IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v12y2020i23p9924-d452166.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Determining Food Security in Crisis Conditions: A Comparative Analysis of the Western Balkans and the EU

Author

Listed:
  • Bojan Matkovski

    (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 24000 Subotica, Serbia)

  • Danilo Đokić

    (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 24000 Subotica, Serbia)

  • Stanislav Zekić

    (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 24000 Subotica, Serbia)

  • Žana Jurjević

    (Department of Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Faculty of Economics in Subotica, University of Novi Sad, 24000 Subotica, Serbia)

Abstract

The right to food is a fundamental one, and the optimization between human needs and available resources is a challenge in all countries. The main goal of this study is to find the factors that determine food security and to determine the level of food security in the Western Balkans while undergoing the process of European Union (EU) integration. In order to achieve this, four Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) dimensions of food security are analyzed: stability, availability, access, and utilization. The Preference Ranking Organization Method for Enrichment Evaluations (PROMETHEE) method is then used to rank Western Balkan and EU countries according to food security. The results show a significant difference among these countries in terms of their levels of food security, which is a consequence of Western Balkan countries’ significant lag in economic development in comparison to the EU. Although the level of food security in Western Balkan countries is lower than in EU countries, it is not endangered. However, it can become endangered under crisis conditions (like the COVID-19 pandemic). The main reasons for this discrepancy are high food supply variability, dependence on cereal import, and lower Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in these countries than in EU.

