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International Journal of Management (IJM) Volume 11, Issue 6, June 2020, pp. 1729-1745, Article ID: IJM_11_06_159

Available online at http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=6

ISSN Print: 0976-6502 and ISSN Online: 0976-6510

DOI: 10.34218/IJM.11.6.2020.159

© IAEME Publication Scopus Indexed

ASSESSMENT OF FOOD SECURITY IN

COUNTRY OR GEOGRAPHIC REGION:

MANAGEMENT AND ADMINISTRATION

Iryna A. Markina*

Poltava State Agrarian Academy, Poltava, Ukraine

Alla D. Chykurkova

State Agrarian and Engineering University in Podilly, Kamenetz-Podolsky, Ukraine

Mykhailo M. Shkilniak

Ternopil National Economic University, Ternopil, Ukraine

Nikolai I. Somych


Olena M. Taran-Lala


*Corresponding Author Email: Email: [email protected]

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, the problem of food security remains one of the most global challenges

in the world. Governments seek to ensure and manage food security to provide enough

food for all citizens to live a healthy life. To improve food security management food

insecurity reliable indicators useful to policymakers are of high demand. With this

purpose, various integral indicators or indices of the level of food security of

population are commonly used, including the Global Food Security Index and the

Global Hunger Index. Despite copious methods, indicators and indices used

worldwide, there’s lack a common and unified methodology allowing to evaluate food

security. With the purpose of the study, by way of descriptive, comparative, grouping,

monographic, economic, and statistical analysis methods various methodologies,

indicators and indices of food security / insecurity evaluation were investigated. The

Global Food Security Index 2019 and the Global Hunger Index 2019 were

investigated both from methodology and countries’ indicators perspective. In course

of the study, a unified system of food security indicators for a country or region was

developed. The concise and informative system is based on indicators of current and

target condition of food security / insecurity, and indicators of food security risks and

threats which can adversely affect food security in medium- and long-term

perspective. The proposed set of indicators and criteria for food security can be

Assessment of Food Security in Country or Geographic Region: Management and Administration


adjusted by additional criteria and indicators depending on the agricultural

orientation of the country and its agricultural production. The suggested system of

indicators can be used by authorities for quick and reliable assessment of food

security of risks thereto in course of planning and development of national and

regional agri-food policy.

Key words: Global Food Security Index, Global Hunger Index, food security,

methodology, indicators

Cite this Article: Iryna A. Markina, Alla D. Chykurkova, Mykhailo M. Shkilniak,

Nikolai I. Somych and Olena M. Taran-Lala, Assessment of Food Security in Country

or Geographic Region: Management and Administration, International Journal of

Management, 11(6), 2020, pp. 1729-1745.

http://www.iaeme.com/IJM/issues.asp?JType=IJM&VType=11&IType=6

1. INTRODUCTION

In the XXI century, the problem of food security, undoubtedly, remains one of the most

global challenges (Ryabova et al., 2020). Food security is achieved when all people always

have physical and economic access to an adequate, safe and nutritious food product that meets

their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Food insecurity occurs

at the level of individuals, households, or nations that do not have either physical or economic

access to the food they need. (Mohamed, 2017). Availability, access, utilization, and stability

are now widely accepted as the four pillars of food security (Upton et al., 2016).

Despite having enough food around the world, more than a billion people still suffer from

a lack of nutritious food. The prevalence of malnutrition and the increase in overweight and

obesity continue to be major public health problems in many countries around the world.

About 820 million people in the world continue to suffer from hunger, and about 2.4 billion

people are overweight. The majority of very hungry people lives in developing and poor

countries, while most overweight and obese people live in developed and rich countries

(Abraham & Pingali, 2020). In addition, there are an estimated 68.5 million forcibly displaced

people worldwide, most of which are displaced not as a result of just one factor, but because

of a combination of factors, and hunger often appears in their experience. Hunger constantly

threatens the lives of a large number of displaced persons and affects their decisions about

when and where to move (Von Grebmer et al., 2018).

