Baltic Journal of Economic Studies (Nov 2016)
FORMATION OF THE MECHANISMS OF FOOD SECURITY AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL
Abstract
An important challenge today is to strengthen food security and improve people's lives through increasing competitive products. The crucial vector of forming food security is activities of agricultural business, which are directly responsible to the people for providing sufficient high-quality food. In terms of the desire of Ukraine to integrate as a full partner in the European and world community, the problem of food security is of special significance. The need for food security of Ukraine requires maintaining an appropriate level of food self-sufficiency, which involves the use of state support for domestic agricultural producers and measures of import controls to protect own producers from foreign competition. Subject. The combination of theoretical, methodological approaches and organizational measures to create mechanisms in order to ensure food security at regional level. Methods. Methods of comparison, analysis, theoretical and logical synthesis, graphical method are used. The methodological basis is a comprehensive research method. Purpose. The purpose of the research is to substantiate the need to develop mechanisms to ensure food security of regions in transition to the concept of sustainable development. Results. It is established that the priorities of sustainable development of the agricultural sector in the region are the formation of food security, at the same time, a set of principles is defined that ensure sustainable development of regions; food security indicators are formed for the people of the region. Components of mechanisms are proposed, which regulate food security of regions and contribute to provision of the population with quality products in sufficient quantity. It is found that the basis for monitoring food security in the region and development of mechanisms to ensure it is the reproduction approach that will help to reveal the totality of processes of “production-distributionexchange- consumption” in the defined territory, and to develop a mechanism of management on this basis. Creation of the Complex Regional Program for Food Quality and Security Assurance is proposed, which should include issues of improving mechanisms of protection of the regional food market from low-quality and dangerous products; creation of economic, institutional and social conditions, and mechanisms of wide implementation at the enterprise level of the quality and environment management system as the most effective tool for ensuring quality and security of products meeting the requirements and expectations of consumers.
