Food security and state support of agriculture economy in the interpretation of WTO
The problems of agriculture in Russia worsened due to the entry of our country into the WTO. The main negative tendencies that impede the development of agriculture and threaten national food security are: 1) lack of strong output growth. The index of agricultural output Russia has not yet reached the level of 1990; 2) agriculture in Russia is still dependent on climatic conditions, which, in particular due to backward technology, are the prevalence of patriarchal production; 3) imbalances which are formed in the two main sectors of agriculture - crop and livestock production; 4) agricultural wages remain among the lowest in the country; 5) Russia retains the traditional position of being a net importer of food products, meat supplies are still the main item of the agricultural food imports; 6) agriculture has the lowest proportion of workers with higher education, and so on. Thus, the extent of the threats and the real damage done to the food security of the country in recent years, especially in the 1990s, make this problem extremely important. The problem of food security in Russia has attracted increasing attention of politicians, scientists and ordinary people. The issues of food security are not unique to Russia or any other country. And, despite the fact that the problems and directions of agricultural complex development deteriorated due to Russia's entry into the WTO, agricultural development, food markets and food security is a global concern and the object of attention of the world community, global institutions. Russia's accession to the WTO is an objective and logical process, and the development of agriculture, agro-industrial complex as a whole, increasing its competitiveness is a paramount task, regardless of whether Russia becomes a member of this international organisation or not. Joining the WTO will lead to much more profound changes in the economy than the discovery of specific markets, so one needs a broader view of the need for and impact of the entry. In particular, these effects are linked to changes in concepts, forms and approaches to state support of agriculture and the agro-industrial complex (AIC) as a whole. In the interpretation of the WTO there are three types of state support (three boxes) of agriculture. Amber (yellow) box is direct and limited, blue box is linked to the objective of reducing production. Green box includes measures that are implemented through programs funded by taxpayers' money. Many types of support implemented in Russia refer to the ''amber box'', although they can be put in the ''green box'' by changing their methodology. This, of course, is a complex task that requires political will. Forms of government support should develop from direct support (''amber box'') towards the use of budget funds in the framework of the ''green box''.
Keywords
the state support of agriculture, Russia's accession to WTO, food security, problems of agricultural development, государственная поддержка сельского хозяйства, вступление России в ВТО, продовольственная безопасность, проблемы развития сельского хозяйстваAuthors
| Name | Organization | |
| Nekhoda Yevgenia V. | Tomsk State University | sheyna@sibmail.com |
References
Food security and state support of agriculture economy in the interpretation of WTO | Vestnik Tomskogo gosudarstvennogo universiteta – Tomsk State University Journal. 2013. № 377. DOI: 10.17223/15617793/377/24