All nations and all national governments recognize the importance of their ability to

ensure reliable food supplies, but this is a particularly important issue for developing

countries, especially those whose geography, history or natural wealth does not allow them to

achieve long-term food security goals (Adamson, 2018). Moreover, as a result of 2007 - 2008

food price crisis and its aftershocks, food self-sufficiency as an approach to food security

gained increased attention in many countries. Food self-sufficient countries produce the

amount of food that equals or exceeds the amount of food that they consume. At the same

time such countries may still pursue certain agricultural specialization in order to trade these

products with other countries. (Clapp, 2017)

An important issue is food waste in developed countries comprising over 222 million tons

per year. This problem forced national and transnational authorities take relevant measures:

the European commission committed to decrease food waste by 50% by 2025, as well as the

US which adopted a national waste reduction goal by 2030 (Mc Carthy et al., 2018).

Governments usually seek to ensure and manage food security in order to provide enough

food for all citizens to live a healthy life (Wegren et al., 2017). Improving food security

management depends heavily on identifying food insecurity indicators that are useful to

Iryna A. Markina, Alla D. Chykurkova, Mykhailo M. Shkilniak, Nikolai I. Somych and

Olena M. Taran-Lala


policymakers to improve their targeting and monitoring goals (Pérez-Escamilla et al., 2017;

Borodin et al., 2019). Various integral indicators or indices of the level of food protection of

population are commonly used (Baker Tilly, 2018).

One of integral indices, the Global Hunger Index (GHI), is annually calculated by the

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The GHI is a tool designed to measure

and track hunger at global, regional and national levels. The GHI allows to increase

awareness and understanding of the fight against hunger, compare hunger levels between

countries and regions, and draw attention to areas of the world that most need additional

resources to end hunger (Von Grebmer et al., 2017). The index consists of four indicators: the

proportion of starving population, the proportion of children under five who are underweight

due to severe malnutrition, the proportion of children under five who are developmentally

disabled due to chronic malnutrition, and children’s mortality rate. Countries are rated on a

100-point scale, where 0 is the best result and 100 is the worst. It should be noted that the

rating does not include developed countries (Blaauboer et al., 2016). At the same time, GHI

scores are not calculated for some high-income countries where the prevalence of hunger is

very low. Even though hunger and undernutrition are serious concerns for segments of the

population in certain high-income countries. GHI scores are not calculated for certain

countries with small populations (such as Belize) or for non-independent entities or territories

(such as Western Sahara) (Von Grebmer et al., 2019).

Although food security is inherently multifaceted, one of the most important aspects is the

continued access to adequate nutrition. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations (FAO) implements a project called Voices of the Hungry (VoH) to develop and

support the survey, an experiential food access measure called the Food Insecurity Experience

Scale (FIES). The FIES measures the severity of food insecurity, modelled as a special

feature, widely understood as a condition of the impossibility of free access to food, necessary

for a healthy, active and fulfilling life. The measure is based on the conditions and behaviour

reported in response to the 8-item questionnaire, the Food Insecurity Experience Scale Survey

Module. (Cafiero et al., 2018). According to the FIES findings there are three levels of food-

insecurity severity levels:

1. Food Security: adequate access to food in both quality and quantity;

2. Moderate Food Insecurity: people experiencing moderate food shortages are insecure about

their ability to get food and are forced to compromise on the quality and / or quantity of

food they consume;

3. Severe Food Insecurity: people with severe food shortages tend to be short of food and, in

the worst case, spend a day (or days) without food (FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and

WHO, 2019).

One of the most comprehensive set of indicators of food security in various countries of

the world is the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) calculated by the British research

company The Economist Intelligence Unit with the support of the global pure-play agriculture

company Corteva Agriscience (Prosekov & Ivanova, 2018). The GFSI is a dynamic

quantitative and qualitative benchmarking model based on the calculation of 28 unique

indicators allowing to assess food security in various countries of the world (Global Food

Security Index, 2019).

Food security assessment methodology used in Japan is based on four indicators: food

self-sufficiency, food energy, consumption of primary calories (Anishchenko, 2013).

The methodology of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)

is based on the system of indicators corresponding to four main elements of food security:



Availability: having available sufficient quantities of food, whose continued

production also depends on a healthy environment;

Access: having the economic and physical means to obtain a nutritious diet;

Utilization: having adequate dietary intake and the ability to absorb and use nutrients

in the body);

Stability: ensuring the other three elements on a consistent basis (Gil et al., 2019).

