FOOD SECURITY: PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS IN RUSSIA

The growth in agricultural and food production has not completely solved the problem of food security in Russia. Consumption of certain food products (milk, vegetables, fruits) is below rational consumption standards. A significant proportion of food provision is imported products. Since the imposition of international sanctions and the counter-embargo, imports have declined. For 2013-2017, imports of food and agricultural raw materials declined from USD 43.3 bln to USD 28.8 bln, or by 33.5%. The proportion of imports in the formation of food resources is about 25%. An indicator, characterizing food security is the level of self-sufficiency of the country in basic agricultural products. In recent years, this indicator is growing, but for some types of products (fruits, milk, and vegetables) it is not high enough. The authors reveal the risks in the food security sphere and offer measures to minimize them. In solving the food problem, important is import substitution based on increasing the proportion of domestic resources in the production of agricultural products and food (seeds of sugar beet, sunflower, vegetable crops, breeding animals, breeding eggs, veterinary drugs, machinery, and equipment). Particularly acute is the problem of food security in the production and consumption of fruits, vegetables, and milk. The solution to this problem can be achieved by the improvement of state support, the concentration of production in agricultural organizations and peasant (farmer) households, where there are favorable conditions for the innovative development of these industries, as well as the organization of agricultural products storage and processing in the places of its production, and the creation of consumer cooperatives.