Content №4 от 2022
Assessing Self-Sufficiency in Basic Foodstuffs for Municipalities of Kaliningrad Oblast
Kaliningrad Oblast is an exclave region of the Russian Federation, which means its vulnerability in political and economic terms, as well as in self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs. Low investment attractiveness of the farming industry, staff shortage and many other issues jeopardize food self-sufficiency in the region.
The aim of our study is to assess the current state of food self-sufficiency for Kaliningrad Oblast at the municipal level and to identify bottlenecks hindering its achievement. The indicator of self-sufficiency in basic foodstuffs is taken as the most representative one. The author has proposed an adapted method for calculating municipality self-sufficiency. We use calculated indicators of the required production volumes in accordance with rational consumption standards. This made it possible to obtain an objective assessment of how the municipal formations in Kaliningrad Oblast can provide their residents with basic types of products.
The results obtained have showed that the region as a whole has a rather low level of self-sufficiency in the primary agricultural produce. At the same time, several districts have not achieved self-sufficiency in any of the foodstuffs under consideration. However, we believe that many municipalities have the capacity to increase agricultural production, as evidenced by the growth of self-sufficiency indicators over the studied period. The decision-makers regarding the development of agricultural production and food industry in Kaliningrad Oblast should strengthen the support for agricultural producers in promising municipalities.
