Russia: Food Security Doctrine is focused on import substitution
The Food Security Doctrine was developed “for the purpose of implementing the state economic policy in the field of food security of the Russian Federation, aimed at ensuring reliable food supplies to the population, developing the national agro-industrial and fish-producing sectors, responding promptly to internal and external threats to the stability of the food market, and participating effectively in international cooperation in the field of food security.”
The President Medvedev instructed the government to “work out and approve an action plan for the implementation of the Food Security Doctrine” and “prepare annual reports to the president which analyze, assess and forecast food security” of the country. Federal and regional authorities were told to be guided by the Food Security Doctrine in their daily work.
The doctrine is a set of official views on the state economic policy goals, objectives and main guidelines regarding food security. It further develops the provisions of the National Security Strategy up to 2020 and draws on the Maritime Doctrine up to 2020 that were earlier approved by the president of Russia. According to new doctrine, food security is one of the main aspects of national security in the medium term, a factor of statehood and sovereignty, an important element of demographic policy, and a necessary condition for improving living standards in the country. The strategic goal of food security is to provide the population with quality agricultural products, fish, bio resources and food. This can be guaranteed by the stability of domestic production and the existence of necessary resources and stocks.
According to the doctrine, the main food security objectives regardless of internal and external factors are following: timely forecasting, detection and prevention of internal and external threats endangering food security, minimization of their negative consequences by ensuring constant operation of the system that supplies people with food, creating strategic food stocks, ensuring sustainable development of domestic production of food and raw materials sufficient for securing food independence of the country; achieving and maintaining physical and economic availability of safe food for every citizen of the country in volumes and varieties that are consistent with the rational norms of food consumption needed for active and healthy life; ensuring the safety of food.
The Minister of Agriculture, Elena Skrunnik, has emphasized that the most important point in the food security doctrine is import substitution focus, which is one of the main forms of the support of domestic industries. Thus, the doctrine gives clear priority to the domestic production. The document sets a benchmark level for the share of the domestic production on the internal Russian market. (If the amount of food is below the benchmark, there is no food security in the country). Thus, the grain food security benchmark is not less than 95% of the domestic market for the domestic production, for sugar - 85%, oil - 80%, milk and milk products - 90%, fish - 80%, meat and meat products - 85%, potatoes - 95% and salt - 85%.
The doctrine says that “accession to the World Trade Organization on the terms satisfying the national interests of the Russian Federation will also facilitate better food security of the country”.
Any Evidence-Based Deliberation:
|Is there anything in the public record to suggest that evidence of the effectiveness of the proposed measure was considered during official deliberations?|
|Is there any evidence that alternatives to the proposed measure were considered?|
|Is there anything in the public record that suggests that empirical evidence informed the comparison across the alternatives available to government?|
|Was such evidence identified?|
|Is such evidence publicly available?|
|Did the official decision-maker in question provide an explanation as to why a chosen measure was favoured over alternatives?|
|Is there any evidence to suggest that potentially affected trading partners were consulted before the measures were taken?|
|Is there any evidence that safeguards have been put in place to ensure that implementation of the initiative is transparent and non-discriminatory?|
|Did the government state its intention to review the measure within one year of implementation?|
Date of inception: 30 Jan 2010
GTA Evaluation: Red
the Russian President's Decree from 30 January 2010 # 120 on the Food Security Doctrine. Available from < http://www.rg.ru/2010/02/03/prod-dok.html >