Food Self-sufficiency Research Articles

УПРАВЛІННЯ СІЛЬСЬКИМ ГОСПОДАРСТВОМ ПІВНІЧНОГО РЕГІОНУ В СИСТЕМІ ПРОДОВОЛЬЧОВОЇ БЕЗПЕКИ

Agriculture and commercial economy of the Northern zone developed together with the development of the territory, is a way of life of the peoples rooted here. It was based on centuries-old agricultural traditions taking into account the extreme harsh natural conditions and agricultural features. The agro-industrial farm is designed to provide the population with biologically complete local food products, perform a social function. The purpose of the article is the sustainable development of agricultural production, providing an increase in the level of food self-sufficiency of the population of the northern territories on the example of the Komi Republic. The subject of the study is the process of managing the sustainable development of the agricultural sector. The research methods used were systematic, comparative analysis, analogies, statistical, generalization of accumulated experience. The hypothesis of the study. The development of local agricultural production will increase food self-sufficiency, which will lead to savings in investments in transport, reduce product losses and improve its quality. Presentation of the main material. The possibilities and limitations of the development of northern agriculture are revealed. The trends in the development of the agricultural sector in the 1960s-1980s and in the conditions of market transformations are considered. The reasons for the decline in agricultural production, the reduction of the coefficient of food self-sufficiency are established. Priorities for the development of agriculture have been determined. Practical significance. Conclusions and recommendations can be taken into account by the Ministry of Agriculture and Consumer Market of the Komi Republic and other government bodies when determining the directions for improving state policy on the development of the agricultural sector. Conclusions of the study. Sustainable development of agriculture and increasing food self-sufficiency will require strengthening innovative modernization, the formation of a multi-layered agrarian economy, improving the economic mechanism, priority development of rural infrastructure, improving the level and quality of life of peasants.

Доктрина продовольственной безопасности: региональный аспект

The article discusses issues of the state of the agro-industrial complex of the region in connection with the need to fulfill the targets approved in January 2020 by the new edition of the Food Security Doctrine of Russia. The purpose of the study is to identify the problems of the northern region and to develop proposals for changing the situation for the successful implementation of the Doctrine. The scientific problem discussed in the article relates to the determination of the methodological foundations of the most relevant areas of agrarian policy for the current state, ensuring the implementation of the Food Security Doctrine of Russia and increasing the level of self-sufficiency of the region. The author's research develops the theory of determining the socio-economic role of effective interaction between authorities of different levels, scientific justification of the prospects for the further development of the agro-industrial complex due to the transformation of the industry development management system, innovative approach to training personnel for the agricultural sector, and introduction of new technological solutions as highly relevant. It has been established that such factors as the lack of effective interaction between the state and municipal authorities, and also the lack of young qualified personnel, whose competence meets the modern requirements, have a negative impact on the economy of agricultural production and food self-sufficiency of the region as a whole. The article draws attention to the underestimated opportunities for improving the situation in the agro-industrial complex due to a change in the scheme of interaction between the state and municipal authorities during the implementation of the program-targeted method of regulation and strategic planning, as well as the creation of a scientific and educational complex in the region for the training of competitive specialists for the agro-industrial complex. In order to improve the situation, it is necessary to consolidate the formation of a regional agricultural system on the basis of a set of similar systems developed by the municipalities themselves, based on the relevant climatic conditions, financial, material and labor resources of these areas. Besides, it is necessary to start the training of personnel for the agroindustrial complex system from school, applying new educational standards, based on scientific developments.

The Political Economy of Food Import and Self-reliance in China: 1949-2019

ABSTRACT China’s growing food imports have aroused anxiety over global food security. Paradoxically the country also maintains a policy of food self-sufficiency as the Chinese leadership reiterates that the country must “hold the rice bowl in its own hands.” Importing large volumes of food while emphasizing self-sufficiency poses a puzzle in understanding food politics in China. This paper examines political and economic forces behind the dual strategy, i.e. seeking food imports and emphasizing self-reliance. The underproduction crisis of food and the neoliberal globalization of the food supply have contributed to rising food imports, whereas the anxiety over national food sovereignty and the need to support rural livelihoods pull China toward food self-reliance. Using statistical and archival data, the paper reveals the critical conjunctures of food imports and self-reliance in China in the past seven decades and the contradictions within the dual food strategy.

