Governmental approaches to food security management: A bibliometric analysis

Abstract

The government’s duty is to guarantee unimpeded access to food. Thus, relevant public policies, individual methods and tools, approaches, and strategic decisions are always the focus of attention of scientists, politicians, and government officials. Recognizing the critical importance of this imperative, this study aims to conduct a bibliometric analysis that sheds light on the scientific landscape of strategic public administration of food security. The paper conducts a bibliometric analysis of scientific publications (using VosViewer – from 1990 to February 2024 using Scopus and WoS scientometric databases); monographs/textbooks (using Google Books and Ngram Viewer – for 1990–2019); and trend analysis (using Google Trends – from 2004 to February 2024). The analysis showed an exponential increase in the number of publications since 2000, with peaks in 2008 (financial crisis), 2019–2020 (COVID-19), and 2023 (threat to food security due to military conflicts). The clustering of scientific papers by content showed that the most significant (red) cluster unites research that links food security to agricultural development, sustainable development, climate change, and water supply. The spatial clustering of scientific publications revealed that scientific leadership belongs to scientists from the United States and China. The largest research funders are Chinese scientific institutions. It also reflected regional differences in research focus. In particular, Italy, Switzerland, and France emphasize agricultural innovation and quality standards, while China and Australia focus on increasing yields and food storage technologies.