Food security challenges: Evidence from the southeast Europe countries

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Description of the subject. In the past half-century, the world has become increasingly aware of the challenges and threats to food security. The challenges of maintaining food security have been further increased under the influence of crises (COVID-19, Russia-Ukraine war). Many factors affect food security, and the effects of crises have additional negative consequences on food systems, with direct and indirect implications on the lives of everyone, especially the developing countries, such as countries of Southeast Europe. Objectives. Therefore, the aim of the research is analyzing the effects of socio-economic factors and policy factors on the level of food security of Southeast Europe countries. Method. This research covered countries of Southeast Europe: Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, Slovenia, and North Macedonia. The research data were taken from the FAOSTAT database and World Bank for the countries of Southeast Europe during 15 years (2006-2020), and in this paper panel data analysis was used. Results. The results of the research showed that there is a statistically significant influence of socio-economic factors and policy factors on the level of food security of the Southeastern Europe countries. Conclusions. The results of the research showed that food production variability, food supply variability, food imports, inflation, GDP per capita and political stability have a significant impact on the level of food security in the countries of Southeast Europe.