The Development of Farmer Agrarian Literacy in Facing Changes in Times (Sample Framework in Ngawi Regency)

Increased infrastructure development has significantly impacted world agriculture, generally in Indonesia and particularly in Ngawi Regency. Due to the narrowing of agricultural land is an unavoidable necessity. It can be seen in the annual loss of agricultural land due to the eroded flow of development, which will doubt harm agricultural production. Because the agricultural land is decreasing, achieving food self-sufficiency in the world in the coming years will be difficult. The fact is the cause of the narrowness of agricultural land for infrastructure development. In addressing the issues mentioned above, research into the knowledge/literacy of farmers in the Ngawi Regency is required; specifically, developing farmer knowledge will enable farmers to continue farming. According to the research's findings: farmers have a deep understanding of agriculture; they mostly learn from their parents, the Internet, and neighbors; farmers learn about pest and disease cultivation and marketing aspects from the Internet.

Japanese rural resettlers: communities with newcomers as heterotopic spaces

The increasing number of young urbanites settling into the countryside of Japan compels urgent research on communities with newcomers and newly emerging lifestyles. This article explores the daily practices of newcomers to rural areas to understand the complexity of the transformation of rurality in contemporary post-growth Japan. This study was conducted in 2011–2015 and draws upon ethnographic data from rural communities. The article details three distinctive lifestyles practiced by rural newcomers: self-sufficiency in food, agro-entrepreneurship, and an “average” way of life. This article analyzes contemporary rural Japan through the lens of heterotopia as a specific characteristic of modern space where seemingly incompatible sites are set side by side. Highlighting the complexity of contemporary rural spaces allows for challenging the norms of conventional perceptions of rurality.

Study on Prevalence of Trypanosomosis in Cattle of Sodo Zuriya District, Wolaita Zone, Southern Ethiopia.

Background Trypanosomosis is a significant impediment to Ethiopia's livestock and farm production, adding adversely to the overall growth of agriculture in general and the nation's food self-reliance efforts in particular. Methods Cross-sectional research was performed on the prevalence of trypanosomosis in cattle and the distinction of Trypanosoma species and potential factors in six selected provinces of the Sodo zuriya district in southern Ethiopia. Blood samples from the ear vein of 400 local and exotic cattle species were taken randomly. A hematocrit reader was used after centrifugation at 12,000 rpm for a five-minute assessment of anemic conditions of animals, and the anemia of the thin blood spraying and buffy coat procedure was tested to assess the incidence, detection, and packaging of Trypanosoma and the cell volume of each sampled animal. Results Accordingly, twenty cattle were positive for trypanosomosis, with an overall proportion of 5.0%. From this overall prevalence, Trypanosoma congolense (3.3%) and Trypanosoma vivax (1.8%) were the two common Trypanosoma species in this study. The highest and the lowest prevalence of trypanosomes occurred in Guttuto Larena (35%) and Dalbo Wogane (0.00%), respectively. Age-wise prevalence revealed that young adults (45%) were the most affected, followed by old adults (35%) and adults (20%). Cattle with poor body condition scores (65%) were the most affected, followed by cattle with medium (30%) and good (5%) body condition scores, and this was found to be statistically significant (p ≤ 0.002). In addition, the variation in packed cell volume (PCV) between infected and noninfected cattle was significantly different (p ≤ 0.0001). Conclusion Thus, the present study revealed the predominance of bovine trypanosomosis in the region and had a significant effect on body condition and anemia growth. The government and public should then collaborate in parasite-observed areas on the disease's management and prevention efforts in an environmentally sustainable way.

Impact of Trade Openness on Food Security: Evidence from Panel Data for Central Asian Countries.

