The rating assessment of food security of the southern federal district regions

The article proposes the methodological tool and comprehensive indicator for assessing the food security of the regions. The index of food security is determined on the basis of the systematic groups of indicators. In the distribution of food products, the following indicators are analyzed: the indexes of food prices, the magnitude of the change in real incomes of the population, the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum. Among the indicators in the distribution of food products the volume of food consumption in accordance with rational consumption rates, the share of food expenditure in the structure of household consumption expenditures are considered. In the field of production the indexes of production of various types of agricultural products in the region are considered.The ranking of the Southern Federal District (SFD) regions by selected groups of indicators made it possible to determine the leaders in food security among the regions. In 2017, Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Adygea and Rostov Region were among these regions. On the basis of the analysis performed, the authors established risks and threats in food supply of the SFD regions: imbalance of the consumer ration; decrease in real incomes and purchasing power of population; a high proportion of the population with incomes below the subsistence minimum in the region. The practical significance of the proposed approach lies in the possibility of justifying the choice of priority measures to optimize agrarian policy, taking into account the need to maintain an acceptable level of food provision in the regions of Russia.