THE ROLE OF WATER RESOURCES IN ENSURING FOOD SECURITY

Issue № 12, 2016, article № 4, pages 23-28

Section: Program-target management of development of agricultural production

Language: Russian

Original language title: РОЛЬ ВОДНЫХ РЕСУРСОВ В ОБЕСПЕЧЕНИИ ПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННОЙ БЕЗОПАСНОСТИ

Keywords: WATER AVAILABILITY, FOOD SECURITY, IMPORT AND EXPORT OF FOOD PRODUCTS, LAND RECLAMATION, RUSSIA'S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES

Abstract: Ensuring food security is accompanied by risks which can significantly weaken it. Water resources are distributed on the land area extremely unevenly; differ in the wide range of variability on security per capita, high temporary variability. It was revealed that in 2014 more than 2.5 billion people in 46 countries lived in conditions of a water stress and deficiency. Russia is one of the few countries with rather high level of specific water security, but has extremely uneven distribution of water resources on districts which don’t correspond to population distribution. Low water availability in the Crimean federal district, Moscow and the Moscow region, the Belgorod and Kursk regions, Stavropol Krai is noted. In shallow years in these regions there can be very serious problems with water supply. The international experience convincingly proves that melioration promotes stabilization of agricultural production. In Russia the reclaimed lands occupy less than 5‰ of grounds and 8‰ of an arable land, but even they are used not always effectively. Water resources in the majority of regions of Russia don't limit development of agriculture. Competitive advantages of Russia in production of water capacious agricultural production are revealed. The approaching global water crisis creates exclusively favourable conditions for the water provided countries as increase in demand and the prices of water capacious production is inevitable. It is probable that production of such production will become the dominating direction for the Russian economy during the "post-oil" period.

Authors: Demin Aleksandr Pavlovich