The problem of food insecurity has become increasingly critical across the world since 2015, which threatens the lives and livelihoods of people around the world and has historically been a challenge confined primarily to developing countries, to which the countries of Central Asia, as typical transition countries, cannot be immune either. Under this context, many countries including Central Asian countries have recognized the importance of trade openness to ensure adequate levels of food security and are increasingly reliant on international trade for food security. Using the 2001–2018 panel data of Central Asian countries, based on food security’s four pillars (including availability, access, stability, and utilization), this study empirically estimates the impact of trade openness and other factors on food security and traces a U-shaped (or inverted U-shaped) relationship between trade openness and food security by adopting a panel data fixed effect model as the baseline model, and then conducts the robustness test by using the least-squares (LS) procedure for the pooled data and a dynamic panel data (DPD) analysis with the generalized method of moments (GMM) approach, simultaneously. The results show that: (1) a U-shaped relationship between trade openness and the four pillars of food security was found, which means that beyond a certain threshold of trade openness, food security status tends to improve in Central Asian countries; (2) gross domestic product (GDP) per capita, GDP growth, and agricultural productivity have contributed to the improvement of food security. Employment in agriculture, arable land, freshwater withdrawals in agriculture, population growth, natural disasters, and inflation rate have negative impacts on food security; and (3) this study confirms that trade policy reforms can finally be conducive to improving food security in Central Asian countries. However, considering the effects of other factors, potential negative effects of trade openness, and vulnerability of global food trade network, ensuring reasonable levels of food self-sufficiency is still very important for Central Asian countries to achieve food security. Our research findings can provide scientific support for sustainable food system strategies in Central Asian countries.

STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT AREAS OF THE REGIONAL AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF PROVISION OF FOOD SAFETY OF THE POPULATION

Strategic goal of agri-food systems development (AFS) is provision of food safety of the country. This predetermines food sovereignty of the country on the national level. It is important for regions to achieve self-sufficiency in food. Food safety of each country resident is characterized by the balanced and quality nutrition in the volume no less than the norm of rational consumption. To achieve the food sovereignty on every of the above-mentioned levels, it's necessary to have stable development of the regional agri-food systems where the demand, supply and consumption of the food products form. Functioning of AFS is connected with the efficiency of agri-food production, its competitiveness, trading networks activity, population incomes and participance of the state in the forming of food supply and the demand. The role of the state regulation consists in the forming of conditions for the stable functioning of all its sub-systems, provision of physical, economic and social availability of the food. In conditions of the differentiation of the regions by social and economical development, the level of the population incomes and food prices are varied significantly. This stipulates different levels of the affordability of the food. Besides, economic inequality is noted not only among regions, but also among the employees of different economic sectors, as well as residents of city and rural settlements. In these conditions self-provision of the population with food is a factor of increase of the nutrition quality, and the realization of the excess is a source of additional incomes. State support of the owners of private part-owner units, activity of trading and purchasing consumer co-operatives contribute to the growth of self-sufficiency of the villagers with food.

Rural Experiments with the Management of Basic Resources. Key Characteristics of European Ecovillages Aiming at Partial Self-Sufficiency in Water, Food and Energy

Abstract The goal of this paper is to provide a preliminary analysis of European ecovillages considered as rural grassroots experiments with the sustainable management of the Water-Energy-Food Nexus. The article presents empirical data on the management of basic resources in 60 European ecovillages collected with an online survey in 2020. The results show that a vast majority of ecovillages pursue some self-sufficiency in food, water or energy, and that 50% of them seek some self-sufficiency in all three of these resources. However, ecovillages do not try to be completely self-sufficient but rather aim at achieving feasible levels of self-sufficiency complemented with local and regional cooperation. While the role of ecovillages in driving conventional rural growth is limited, they can help in guiding sustainability transitions by illustrating opportunities and difficulties of reducing resource consumption of settlement units without reducing personal and communal well-being.

Features of food market formation in Ukraine

The article examines the peculiarities of the formation of the food market of Ukraine and trends in its development. The actual capacity of the domestic market for certain products has been determined, taking into account the decrease in the average per capita consumption of certain food products by the population and the reduction in the population of Ukraine. It is established that the growth of gross output of agricultural products has improved the level of self-sufficiency in food in Ukraine. Meeting the needs of the population in food, within its purchasing power, is almost entirely provided by domestic products, except fruits, berries, and grapes. The level and dynamics of import dependence of the food market as a whole and in the context of individual product groups are determined.