As per alternative approach, food security can be determined by the integrated index of

indicators both static an in dynamics (Table 1):

Table 1

Index Measure

Average calories daily diet of the region’s population for individual

consumer groups

Kcal

Physical and economic availability of food for various categories of

households

Absolute and relative

values

Consumption of basic food by consumer groups with various income

levels

Kg per year

Production of basic food products per capita Kg per year

Consumption of basic foodstuffs per capita Kg per year

Self-sufficiency of entities (state, region, household) with basic food

products included in the basket of consumer goods

%

Compliance of the diet with scientific standards in terms of energy value

and the actual content of nutrients

Absolute and relative

values

Source: developed by the authors based on Basinskaya (2008)

There are also various indicators used to assess food security both at micro- and macro-

levels. Inflation, exchange rate, taxes, loan and agricultural rates, food price indices and their

dynamics are used for marco-level food security analysis, while access to health and social

care services, especially in course of crisis are used for micro-level analysis (Ushachev, 2014;

Markina et al., 2018b).

Vast development of food security evaluation methods and indicators led to some

methodological difficulties, namely:

any integral indicator or index is unable to stipulate the area of food security

governance which is ineffective, the area with greater risks and threats. As a result, it

can be difficult to determine measures to be taken to mitigate such risk or threat.

(Rausser & Zilberman, 2014; Aceves & Amato, 2017; Herzfeld et al., 2017; Rogachev

et al., 2018);

significant number of food security assessment methodologies: large amount of food

security evaluation methods is mainly focused on agricultural production, price

affordability of food products for population, and physical accessibility of certain food

products (Blaauboer et al., 2016; Jambor & Babu, 2017; Omarova et al., 2017);

methodology of weighing separate indicators directly impacts the integral indicator

value: the arbitrary choice of scales largely depends on personal views and preferences

of the researcher. Therefore, such method of presenting information to evaluate the

overall picture becomes quite subjective. Moreover, indicators may vary from country

occur country and from time period to time period. Thus, the use of general-purpose

scales may occur inadequate (Gumerov, 2016).


Olena M. Taran-Lala


Despite numerous studies suggesting copious methodologies, there’s lack a common and

unified methodology allowing to evaluate food security; such lack precludes the possibility of

a comparative analysis, since various incompatible indicators and criteria are often

considered.

The aim of the study is to develop an optimal system of indicators which would allow to

evaluate the level of food security in any country or region.

In order to Achieve the aim of the research the following study objectives were set:

1. to investigate methodologies, indices and indicators of food security / insecurity;

2. to investigate recent Global Food Security Index and Global Hunger Index both in terms of

methodology and current indices of countries and regions;

3. to develop a common and unified set of indicators allowing to evaluate and monitor food

security satiation in a country or region.

2. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Based on the research of food security assessment methodologies, they can be divided into at

different levels of management allowed us to group them on the basis of two approaches:

1) industry-based, according to which for each area certain indicators are used that

characterize the effectiveness of their functioning and regulation. In this case, food security

indicators are related to production (agricultural output, level of profitability of production of

various types of agricultural products) and food consumption (average food consumption per

capita etc.);

2) resource and potential based approach allowing to determine the absolute and relative

levels of food security. The absolute level of food security is determined by the ratio of

potential manufacturability (available resources) to the actual volume of their use. Relative

efficiency shows the ratio of the final effect to costs (profitability of agricultural production).

While the existing food security assessment models are varied, many of them are focused on

evaluating specific aspects of food security.

At the same time, the aforementioned food security evaluation methodologies contain a

number of commonly used indicators and indices including:

food self-sufficiency, showing how a country or region satisfies the needs of the

population in different types of food products by means of local production (Ministry

of economic development and trade of Ukraine, 2013; Ushachev, 2014; Blaauboer et

al., 2016; Global Food Security Index, 2018; Markina et al., 2018b; Rogachev et al.,

2018; FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019);

satisfaction of physiological needs of the population in food reflects actual volumes of

consumption in comparison with rational norms (Basinskaya, 2008; Ministry of

economic development and trade of Ukraine, 2013; Ushachev, 2014; Jambor & Babu,

2017; Omarova et al., 2017; Global Food Security Index, 2018; FAO, IFAD,

UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019);

economic affordability of food, which indicates the possibility of buying food

depending on the size of income of population and the level of food prices (Rausser &

Zilberman, 2014; Herzfeld et al., 2017; Global Food Security Index, 2018; FAO,

IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019);

food quality (Rausser & Zilberman, 2014; Global Food Security Index, 2019; FAO,

IFAD, UNICEF, WFP and WHO, 2019);



ratio of production volumes and food consumption (Ministry of economic

development and trade of Ukraine, 2013; Rausser & Zilberman, 2014).

