Uman NUH | today: 04/13/2024

Food security in conditions of the economic crisis

Author(s) Mudrak R.P., Doctor of Economics, , Uman National University of Horticulture
Category Economics
year 2017 issue Issue number 90. Part 2
pages 115-127 index UDK 338.439.62:338.124.4
DOI
Abstract Among the negative consequences of the economic crisis the most acute problem is the problem of decreasing of living standards as a result of rising unemployment, the reduction of real incomes of population, the increasing number of households which suffer from poverty, etc. In such circumstances special attention must be paid to those aspects of human life, which belong to the basic or physiological categories. In particular - is a state of human diet. Conclusions: 1) the average importance of the indicator «daily energy value of the human diet» in the studied period had not decreased below the critical value (2500 kcal). However, the facts of forced temporary malnutrition - hunger have been registered in 2014 and 2015 for the first time in the modern history of Ukraine. In part of the population this is indicated by the appearance of the energy value of the daily diet, which is less than 2100 kcal. This is the population who live in the temporarily occupied territories of specific areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions (SADLR); 2) the reduction of real incomes of population due to the economic crisis has a negative impact on the full and balanced diet Ukrainian citizens. Ukrainians limit themselves in a sufficient consumption of animal products, fresh fruits and vegetables, they compensate them with cheaper carbohydrate-containing food; 3) according to official statistics, in Ukraine in the studied period (2007-2015) stocks of grain was sufficient to ensure food security. 4) the actual value of the indicator «economic accessibility of food» suggests that as a result of the economic crisis, a significant part of Ukrainian households are located in the zone of food insecurity. This is especially true in rural areas. Their average income is lower than the one of urban residents; 5) a positive trend in the food system of Ukraine is the reduction of the rate of differentiation of cost of different social (quintile) groups. However, the reason for this trend is not to increase income of poor people (I quintile), and a forced adjustment of costs the well-off people (V quintile) due to the consequences of the economic crisis; 6) markets of nutritionally valuable food products - meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, eggs, fish and fish products, vegetables and melons, fruits, berries, nuts and grapes with low capacity, are decreased during periods of economic crisis. In 2015 food deficit of Ukrainian households (in the factual prices) is more than 250 billion UAH. These are the resources that were not enough to the population of the country to consume basic food commodities at rational norm; 7) there is a positive trend of increasing the level of self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs. However, considering the factor of economic crisis in the background of which the level of self-sufficiency in food types such as meat and meat products, milk and dairy products, eggs, fruits, berries and grapes increases, we can assert that this is done because of the reducing of household solvency and internal capacity of market; 8) in food market of Ukraine there is overproduction which is provoked by shortage of food expenditure of the population. In our country (excluding SADLR) due to the criterion of physical adequacy (kcal) there is a satisfactory level of food security, in terms of the consumption of certain types of food, part of the cost of purchasing food products in the total consumer-stroke races there is the food insecurity; 9) there are budgetary programs the stimulation of agro-food supply in Ukraine, but there is still no program of incentives of food demand. This imbalance causes an increasing of the deficit of total expenditure in terms of household demand. As part of the agrifood offer, there is the reduction of production, which is faced with the problem of sales on the domestic market because of the low demand on the foreign market - due to non-compliance and quality requirements for safety.
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