Contemporary challenges and strategies for ensuring global food security

The relevance of this study is conditioned by the urgent need to enhance global food security and to explore pathways for modernizing the agro-food system in the context of escalating contemporary challenges and multifaceted threats. The aim of this article is to identify the factors contributing to instability in food supply and to determine strategies for strengthening global food security at the current stage of development. It is noted that both developed and developing countries face two major coexisting food-related problems: obesity and hunger. International statistics on the prevalence of obesity are presented. The concept of “hunger” is examined as an acute negative manifestation of food insecurity, the eradication of which remains a complex challenge requiring not only innovative approaches to agricultural development but also additional investments in infrastructure, improvements in education and healthcare in rural areas, and the provision of humanitarian aid to developing countries. The study analyzes key factors significantly impacting the instability of global food security, including population growth, climate change, and the physical and economic accessibility of food. It also addresses critical crisis phenomena associated with the pandemic, rising food prices, the effects of sanctions, and military conflicts, all of which have contributed to the transformation of the global food system. Using data from international statistical databases, the article presents a ranking of countries according to the Global Food Security Index and examines trends in global food prices, confirming a decline in the overall level of food security worldwide. The findings suggest that the primary directions for ensuring food availability and security at the national level include increasing self-sufficiency in staple food products, supporting socially vulnerable groups, maintaining open international trade, regulating export and import restrictions, and implementing joint investment projects.

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