In contrast to the methods discussed herein, this research is based on the grouping method

allowing to evaluate and monitor food security using two types of indicators: indicators of

current and target condition of food security / insecurity, and indicators of risks and threats to

food security, which can lead to a deterioration in food supplies. Other research methods

include comparative, descriptive, monographic, economic, and statistical analysis methods.

The analysis of food security level is based on the Global Food Security Index 2019 and

the Global Hunger Index 2019. They were also used to form an optimal system of indicators

for assessing the level of food security of the country or region.

3. RESULTS

According to the Global Food Security Index 2019, TOP 10 countries with the best scores of

food security are (Picture 1):

1. Singapore: 87.4

2. Ireland: 84.0

3. United States: 83.7

4. Switzerland: 83.1

5. Finland: 82.9

6. Norway: 82.9

7. Sweden: 82.7

8. Canada: 82.4

9. Netherlands: 82.0

10. Austria: 81.7

It is worth mentioning that Singapore possesses the first place in ranking the second

consecutive year: its GFSI score comprised 85.9 in 2018. Such high position can be explained

by 30% GDP per capita growth of the country for the last seven years, and by consumer

spending on food comprising 6.9%. Singapore also has the lowest tariff rates on agricultural

imports among all countries covered by the Global Food Security Index.

The countries with the lowest level of food security are:

113. Venezuela: 31.2

112. Burundi: 34.3

111. Yemen: 35.6

110. Congo (Dem. Rep.): 35.7

109. Chad: 36.9

108. Madagascar: 37.9

107. Syria: 38.4

106. Sierra Leone: 39.0


Olena M. Taran-Lala


Figure 1 Rankings of countries according to the Global Food Security Index 2019

As shown on Figure 1, the countries can be divided into four conditional groups in terms

of food security situation in the country: Very Good (GFSI score 80+), Good (GFSI score 60-

79.9), Moderate (GFSI score 40-59.9) and Weak (GFSI score 20-39.9). The list of countries

in each group is given in Table 2.



Table 2 Groups of countries according to the level of food security as per the Global Food Security

Index 2019. Very Good

(score 80+)

Good

(score 60-79.9)

Moderate

(score 40-59.9)

Weak

(score 20-39.9)