Emerging agricultural expansion in northern regions: Insights from land-use research

Emerging agricultural expansion in northern regions: Insights from land-use research

Situated agroecology: context, process and massification of Program Degree in Agroecology in Venezuela

A lo largo del proceso de la Revolución Bolivariana, se han desarrollado en Venezuela fuertes contradicciones de clase y del sistema alimentario, que han enfrentado las fuerzas de una cultura de consumo que favorece los alimentos importados, el modelo de la revolución verde, y el uso intensivo de insumos, a otro modelo que representa la ruta hacia la soberanía alimentaria y un paradigma agroecológico emergente impulsado por los movimientos de base. Como producto del proceso revolucionario, en 2004 se fundó en la Universidad Bolivariana de Venezuela, el Programa de Formación de Grado en Agroecología (PFG) con el fin de ampliar las prácticas y conocimientos agroecológicos con base en enfoques pedagógicos alternativos. En la pasada década, más de mil graduados del PFG han ocupado espacios institucionales y proyectos productivos en áreas urbanas y rurales, contribuyendo así a la escala agroecológica vertical y horizontal, lo que muestra su papel clave en este creciente movimiento y su capacidad de crear mediadores para territorializar la agroecología e institucionalizar la política pro campesina en Venezuela. Como dato político atípico, este país es un caso importante para el estudio de las estrategias de territorialización de la agroecología socialmente comprometida y situada.

The Crossroads of Ecotourism Dependency, Food Security and a Global Pandemic in Galápagos, Ecuador

International esteem for Galápagos’ natural wonders and the democratization of travel have contributed to a 300% increase in annual tourist entries to the archipelago from 2000 (68,989) to 2018 (275,817). The attendant spike in tourism-related anthropogenic impact coupled with deficient infrastructure development has put the archipelago’s natural capital and carrying capacity at risk. The complex nature of Galápagos’ food insecurity is linked to the archipelago’s geographic isolation, its diminishing agricultural workforce, international tourists’ demand for recognizable food, and a lack of investment in sustainable and innovative agricultural futures. Food security is key to the long-term well-being of Galapagueños, who sustain Galápagos’ tourism industry. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has further exposed the vulnerability of human systems in Galápagos, especially the fragility of Galápagos’ ecotourism dependency. Galapagueños’ struggle to endure the tourism sector’s slow rebound following the 2020 travel restrictions points to an urgent need to implement food security measures as an indispensable component of the archipelago’s long-term sustainability plan. This article presents ethnographic data to discuss the tourism sector’s impact on local food systems, Galapagueños’ right to food sovereignty, efforts to increase agricultural production, and why strengthening institutional partnerships is vital to Galápagos’ food self-sufficiency.

Potentials and perspectives of food self-sufficiency in urban areas—a case study from Leipzig

AbstractRegionalization of food systems is a potential strategy to support environmental, economic and social sustainability. However, local preconditions need to be considered to assess the feasibility of such a transformation process. To better understand the potentials and perspectives of food self-sufficiency in urban and peri-urban areas, we determined the food self-sufficiency level (SSL) of a German metropolitan region, i.e., the percentage of the food demand that could be potentially provided on existing agricultural land. Main input parameters were actual food demand, agricultural productivity and its temporal variability and land availability. Furthermore, we considered changes in diet, food losses and land management. Based on current diets and agricultural productivity, the administrative region of Leipzig achieved a mean SSL of 94%, ranging from 77 to 116%. Additionally, an area of 26,932 ha, representing 12% of the regionally available agricultural land, was needed for commodities that are not cultivated regionally. Changes in food demand due to a diet shift to a more plant-based diet and reduced food losses would increase the SSL by 29 and 17%, respectively. A shift to organic agriculture would decrease the SSL by 34% due to lower crop yields compared with conventional production. However, a combination of organic agriculture with less food loss and a more plant-based diet would lead to a mean SSL of 95% (75–115%). Our results indicate the feasibility of food system regionalization in the study area under current and potential near future conditions. Addressing a combination of multiple dimensions, for example plant-based and healthier diets combined with reduced food loss and organic farming, is the most favorable approach to increase food self-sufficiency in urban and peri-urban areas and simultaneously provide synergies with social and environmental objectives.

