Integral indicators of food security: From the country level to the household

Abstract

The article presents methods for calculating integrated indicators of food security and tests them at three levels: national, regional, and household. The study aims to create a unified monitoring system for analyzing the dynamics of changes. While the MSU methodology is already used at the national level, there has been no similar tool for regions and households before. The integrated assessment at the national and regional levels includes five key blocks: food availability and system sustainability, economic accessibility, physical accessibility, food safety, and nutritional adequacy. At the household level, food security is determined through the economic accessibility of products and a balanced diet. At the national level, the integrated indicator of food security decreased in 2018—2022, but in 2023, its growth was recorded. At the regional level, there is a narrowing gap between the constituent entities of the Russian Federation and convergence with the average Russian value. At the household level, an improvement in food security was also recorded in 2023 due to increased economic availability of food, although the imbalance in the dietary structure remains. The developed methodology allows identifying both national trends and regional characteristics, which makes it an effective tool for government monitoring and development of targeted support measures.