No. Country Score No. Country Score No. Country Score No. Country Score

1 Singapor

e 87.4 17

United

Kingdom 79.1 70 Algeria 59.8 106

Sierra

Leone 39.0

2 Ireland 84.0 18 Israel 79.0 71 Uzbekistan 59.0 107 Syria 38.4

3 United

States 83.7 19

New

Zealand 78.8 72 India 58.9 108 Madagascar 37.9

4 Switzerla

nd 83.1 20 Portugal 77.8 73 Honduras 58.0 109 Chad 36.9

5 Finland 82.9 21 Japan 76.5 74 Paraguay 57.9 110 Congo

(Dem. Rep.) 35.7

6 Norway 82.9 22

United

Arab

Emirates

76.5 75 Bolivia 57.7 111 Yemen 35.6

7 Sweden 82.7 23 Italy 75.8 76 Ukraine 57.1 112 Burundi 34.3

8 Canada 82.4 24 Poland 75.6 77 Myanmar 57.0 113 Venezuela 31.2

9 Netherla

nds 82.0 25 Chile 75.5 78 Pakistan 56.8

10 Austria 81.7 26 Spain 75.5 79 Nepal 56.4

11 Germany 81.5 27 Kuwait 74.8 80 Mali 54.4

12 Australia 81.4 28 Malaysia 73.8 81 Senegal 54.3

13 Qatar 81.2 29 South

Korea 73.6 82 Nicaragua 54.2

14 Denmark 81.0 30 Saudi

Arabia 73.5 83 Bangladesh 53.2

15 Belgium 80.7 31 Greece 73.4 84 Cote

d’Ivoire 52.3

16 France 80.4 32 Czech

Republic 73.1 85 Benin 51.0

33 Uruguay 72.8 86 Kenya 50.7

34 Hungary 72.7 87

Burkina

Faso 50.1

35 China 71.0 88 Cameroon 49.9

36 Belarus 70.9 89 Niger 49.6

37

Argentin

a 70.8 90 Cambodia 49.4

38 Romania 70.2 91 Ethiopia 49.2

39 Brazil 70.1 92 Laos 49.1

40

Costa

Rica 70.1 93 Tajikistan 49.0

41 Turkey 69.8 94 Nigeria 48.4

42 Russia 69.7 95 Rwanda 48.2

43 Colombia 69.4 96

Tanza

nia 47.6

44 Mexico 69.4 97 Guinea 46.7

45 Panama 68.8 98 Uganda 46.2

46 Oman 68.4 99 Sudan 45.7

47 Slovakia 68.3 100 Angola 45.5

48

Kazakhst

an 67.3 101 Zambia 44.4

49

South

Africa 67.3 102 Togo 44.0

50 Bahrain 66.6 103 Haiti 43.3

51 Bulgaria 66.2 104 Malawi 42.5

52 Thailand 65.1 105

Mozambiqu

e 41.4

53

Azerbaija

n 64.8

54 Vietnam 64.6

55 Egypt 64.5

56 Dominica 64.2


Olena M. Taran-Lala


n

Republic

57 Botswana 63.8

58 Peru 63.3

59 Ghana 62.8

60 Morocco 62.8

61 Serbia 62.8

62 Indonesia 62.6

63 Ecuador 61.8

64 Jordan 61.0

65

Philippin

es 61.0

66 Sri Lanka 60.8

67

El

Salvador 60.7

68

Guatemal

a 60.6

69 Tunisia 60.1

Source: developed by the authors based on the Global Food Security Index (2019).

As shown in Table 2, there are 16 countries with “very good” situation with food security,

53 countries of “good” situation, 36 countries with “moderate” and 8 countries with “weak”

situation.

The geographical distribution of groups of GFSI-ranked countries is given on Figure 2.

Figure 2 Geographical distribution of groups of countries according to the level of food security as per

the Global Food Security Index 2019. Source: developed by the authors based on the Global Food

Security Index 2019.

As shown on Figure 2, countries belonging to those with “Very Good” food security are

located in Western and Northern Europe, North America and Australia. Countries of the

“Good” situation group are mainly located in Southern and Eastern Europe (including Russian

Federation, but excluding Ukraine, which belongs to “Moderate” group of countries), Central

and South America, the Caribbean, Central, Western, Eastern and Southeastern Asia,

Southern Africa, and New Zealand. Countries with “Moderate” food security are generally

located in Southern Asia, Northern, Western, Eastern and Middle Africa. Countries belonging

to the “Weak” group are located in different places of the world (countries are placed

according to the GFSI score in decreasing order):



Sierra Leone – Western Africa;

Syria – Western Asia;

Madagascar – the island near Eastern Africa;

Chad and Congo (Dem. Rep.) – Central Africa;

Yemen - Western Asia;

Burundi – Eastern Africa

Venezuela – South America.

Note: the aforementioned geographic regions correspond to the Standard Country or Area

Codes for Statistics Use (1999) of the United Nations (M49 standard).

Ukraine, a traditionally agrarian country with high agricultural potential, have

comparatively low GFSI score (57.1) and possess the 76th

place among 113 countries covered

by the GFSI index, and the last place among 26 European countries including Russian

Federation (Figrue 3).

Figure 3 GFSI scores of European countries. Source: developed by the authors based on the Global

Food Security Index (2019)

The GFSI score of Ukraine (57.1) is low even comparing to the scores of neighbouring

countries, which were part of the USSR like Belarus (70.9) and Russian Federation (69.7), or

which belonged to the so-called “Socialistic Camp” like Poland (75.6), Hungary (72.7),

Romania (70.2) and Slovakia (68.3). It shall be noted that Moldova, other neighbour of

Ukraine and part of former USSR, is not covered by the GFSI (Global Food Security Index,

2018).