Suggested Citation

  • Bojan Matkovski & Danilo Đokić & Stanislav Zekić & Žana Jurjević, 2020. "Determining Food Security in Crisis Conditions: A Comparative Analysis of the Western Balkans and the EU," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(23), pages 1-16, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9924-:d:452166
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9924/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/23/9924/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Per Pinstrup-Andersen, 2009. "Food security: definition and measurement," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 1(1), pages 5-7, February.
    2. Unknown, 2016. "Emerging Technologies And The Development Of Agriculture," 152nd Seminar, August 30 - September 1, 2016, Novi Sad, Serbia 249309, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    3. Elena Briones Alonso & Lara Cockx & Jo Swinnen, 2017. "Culture and food security," Working Papers of Department of Economics, Leuven 591898, KU Leuven, Faculty of Economics and Business (FEB), Department of Economics, Leuven.
    4. ?tefan Zaharie Pop & Raluca Dracea & Carmen Vladulescu, 2018. "Comparative Study of Certification Schemes for Food Safety Management Systems in the European Union Context," The Audit Financiar journal, Chamber of Financial Auditors of Romania, vol. 20(47), pages 1-9, February.
    5. Marek Dabrowski & Yana Myachenkova, 2018. "The Western Balkans on the road to the European Union," Policy Contributions 24313, Bruegel.
    6. Bertrand Mareschal & Jean Pierre Brans & Philippe Vincke, 1984. "Prométhée: a new family of outranking methods in multicriteria analysis," ULB Institutional Repository 2013/9305, ULB -- Universite Libre de Bruxelles.
    7. Attila Jámbor & Péter Czine & Péter Balogh, 2020. "The Impact of the Coronavirus on Agriculture: First Evidence Based on Global Newspapers," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-10, June.
    8. Tina Volk & Miroslav Rednak & Emil Erjavec & Ilona Rac & Edvin Zhllima & Grigor Gjeci & Sabahudin Bajramovic & Zeljko Vasko & Mihone Kerolli-Mustafa & Ekrem Gjokaj & Bekim Hoxha & Dragi Dimitrievski &, 2019. "Agricultural policy developments and EU approximation process in the Western Balkan countries," JRC Research Reports JRC114163, Joint Research Centre.
    9. Kožar, Maja & Pintar, Marjeta & Volk, Tina & Rednak, Miro & Rac, Ilona & Erjavec, Emil, 2016. "Agriculture and agricultural policy in Eastern European Neighbourhood," 155th Seminar, September 19-21, 2016, Kiev, Ukraine 245877, European Association of Agricultural Economists.
    10. Valeria Borsellino & Sina Ahmadi Kaliji & Emanuele Schimmenti, 2020. "COVID-19 Drives Consumer Behaviour and Agro-Food Markets towards Healthier and More Sustainable Patterns," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-26, October.
    11. Jonathan R. Latham, 2000. "There's enough food for everyone, but the poor can't afford to buy it," Nature, Nature, vol. 404(6775), pages 222-222, March.
    12. Spalevic, Zaklina & Ilic, Milos & Filipic, Goran, 2019. "Правни и економски аспекти интелектуалне својине у цyбер простору," Ekonomika, Journal for Economic Theory and Practice and Social Issues, Society of Economists Ekonomika, Nis, Serbia, vol. 65(2), February.
    13. Jelena Končar & Aleksandar Grubor & Radenko Marić & Sonja Vučenović & Goran Vukmirović, 2020. "Setbacks to IoT Implementation in the Function of FMCG Supply Chain Sustainability during COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(18), pages 1-21, September.
    14. Mizik, Tamás & Meyers, William H., 2013. "The Possible Effects Of The Eu Accession On The Western Balkans’ Agricultural Trade," Economics of Agriculture, Institute of Agricultural Economics, vol. 60(4), pages 1-9, December.
    15. Vincent H. Smith & Joseph W. Glauber, 2020. "Trade, policy, and food security," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 51(1), pages 159-171, January.
    16. Chavas, Jean-Paul, 2017. "On food security and the economic valuation of food," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 58-67.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Xiaoyun Zhang & Yu Wang & Jie Bao & Tengda Wei & Shiwei Xu, 2022. "A Research on the Evaluation of China’s Food Security under the Perspective of Sustainable Development—Based on an Entropy Weight TOPSIS Model," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(11), pages 1-19, November.
    2. Danilo Đokić & Bojan Matkovski & Marija Jeremić & Ivan Đurić, 2022. "Land Productivity and Agri-Environmental Indicators: A Case Study of Western Balkans," Land, MDPI, vol. 11(12), pages 1-13, December.
    3. Jelena Končar & Radenko Marić & Goran Vukmirović & Sonja Vučenović, 2021. "Sustainability of Food Placement in Retailing during the COVID-19 Pandemic," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(11), pages 1-19, May.
    4. Brankov, Tatjana & Matkovski, Bojan & Jeremić, Marija & Đurić, Ivan, 2021. "Food self-sufficiency of the SEE countries: Is the region prepared for a future crisis?," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 13(16).
    5. Tatjana Brankov & Bojan Matkovski & Marija Jeremić & Ivan Đurić, 2021. "Food Self-Sufficiency of the SEE Countries; Is the Region Prepared for a Future Crisis?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-20, August.
