Does Domestic Agricultural Production Strengthen Food Security?

The concept of food security has gained increasing attention in the recent ten years. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines that food security exists when all people can access food needed for a healthy and active life at all times. Achieving food security means the situation where sufficient food is available, food supply is relatively stable, and those in need of food can afford food at a reasonable cost. However, there are conflicting opinions about how to achieve food security. Agricultural exporting countries insist that the diversification of food sources and domestic self-reliance as well contributes to enhancing food security. On the other hand, agricultural importing countries emphasize food self-sufficiency for major crops, especially after experiencing the major food crises across the globe during the agflation period between 2006 and 2011. This study investigates whether domestic agricultural production contributes to strengthening food security. Using the panel data for food self-sufficiency rate, we analyzed domestic grain price and food riots, the effect of domestic food production on food security or the probability of food riots. The results show that the increase in food self-sufficiency strengthens food security and reduces the probability of food riots, while lower import tariffs do not.