Olena M. Taran-Lala


According to the Europe regional report of GFSI 2019, nearly every country in the region

has a wide coverage of food safety networks, which serve as an important source of food

security for vulnerable households. Ukraine is an exception because there is no evidence of a

social protection system that directly addresses food security issues, and its general social

assistance systems do not cover the whole country, resulting in some vulnerable groups

experiencing food shortages. While food prices remained stable in much of Europe, they rose

sharply in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. In 2019, food prices rose 5-8% in these three

countries. They also recorded the sharpest price increase in the region over the past four

years; in Ukraine, average food prices have increased by 85% since 2015 (Global Food

Security Index, 2018).

Although the risks of corruption and political stability in the region are relatively small,

they pose a higher risk for food availability in some countries, including Ukraine, Russia and

Serbia. Low corruption contributes to effective food protection programs, and political

stability ensures continued access to markets. However, in comparison with other countries of

the region, in some countries of Eastern Europe, as well as in Greece and Italy, the risk of

corruption is higher, as well as signs of political stability in Ukraine, Belarus, Russian

Federation and Serbia (Global Food Security Index 2018).

According to the GFSI 2019, Romania and Ukraine have the lowest rates in the categories

of food standards. In Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Romania, government

nutrition guidelines that adequately exchange balanced nutrition messages also lack a national

nutrition plan or strategy to improve nutrition for adults and children. Eastern Europe - eight

countries in the region, including Austria, Germany and another country that have conducted

nutritional research over the past five years.

At the same time, the discussed methodologies do not fully reflect the level of hunger in

the country, which, according to the authors’ point of view, is one of the main indicators of

the country's food security. In this case, it would be reasonable to take into account the Global

Hunger Index (GHI), which is a tool designed to assess and monitor hunger at global, regional

and national levels.

Despite the fact that Ukraine with quite low GFSI 2019 belongs to countries of

“moderate” food security, its score among 117 countries within the Global Hunger Index

2019 is one of the lowest and the country is assigned to the group of countries with low

hunger index (Figure 4).

As shown on Figure 4, the countries can be divided into four conditional groups in terms

of hunger situation in the country: Low (GHI score <5-9.9), Moderate (GHI score 10.0-19.9),

Serious (GHI score 20.0-34.9), Alarming (GHI score 20.0-34.9) and Extremely Alarming

(GHI score ≥50).

Top 5 countries in terms of highest scores of the GHI 2019 are Zambia (38.1),

Madagascar (41.5), Chad (44.2), Yemen (45.9), such countries belong to the group of states

with “alarming” situation with hunger, and Central African Republic (53.6) with “extremely

alarming” condition with hunger in the country.

It’s worth noting that high “alarming” GHI 2019 scores of Madagascar, Chad and Yemen

correspond to their “weak” GFSI 2019 scores of these countries. At the same time Zambia

being in the “moderate” group of countries according to GFSI 2019, has “alarming” level of

hunger satiation in the country pursuant to the GHI 2019. Central African Republic, defined

by the GHI 2019 as the only “extremely alarming” country in terms of hunger, is not covered

by the GFSI 2019.



Figure 4 Ranking of countries according to the Global Hunger Index 2019. Source: developed by the

authors based on the Global Hunger Index 2019 (Von Grebmer et al., 2019)

Figure 5 Geographical distribution of groups of countries according to the level of the Global Hunger

Index 2019. Source: developed by the authors based on the Global Hunger Index 2019 (Von Grebmer

et al., 2019).

In terms of geographical distribution of developing countries according to the GHI 2019,

the countries of Central and Southern America mainly belong to countries with “good” and

“moderate” situation with hunger, except for Haiti and Guatemala, which are assigned to the

states with “serious” condition hunger. Venezuela, which has the lowest GFSI 2019 score


Olena M. Taran-Lala


(31.2), belongs to countries with “moderate” hunger situation according to the GHI 2019 with

the score of 16.9 (Figure 5).

