Indicators and criteria for assessing the state of food security: the experience of Kazakhstan and foreign countries

Abstract

The article presents the criteria and indicators that characterize the country's food security. The foreign experience in the regulation of food security is considered, the use of which in the Republic of Kazakhstan will create conditions for the sustainable development of production, increasing the competitiveness of domestic products, and the formation of an efficiently functioning food market. At the initial stage, the evaluation criteria were the per capita incomes of the population and the carryover stocks of food grains (first at the level of 20% and then 16% of the total annual consumption), now the evaluation criteria are expanding and becoming more complex. The criteria for food security include: the sustainability of the development of the agro-industrial complex (APC), fisheries and forestry, which increases the production of food to increase inventories and in the event of food aid to other countries that have suffered natural disasters or wars; A high level of scientific achievements, increasing technical and technological equipment, improving the gene pool of livestock and crop production; Environmental and nature conservation policies and practices that ensure the conservation and improvement of soil fertility, yield, etc. When establishing the criteria for national food security, it is necessary to take into account that they should characterize the level of satisfaction of the population’s food needs, as well as the degree of sustainability of the country’s food supply. The economic basis of national security in the food sector is the provision of basic food for the population of the country. This means that if an uninterrupted supply of basic foodstuffs is sufficient for medical purposes, the country’s food security can be considered guaranteed.