Ensuring food security amid the spread of COVID-19

The purpose of the article is to carry out an analytical assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of food security in Ukraine. Research methods. The research was based on general scientific and economic methods, the creative heritage of the founders of economic science, publications of Ukrainian and foreign scientists on the impact of quarantine restrictions related to the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic on the level of food security of the country, regulatory legal acts, data from the State Statistics Service of Ukraine, electronic resources and other sources. The monographic approach is used to analyze the dynamics of the actual consumption of agrifood products and the level of food independence for individual agri-food products. Normative and positive approaches are used to highlight real risks and threats to food security. A number of techniques of abstract-logical tools made it possible to make a scientific and applied generalization of the material presented, to formulate intermediate and final conclusions and proposals. Research results. An analytical assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the consumption of agri-food products and the level of food independence for individual agri-food products has been carried out. It has been proven that Ukraine produces enough food to ensure healthy nutrition for citizens. It has been determined that due to the low purchasing power of the populaЕкономіка АПК, 2021, № 7 25 tion, groups of citizens with low incomes have limited access to essential agricultural and food products. In the medium and long term, there will be a shortage of food resources and global food inflation, the situation in agricultural markets will remain unstable, and trade will continue to develop under the influence of not only competition, but also political factors. Scientific novelty. The theoretical and methodological provisions, scientific, methodological and practical approaches to determining the factors of influence of quarantine measures and the spread of COVID-19 to the level of food security of the state have been substantiated. Assessing the impact of quarantine measures and the spread of COVID-19 on food security made it possible to identify the main risks of ensuring the country's food security. Practical significance. The applied aspects of the study can be taken into account in the formation of programs for the socioeconomic development of the agri-food sector of Ukraine, which will increase the effectiveness of state initiatives aimed at ensuring food security of the state and increase the country's readiness for force majeure threats. Tabl.: 7. Figs.: 3. Refs.: 17.