Agric. Econ. - Czech, 2024, 70(6):265-278 | DOI: 10.17221/16/2024-AGRICECON

Comparative analysis of European Union countries based on selected aspects of food securityOriginal Paper

Eva Matejková1, Mária Májek1, Artan Qineti2, Zlata Sojková1
1 Institute of Statistics, Operations Research and Mathematics, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia
2 Institute of Economic Policy and Finance, Faculty of Economics and Management, Slovak University of Agriculture in Nitra, Nitra, Slovakia

This study assesses 24 European Union countries in terms of food security in 2021. In this paper, we develop a composite food security index considering various weights of indicators. The data were obtained from the FAOSTAT and Eurostat databases. The weights of 10 input indicators were estimated using a principal component analysis-based factor analysis model. The results showed that the harmonised index of consumer prices – food had the greatest impact on the food security index, while the impact of median equivalised net income and moderate or severe food insecurity had the lowest impact. Ireland achieved the highest ranking according to the Food Security Index. Bulgaria experienced the most unfavourable situation among EU countries. Slovakia ranked 22nd out of 24 countries due to its lowest protein supply, including animal-derived proteins. As part of the analysis, our research compared the food security index with the official Global Food Security Index. The Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient of 0.84 indicated a robust correlation between the two indexes. Consequently, this newly developed Food Security Index is appropriate for assessing the food security status of European Union countries. Furthermore, it broadens the assessment of food security by including countries that are not in the commonly used Global Food Security Index (GFSI).

Keywords: composite index; Europe; factor analysis; food security pillars; sustainability

Received: January 16, 2024; Revised: April 29, 2024; Accepted: May 14, 2024; Published: June 20, 2024  Show citation

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Matejková E, Májek M, Qineti A, Sojková Z. Comparative analysis of European Union countries based on selected aspects of food security. Agric. Econ. - Czech. 2024;70(6):265-278. doi: 10.17221/16/2024-AGRICECON.
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