The disruption of global supply chains due to COVID-19 and the ongoing Russian-Ukrainian military conflict have caused international food prices to rise. This once again increased the distrust on the part of food importing countries in the “reliability” of the international market as a stable supplier of affordable food. One of the first possible responses to the problem is to reduce dependence on imports. Thus, concerns about food security have transformed into concerns about food independence, which is even noticeable in our domestic agenda.

How exactly do these two policies differ? According to UN FAO terminology1, food independence (a.k.a self-sufficiency) is the ability of a country to meet its food needs through domestic production. However, food security is a more capacious concept that takes into account both domestic production and the ability of the state to replenish “empty shelves” with imported products, and at the same time provide an economic opportunity to purchase quality food products for the entire population and at all times. Consequently, achieving self-sufficiency does not guarantee food security, since it does not take into account the criteria of availability and quality of food.

Another negative aspect is that food independence is achieved at the expense of reducing food security for the most vulnerable segments of the population. For example, in 2021 for 4 types of socially significant goods - sunflower oil, cheese and cottage cheese, chicken meat, and sugar - there was a dependence on import supplies (less than 80% of supply). Let’s imagine that for these items we have reduced imports and increased domestic production and achieved a policy of food independence.

If the concept of food security included only the factor of the physical availability of goods, then this solution would be acceptable. The problem is that once cheap imported goods have been replaced by more expensive domestic substitutes. As a result, it is the poorest consumers who bear the greatest burden from these policies. Because for them, food costs make up the largest portion of all consumer expenses.

Therefore, food security and independence are not only different, but also sometimes contradictory policies. This difference needs to be understood to build sustainable food security policies.

Author: Askar Zhanaliev