THEORETICAL AND PRACTICAL ASPECTS OF ENSURING FOOD SECURITY AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of issues related to ensuring food security in Ukraine, taking into account regional specificities. The aim of the research is to analyze, systematize, generalize, and improve the existing theoretical and methodological foundations for ensuring food security at the regional level. It is noted that food security is an important component of national security, and the possibilities of achieving it depend on the natural-climatic, resource, and socio-economic factors specific to each region of the country. The article analyzes the role of global food alliances in ensuring food security, exemplified by international organizations such as the Alliance Against Hunger and Malnutrition (AAHM) and the Global Alliance for Food Security (GAFS). The influence of Ukraine's natural-agricultural zones on the formation of the country's agro-food potential is explored, and the key regions with the highest contribution to agricultural production are identified. Key indicators for assessing the level of food security are identified, including physical and economic accessibility of food, its quality and safety, as well as the potential for sustainable development of agro-food systems. The research results show that regional differences in the consumption level of basic food products affect the country's food security. The study identified four regional food clusters based on the degree of food self-sufficiency: Cluster I – a group of 7 administrative-territorial regions with a high level of food security self-sufficiency (Vinnytsia, Volyn, Zhytomyr, Poltava, Rivne, Ternopil, and Khmelnytskyi regions), with an integral self-sufficiency coefficient ranging from 0.64 to 0.88; Cluster II – 7 administrative-territorial regions of Ukraine with an average level of food security self-sufficiency (Ivano-Frankivsk, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Sumy, Kherson, Cherkasy, Chernihiv regions), with an integral self-sufficiency coefficient ranging from 0.66 to 0.79; Cluster III – 2 administrative-territorial regions (Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi), with an integral food security index of 0.66-0.77; Cluster IV – 8 administrative-territorial regions with a low level of food self-sufficiency (Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Luhansk, Mykolaiv, Odesa, Kharkiv), with an integral food self-sufficiency coefficient at the level of 0.42-0.63.