Participatory Poverty Assessment Effort in Food Security and Extension Policy

The impact study assessment aims to evaluate policies and monitor the achievement of targets and the results of a development program such as DMP. The output obtained is information that is an evaluation of how the policy was planned, initiated, and implemented. Participatory monitoring and evaluation analyze the outcome and impact of the DMP Program. PPA seeks to answer the question of whether or not the policy or program is working properly. A participatory approach may improve the outcomes in the form of a new policy model for the future. The output of the PPA process from this study is the agricultural policy formulated in terms of practical ways of approaching poverty problems from a local perspective. The success of alternative policy options applied by local government such as physical, human resources, and institution development at the grassroots level should be adopted at the national level. It should represent the best example of a case of successful program implementation at the grassroots level which can then be used in formulating national policies and strategies.

Food Security-Related Issues and Solutions

The food problem has been and has remained relevant throughout the history of mankind. At the end of 20th and the beginning of the 21st century, in the lives of many nations and countries, there have been significant changes. Health status and level of education of the population, such as, for example, food security, is the priority in many countries since, in the absence of sufficient food reserves, there is an economic and political dependence of some countries on others. Having not yet received the required amount of food, the world is faced with the problem of ensuring security in its quality. Anthropogenic pollution of the environment complicates the problem with the quality of food and the exception of harmful chemicals in food. There is a problem of using environmentally friendly agrotechnical means, ensuring the production of high yields of environmentally safe products with a desirable reduction in their cost, and shortening the time required for their production.

Agricultural Trade and Undernourishment, Nutrition, and Dietary Diversity

The results described in this chapter are of the investigation based on the collaborative research of scientists from the three Russian universities (Omsk State Agrarian University, Bashkir State Agrarian University, and Orenburg State University) which started in 2014. The authors assess various indicators of food safety. The study includes physical and chemical properties, technological characteristics, and chemical composition of new elite selection cultivars of pea (“Pisum arvense”, the harvest of 2018, Bashkir Scientific and Research Institute of Agriculture) and haricot bean (harvest of 2018, Omsk State Agrarian University). Most of the samples have increased phytochemical capacity and high protein concentration (21.15-22.49% in haricot bean; 19.38-23.75% in pea). The authors demonstrate that these cultivars can be used for the enrichment of foodstuff and the creation of new functional foods.

Agricultural Trade and Quality of Nutrition

Proper nutrition is not only a biological but also a social, economic, and political issue. Insufficient intake of essential elements may result in the occurrence of hidden hunger and metabolic disorders. Some regions of the world are characterized by a lack of certain nutrients in the environment which leads to their lack in plant and animal products. The most common problem is a deficiency of iodine and selenium. To solve this problem, the government takes various measures, such as direct inclusion of necessary additives in food products, as well as the modernization of technological process of crop and livestock production. In this chapter, the authors analyze the provision of the population in various countries and regions with limiting nutrients. The study specifically aims at exploring the issues of production and trade in fortified (modified) food products that can directly fill in the lack of essential elements in particular territories.

Food Waste Reduction Towards Food Sector Sustainability

FAO estimates on average more than 1.3 billion tons of food loss and waste (FLW) along the whole food supply chain (equivalent to one-third of total food production) of which more than 670 million tons in developed countries and approximately 630 million tons in developing ones, showing wide differences between countries. In particular, EU data estimates an amount of more than 85 million tons of FLW, equal to approximately 20% of total food production. This research presents two main goals. First, to review the magnitude of FLW at a global and European level and its environmental, social and economic implications. Second, use Material Flow Analysis (MFA) to support and improve FLW management and its application in an Italian potato industry case study. According to the case study presented, MFA has demonstrated the advantages of tracking input and output to prevent FLW and how they provide economic, social, and environmental opportunities.

Innovative Approaches to Regulation of Agricultural Production and Trade

The chapter studies contemporary innovative approaches to and practices of state support of agricultural production and trade in food and agricultural products. The authors attempt to discover how protectionist policies in the sphere of production and trade affect the level of food security in the conditions of expanding globalization. The chapter focuses on the investigation of advanced innovative practices of state support in the case of selected OECD countries. The authors reveal that the introduction of innovations into the system of state regulation is one of the key determinants of achieving food security in the conditions of the volatile market. Both the volume and priority directions of innovations in agricultural protectionism policies are discussed and evaluated.

Food Security and Self-Sufficiency as a Basis for National Security and Sovereignty

The study discusses one of the global problems of mankind—ensuring food security for the population. The historical context of the food problem, the formation of the concept of food security, the approaches of the world community and individual countries to its provision and evaluation are considered. The case of Russia reveals the role of food security in ensuring economic, social, and political security and sovereignty of a state. Special attention is paid to the state of agriculture in Russia as a source of raw materials for ensuring food security, problems of its development, and ways to solve them. The place of Russia in ensuring the food security of the world is shown.

Emerging Trade-Related Threats to Food Security

It is generally believed that free trade plays a vital role in stabilizing food supplies and food prices since abundant foods stocks in some countries coexist with shortages in some others. Contemporary global trade system, however, is becoming increasingly distorted by unfair and inefficient policies in many countries, creating both winners and losers among not only small developing economies, but also largest producers of food and agricultural products. One of the recent examples of such distortion is US-China trade tensions and potential tariff escalations where the agricultural sector is the most vulnerable. By raising import tariffs on food and agricultural products in response to protectionist policies, the countries may face a situation of rising prices for consumers, limited market access for producers, and increasing pressures on food security. In this chapter, the author develops the theme of the effects of globalized agricultural trade on food security with a critical focus on the importance of balancing trade liberalization and protectionism.

Imports and Use of Palm Oil as a Way to Increase Safety of Food Fats

The authors compare the biological value and safety of hydrogenated fat containing trans-isomers of oleic acid and palm oil-based fat. The chapter assesses the potential of replacing hydrogenated fats by palm oil in the production of special fat products. Hematological and histological studies are carried out in a form of biological experiment on animals (white rats). The study reveals the explicit negative effect of trans-isomers even with a relatively low concentration of trans-isomers in a diet. Pathological changes are not observed in animals when palm-based fat is introduced into their ration. The findings suggest that palm oil along with its fractions may be considered as an alternative to hydrogenated fats in the production of margarine, cooking, baking, and deep-frying fats. The use of palm oil in the production of special fats of increased hardness (spreads. confectionery, waffles and fillings, and chocolate coating) requires the application of modern methods for modifying triglyceride composition of fats – biocatalytic interesterification and fractionation.

Agrarian Reforms of the 20th Century in Russia

Current political and economic reforms, as well as the development of market relations and private property rights, need a retrospect to the experience of the past. An ambitious reform implemented by Russian public entities in the early 20th century was a result of a compromise between the government, society, and individuals. The goals of the reforms offered by Pyotr Stolypin were similar to those of the contemporary ones. Stolypin's reforms aimed at the substitution of group type of land use by public property. The reforms were not evolutional but were motivated by the explosive political and social-economic situation. Another agrarian reform took place in the early 1990s in the Soviet bloc, including the USSR. It aimed at state land property and a centrally planned agrarian economy, the domination of big manufacturers like collective and communal farms, and state pricing control. Despite similar basic principles, the states chose different strategies for the implementation of agrarian reforms.