposed on Russia by foreign partners. Due to economic problems, the very concept of food security has sharply acquired a different meaning. Now this is not a modernization of a separate branch of the economic sphere, but only the preservation of stability.
Food Issues
Food Security DoctrineIt is based on the principles of socio-economic independence of the state, ensuring the availability of products for every citizen and the compliance of achievements with minimum standards set in documents. If these three principles are respected, then the food situation in the country can be called optimal. What is the situation in Russia at the moment?
The country has a strong nationalsovereignty. In matters of socio-economic nature, it really does not depend on anyone. Also, for every citizen living in Russia, all the necessary food products are fully available - there are no problems here. But with the last criterion in recent years there are many difficulties. Statistics show that the minimum threshold established in the Food Security Doctrine is not out of reach.
Whether the basic principle remains is the provisionfood independence of the country? Here you can answer positively. Despite difficulties with the implementation of the plan, the Russian authorities still managed to maintain a relatively normal level of food security in the country.
Import substitution
In recent years, the authorities only talk aboutways to replace the import procedure. In her opinion, this is the only possible way to maintain the optimal level of economic development in the country during the crisis period. Accordingly, import substitution may also affect food security. Is it really, or has the state once again created a mythical way of solving the problem?
Immediately it should be noted that the replacement of importedflows in the agricultural sector alone is a very long and complicated procedure. It will take not one and not two years, and therefore you should not pin special hopes on import substitution. The only possible way to quickly resolve the problem, namely a compromise with Western partners, is not accepted by the authorities. Therefore, it remains to talk about how to replace imports as a "salvage" procedure.
Import substitution will not help to restore the agrarian sector in the near future. There are several reasons for this:
- Underdevelopment of the cooperative movement in Russia. For example, in European countries, it is cooperatives that are a kind of catalyst for the entire agrarian sector.
- Problems with agricultural and food infrastructure. Most manufacturers simply do not have access to it.
- The constant shortage of new technology and equipment. The reasons are clear - the lack of adequate state support for farmers, at least in the form of the provision of installments or loans with a low rate.
- Lack of production and financial resources.
- High dependence of individual branches of agriculture on import supplies. The country receives seeds, equipment, genetic material, some animals and much more.
Thus, there are incredibly many problems in the agrarian sphere of Russia, and import substitution alone will not help here. Especially, if we are talking about the next dates.
Food addiction
Despite the constant talk about the importance of import substitution, today Russia has a real chance to lose its food independence. The reasons are there.
Experts talk about a noticeable exacerbation of pricedisproportion between agriculture and industry. This is due to the rejection of reasonable paternalism with respect to domestic producers, as well as the almost complete opening of the domestic market for food imports. All this, of course, undermines the base for self-sufficiency.
The authorities go from extremes to extremes.Already today, they are thinking about cutting off all ties with the external market. The question of the country's withdrawal from the WTO, as well as the introduction of new requirements for food security, is raised. All this, of course, only aggravate the situation.
Internal and external threats to food security
Prepared for the food sector of Russiamany dangers and threats. The authorities, the experts, and the common people know about this. The authorities are trying to solve problems, but this is not always the case. Experts in every way help the state. So, sociologists classified all potential threats into two groups. The first block of problems is called internal.
No one will deny that agriculture inour country is very specific. The harsh climate and difficult natural conditions make themselves felt. So, one hectare can be harvested less grain yield than in the United States of America. In this case, human and machine labor will be involved much more. The same applies to livestock. The maintenance and development of livestock alone is very expensive for Russians. From all this we can draw only one conclusion: agriculture in the country is extremely unreliable, and all because of the difficult natural conditions. This is the first internal problem.
The second danger lurking inside the countrylies in the actions of state power. It is the power that sometimes comes not very wisely, thus creating a real threat to the food sector. State support for business executives is almost nil. This can be seen by examining the country's budget for 2018. The farmers themselves are also dissatisfied. Due to monopolistic policies, livestock are destroyed and private farms are destroyed. This should also include excessively high taxes.
The only external problem forfood sector of Russia is the sanctions policy of Western states. No matter how convinced in the reverse of power, sanctions cause enormous damage to the existing economy.
Таким образом, сельскохозяйственная сфера России needs reformation. The doctrine, approved in 2011, reflects only a small part of the requirements. National and food security will be achieved only with a meaningful and competent policy.