According to picture 5, countries with “serious” conditions with hunger are mainly located

in Southern and South-eastern Asia, Western, Middle, Eastern and Northern Africa. Two of

four countries with “alarming” hunger situation together with the only country with

“extremely alarming” level of hunger are also situated in African continent, and Madagascar,

the third “alarming” country is located near Eastern Africa. The only country with “serious”

level of hunger in Eastern Asia is North Korea with 27.7 GHI 2019 score.

Note: the aforementioned geographic regions correspond to the Standard Country or Area

Codes for Statistics Use (1999) of the United Nations (M49 standard).

Figure 6 System of food security indicators of country or region. Source: developed by the authors



According to the dualistic nature of food security (supply – security), reflected by

numerous methodologies and indicators including the Global Food Security Index and the

Global Hunger Index, at least two types of indicators are required to assess and monitor food

security in a country or region: (i) indicators of current and target condition of food security /

insecurity, and (ii) indicators of food security risks and threats which can adversely affect

food supply in medium and long term perspective (Figure 6).

The suggested system of food security indicators presented in Picture 6 is quite concise,

but informative. The proposed indicators are adapted to the system of domestic and foreign

statistics and are fully equipped with statistical data, and the legal framework allows the use

of the standards of executive authorities in food safety management.

4. DISCUSSION

Distinctive features of the proposed system of indicators are its complexity and flexibility,

which will allow for a comparative analysis of the level of food security of the country and

suggest corrective measures in the framework of agricultural policy (Clapp, 2017). The

feasibility of the proposed system of indicators of the level of food security of the country is

justified by the possibility of reducing the measurement of indicators to the range of values of

each indicator from 0 to 100. The proposed set of indicators and criteria for food security can

be transformed, additional criteria and assessment indicators can be introduced depending on

the agricultural orientation of the country and development of its agricultural production

(Cafiero et al., 2018). The scorecard allows a fairly quick analysis of food security and the use

of assessment results by the authorities for planning and development of agri-food policies

(Ryabova et al., 2020).

As to the priority areas of food security governance in a country or region taking into

account the Global Indices considered, the following measures are worth mentioning:

increasing the affordability of food for low-income population (Markina et al., 2018b);

state support of domestic agricultural products producers (Rausser & Zilberman,

2014);

stimulating the personnel retention in rural areas (Bryzhko et al., 2018);

constant monitoring of the agri-food market at local, regional and national levels;

improvement of the regulation of food markets (Gumerov, 2016);

improving the quality of domestic products;

financial support (including tax and loan one) of agricultural production and closely

related branches of the national economy including production of agricultural

machinery, mineral fertilizers, agrochemicals, etc. (Omarova et al., 2017);

toughening the quality requirements of imported food products, in particular, the

content of chemical and biogenetic components harmful and dangerous to human

health (Kornienko et al., 2015);

raising public awareness of the situation with agricultural and food trade by making

forecasts and maintaining dialogue at all levels (local, national, regional and global)

with the participation of government agencies, civil society institutions and the

country's intellectual potential (Markina et al., 2018a);

participation in improvement of the humanitarian aid system in terms of food security

through global and regional coordination and investment in risk prevention systems, as

well as in derisking funds (e.g. insurance, public funds) with the prospect of creating

an appropriate European and CIS centre (Chaves et al., 2015; Herzfeld et al., 2017;

Jambor & Babu, 2017; Bryzhko et al., 2018).


Olena M. Taran-Lala


5. CONCLUSION

With the purpose of the study, by way of descriptive, comparative, grouping, monographic,

economic, and statistical analysis methods various methodologies, indicators and indices of

food security / insecurity evaluation were investigated. The Global Food Security Index 2019

and the Global Hunger Index 2019 were investigated both from methodology and countries’

indicators perspective.

In course of the study, a unified system of food security indicators for a country or region

was developed. The system is based on indicators of current and target condition of food

security / insecurity, and indicators of food security risks and threats which can adversely

affect food supply in medium- and long-term perspective. The proposed concise and

informative system of indicators is justified by the possibility of reducing the measurement of

indicators to the range of values of each indicator from 0 to 100. The proposed set of

indicators and criteria for food security can be adjusted by additional criteria and indicators

depending on the agricultural orientation of the country and its agricultural production. The

suggested system of indicators can be used by authorities for quick and reliable assessment of

food security of risks thereto in course of planning and development of national and regional

agri-food policy.

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