DEMAND AS A FACTOR OF STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION OF AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS

Issue № 9, 2024, article № 5, pages 45-52

Section:

Language: Russian

Original language title: СПРОС КАК ФАКТОР СТРУКТУРНОЙ ТРАНСФОРМАЦИИ АГРОПРОДОВОЛЬСТВЕННЫХ СИСТЕМ

Keywords: STRUCTURAL TRANSFORMATION, GLOBAL AGRICULTURAL SECTOR, AGRI-FOOD SYSTEMS, FOOD DEMAND, URBANIZATION, DIET, FAST FOOD MODELS

Abstract: Structural changes in the global agricultural sector and agri-food systems, both at the global and national levels, are associated with the impact of a number of factors. The main one is the increase in demand for food, which, in turn, is due to various reasons: an increase in the world population, urbanization, rapid economic growth of developing economies, changes in diet. According to FAO forecasts, the world's population will reach 10 billion by 2050. Man, this will lead to a significant increase in the demand for food. The main population growth in the second half of the twentieth century occurred in China and the countries of East Asia and the Pacific region, later it gradually shifted to sub-Saharan Africa, as well as South Asia. Currently, the population growth rate in these regions is 3 times higher than in the world. Between 2000 and 2020, the global population increased by 46%, and food consumption, measured in kcal/day, increased by 38% globally during the same period. Another important factor causing the transformation of agri-food systems is urbanization. In the modern world, migration of the population from rural areas to cities is one of the main features of the process of structural transformations in the agricultural sector. Urbanization increases the overall demand for food, since it has been found that urban households spend more money per capita (PPP) on food purchases than rural household: urban households spend – $2,628, rural households – $916. Urbanization is also changing the diet, urban residents consume more animal products, which affects the structure of agricultural production. Food patterns are changing in cities, fast food (fast food) is becoming increasingly popular, which, as a rule, is more high-calorie, but little useful. Thus, the processes of urbanization affect the development of agri-food systems, both at the national and global levels.

Authors: SHelamova Nadezhda Afanasevna