Food balance sheets provide information on food security, indicators of the prevalence of undernourishment and losses in the cases of Benin, Guinea and Mali

This paper was done within the framework of the Monitoring of the SDGs in Africa (SODDA) project which supported the analysis of the food balance sheets drawn up through the letter of agreement between FAO/GS1 and AFRISTAT. Analysis of the self-sufficiency rate over the 2010–2015 period shows that Mali has higher food self-sufficiency than Benin and Guinea. In Guinea, overall, 43.2% of domestic product supplies are on average imports. Plant products are the most dependent on imports with an average annual IDR of 48.2% compared to 12.5% for animal products. In the three countries, plant products are the most dependent on imports. The use of FAO methodologies for calculating the prevalence of undernourishment under SDG 2 and the food loss index under SDG 12 made it possible to estimate these two indicators using BAs and other related indicators. The results in 2015 show that Benin and Guinea with respectively 14.2% and 15.6% of the population with a prevalence of undernourishment are ahead of Mali with 5%. In terms of individuals, estimates give 1.5 million Beninese, 1.2 million Guineans and 0.9 million Malians who were undernourished in 2015.

ENHANCING HEALTH AWARENESS THROUGH COMMUNITY PARTICIPATION

This Integrated Health System Innovation in Rahayu Village is an integrated and sustainable health program involving several stakeholders and related agencies. This program deals with health by integrating clean water programs as a health solution, agricultural programs for food self-sufficiency and nutrition improvement, and goat farming programs to support medicinal plant farming programs and organic vegetables. The study of the impact program using a qualitative approach, through FGDs and in-depth interviews, also observation and desk study on secondary data. This program has succeeded in raising awareness of healthy living and independence in solutions to the problems of the clean water crisis, health problems for children & families, and independence in fulfilling children's and family's nutrition.

Тенденции в растениеводстве как фактор обеспечения продовольственной безопасности Пермского края

Abstract. Goal. The assessment of the main trends in the activity of agricultural producers in crop production was carried out in order to substantiate the possibilities of the Perm Region for self-sufficiency with the main types of food resources in the presence of adverse effects of natural and climatic conditions. Methods. A statistical analysis was carried out using grouping and comparison methods based on the official statistics of the Perm Region for 2016-2020. Results. In accordance with the social and geographical specifics of the Perm Region, on the territory of which rural areas predominate, the largest volume of crop production is produced in the households of the population (up to 58 %), whose activities are characterized by the lowest level of stability and are more susceptible to the negative impact of natural and climatic conditions. The activity of agricultural organizations (share up to 36 %) and farms (share up to 8 %) is more stable. A higher level of dependence on natural and climatic conditions was revealed in the field of potato production, a lower level – in the field of grain and vegetables production of protected soil. The risk is reinforced by the fact that up to 70 % of the natural volume of potatoes and more than 80% of vegetables are produced in households. With a decrease in the total sown area by 1.2 %, there is a decrease in the sown area of potatoes by 15 % and vegetables by 6 %. The identified trends allowed us to identify the risk of reducing the level of food self-sufficiency of the Perm Region with potatoes and vegetables. The insecurity of domestic potato consumption in the Perm Region is, according to preliminary data, 13 % in 2020. The presence of risk was also revealed for vegetables, the internal consumption of the region was provided with vegetable products of its own production by an average of 56% during the study period. The results obtained allow us to identify the directions of optimization of the Perm Region strategy in solving the problems of food self-sufficiency. Scientific novelty. The dynamics of factors of crop production (structure, yield, acreage, intensification) is assessed taking into account the social, geographical, natural and climatic specifics of the Perm Region through the prism of the impact on the regional food balance and the level of self-sufficiency of the region with potatoes and vegetables.