    6. Đokić, Danilo & Matkovski, Bojan & Jeremić, Marija & Đurić, Ivan, 2022. "Land productivity and agri-environmental indicators: A case study of Western Balkans," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(12), pages 1-13.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Matkovski, Bojan & Zekić, Stanislav & Đokić, Danilo & Jurjević, Žana & Đurić, Ivan, 2022. "Export competitiveness of agri-food sector during the EU integration process: Evidence from the Western Balkans," EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics, vol. 11(1).
    2. Simona Zollet & Luca Colombo & Paola De Meo & Davide Marino & Steven R. McGreevy & Nora McKeon & Simona Tarra, 2021. "Towards Territorially Embedded, Equitable and Resilient Food Systems? Insights from Grassroots Responses to COVID-19 in Italy and the City Region of Rome," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(5), pages 1-24, February.
    3. Tambo, Justice A. & Wünscher, Tobias, 2016. "Beyond adoption: welfare effects of farmer innovation behavior in Ghana," Discussion Papers 235297, University of Bonn, Center for Development Research (ZEF).
    4. Sue Easton & Loretta Lees & Phil Hubbard & Nicholas Tate, 2020. "Measuring and mapping displacement: The problem of quantification in the battle against gentrification," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 57(2), pages 286-306, February.
    5. Ishak Norziha & Abdullah Rosazlin & Rosli Noor Sharina Mohd & Halim Nur Sa’adah Abdul & Majid Hazreenbdul & Ariffin Fazilah, 2022. "Challenges of Urban Garden Initiatives for Food Security in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia," Quaestiones Geographicae, Sciendo, vol. 41(4), pages 57-72, December.
    6. Alfandari, Laurent, 2004. "Choice Rules with Size Constraints for Multiple Criteria Decision Making," ESSEC Working Papers DR 04002, ESSEC Research Center, ESSEC Business School.
    7. Corrente, Salvatore & Figueira, José Rui & Greco, Salvatore, 2014. "The SMAA-PROMETHEE method," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 239(2), pages 514-522.
    8. Boglárka Anna Éliás & Attila Jámbor, 2021. "Food Security and COVID-19: A Systematic Review of the First-Year Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-18, May.
    9. Manyong, Victor & Bokanga, Mpoko & Akonkwa Nyamuhirwa, Dieu-Merci & Bamba, Zoumana & Adeoti, Razack & Mwepu, Gregoire & Cole, Steven M. & Dontsop Nguezet, Paul Martin, 2022. "COVID-19 outbreak and rural household food security in the Western Democratic Republic of the Congo," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 28(C).
    10. Kadziński, MiŁosz & Greco, Salvatore & SŁowiński, Roman, 2012. "Extreme ranking analysis in robust ordinal regression," Omega, Elsevier, vol. 40(4), pages 488-501.
    11. Thomas L. Saaty, 2013. "The Modern Science of Multicriteria Decision Making and Its Practical Applications: The AHP/ANP Approach," Operations Research, INFORMS, vol. 61(5), pages 1101-1118, October.
    12. Vincent Smith & Justus H. H. Wesseler & David Zilberman, 2021. "New Plant Breeding Technologies: An Assessment of the Political Economy of the Regulatory Environment and Implications for Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-18, March.
    13. Muhammad Rahies Khan & Amir Manzoor, 2021. "Application and Impact of New Technologies in the Supply Chain Management During COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Literature Review," International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), International Journal of Economics & Business Administration (IJEBA), vol. 0(2), pages 277-292.
    14. Renata Baborska & Emilio Hernandez & Emiliano Magrini & Cristian Morales-Opazo, 2020. "The impact of financial inclusion on rural food security experience: A perspective from low-and middle-income countries," Review of Development Finance Journal, Chartered Institute of Development Finance, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18.
    15. Pavla Vrabcová & Hana Urbancová, 2021. "Use of human resources information system in agricultural companies in the Czech Republic," Agricultural Economics, Czech Academy of Agricultural Sciences, vol. 67(5), pages 173-180.
    16. Hanna Dudek & Joanna Myszkowska-Ryciak & Agnieszka Wojewódzka-Wiewiórska, 2021. "Profiles of Food Insecurity: Similarities and Differences across Selected CEE Countries," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(16), pages 1-19, August.
    17. Hamid Kharatzadeh & Mousa Alavi & Abolfazl Mohammadi & Denis Visentin & Michelle Cleary, 2020. "Emotional regulation training for intensive and critical care nurses," Nursing & Health Sciences, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 22(2), pages 445-453, June.
    18. Stevens, Andrew W., 2017. "Quinoa quandary: Cultural tastes and nutrition in Peru," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 132-142.
    19. Catherine Nkirote Kunyanga & Morten Fibieger Byskov & Keith Hyams & Samuel Mburu & Grace Werikhe & Rawlynce Bett, 2023. "Influence of COVID-19 Pandemic on Food Market Prices and Food Supply in Urban Markets in Nairobi, Kenya," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(2), pages 1-20, January.
    20. Ming-Liang Li, 2021. "Standardizing Components and Rotating Workers Using GT-Based Algorithm—A Case Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-17, July.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:23:p:9924-:d:452166. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.