Assessment of food security in Romania and identification of main risks.

Abstract

Abstract. In recent years, the population’s food security issue has again come to the foreground, due to the challenges at global level, among which we can mention the food demand increase in the new emerging countries, the non-food uses of agricultural production (biofuels), as well as due to the climate changes impact upon agricultural production and supply. The analysis of the present situation of population’s food security in Romania from the perspective of its three fundamental dimensions, namely access to food, food availability and agricultural supply stability. In this context, the paper intends to address the issue whether the Romanians’ worries with regard to food security are justified on the basis of objective reasons. Food availability is the indicator by which the supply is evaluated in quantitative and nutritional terms for the main agricultural products; it is calculated on the basis of commodity balances, according to FAO and/or Eurostat methodology. The access to food by different socio-economic categories of the population is evaluated on the basis of data from the Integrated Household Survey, which is conducted on quarterly and yearly basis by the National Institute for Statistics. The food security problems of Romania’s population are evaluated, starting from the evolution of food availabilities and self-sufficiency level of the domestic agricultural supply. At the same time, the access to food is investigated, as well as the socio-economic factors on which this depends. The conclusions contain a review of the main opportunities and risks with regard to the food security issue in Romania, in a European and world context. Â