System dynamic relationship between service water and food: Case study at Jinghe River Basin

Water resources and food are the most important and basic resources for human beings and society. In recent decades, due to the growth of global population and economy, water resources and food shortages have become a global resource problem. Under this background, the significance of exploring the relationship between water-food in ecosystem services becomes more and more prominent. In view of this, this study used the SWAT model and the spatialized food production model to quantitatively evaluate the supply, demand, and supply-demand ratio of water and food production in the Jinghe River Basin in 2020, and built a system dynamics model of the watershed ecosystem services to simulate the coupling of water and food. According to the socio-economic conditions, nine different population economic development scenarios were set up to simulate the development of the water-food relationship between the ecosystem services of the river basin in 2030. The results showed that ① the spatial differences in water supply-demand ratio and food self-sufficiency rate in Jinghe River Basin in 2020 were obvious, and the supply-demand ratio in the upper reaches of the basin was significantly higher than that in the lower reaches. ② Through model simulations of three water supply-demand ratios and three food self-sufficiency rates, it was found that the water supply-demand ratios and food self-sufficiency rates showed obvious synergistic relationships both in time and in spatial distribution. ③ Under nine economic and demographic development scenarios, the optimal simulation effect was achieved under scenario E1P3 for both water-food supply and demand in the Jinghe River Basin in 2030. That was, when the economy and population develop in opposite directions, the supply-demand ratio of the two achieved the best simulation effect. The results provided a scientific basis for the sustainable development of water-food relationship in Jinghe River Basin in the future.

Balancing water and food by optimizing the planting structure in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region, China

In the past several decades, the irrigation of high-intensity cropping systems has caused serious groundwater depletion in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region. Optimizing the planting structure is a key method for mitigating groundwater decline. However, the optimal planting structure has not been confirmed, and the effect of planting structures has not been quantified in groundwater overdraft areas. In this study, based on a model for planting structure optimization and the elitist nondominated sorting genetic algorithm, the water saving potential was estimated, and the trade-off between water resources and agricultural production was quantified. The results showed the following: (1) The current planting structure is a highly water-consuming system. The winter wheat–summer maize double-cropping system and vegetable and fruit cropping systems are the dominant contributors to crop water consumption, accounting for 90% of the total water deficit. (2) Constrained by regional water resources, it is difficult to achieve the objectives of halting groundwater decline and food self-sufficiency simultaneously unless at least 1.0 billion m3 yr-1 water from the mid-route of the South-to-North Water Transfer (SNWT) project is used for agriculture or wheat imports account for more than 25% (2.84 million ton yr-1) of the regional wheat demand. (3) It is almost impossible to achieve a balance between groundwater exploitation and replenishment only by optimizing the planting structure without decreasing the agricultural output or without using external water. When the planting structure is optimized, to coordinate grain crops, cash crops and water use, at least 81–96% (4.6–5.5 billion m3 yr-1) of the planned water from the SNWT project will need to be used for agriculture. (4) A viable option for restructuring planting should consider the regional self-sufficiency for wheat, a moderate surplus of vegetables/fruits to boost farmers’ income, and appropriate water transfer for groundwater sustainability. The results provide a compromise between food and water in severe groundwater overdraft areas and serve as a quantitative reference for making decisions regarding agricultural and water resource policies.

Scenario Analysis of Changes in the Food Supply Chain

The aim of this study is to identify possible alternative scenarios in food production and consumption that would lead to a more balanced supply of locally produced food and a reduction in the environmental impact of agricultural production. The analysis of food consumption and agricultural land distribution in Slovenia showed that a significantly larger proportion of land area is used for food production for animals than for humans. Several potential changes in the distribution of agricultural land, in milk consumption and production, in the use of fertilizers and in people's eating habits towards lower consumption of red meat were identified. Analysis of the scenarios showed the potential to increase food self-sufficiency by 15 %, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35 %, and reduce nitrogen intake by 30 % by 2050. Reducing red meat consumption could shift intensive feed-based livestock production to grass-based production and produce more plant-based food for humans. This could increase the amount of local food and make food production less harmful to the environment. Preliminary research has shown that there are several influencing factors in the food supply chain that have conflicting effects on key food supply parameters and environmental indicators. It is therefore necessary to move towards a systematic multi-criteria optimization of the food supply chain in order to achieve the objectives of the European and national strategies on agriculture and climate change.