Aim. To identify the level of food security of Arab countries on the basis of system economic and geographical analysis, to determine the main factors causing the problems of food security of the population of the selected group of states. Methodology. Various geographical methods were applied in the course of the study: cartographic, historical-geographical, comparative-geographical, economic-statistical, as well as elements of system analysis. The differentiation of Arab countries in terms of food situation was carried out by cluster analysis. The Food Availability Index (FAI) for Arab countries was calculated on the basis of a large set of statistical data, showing a wide range of food availability, while comparative-geographical and factor analyses helped to explain the basic reasons for the differentiation of countries in terms of food availability. ArcGIS, Adobe Illustrator, QGIS-maps, and Microsoft Excel programmes were used to construct cartographic materials and charts reflecting the main results of the work. Results. It is shown that the majority of Arab countries in the first two decades of the xxI century had serious problems with food security. The most acute ones are in the states where military conflicts do not subside, first of all in Yemen, Syria and Sudan. Due to objective reasons (lack of fresh water, shortage of fertile land, immaturity of existing productive forces and production relations), the key factor for most countries of the group is the lag between food production and consumer demand. In the Arab region there are multidirectional processes in food supply: malnutrition is increasing in conflict-ridden and low-income countries (Iraq, Mauritania, Morocco, Sudan), while obesity is a growing concern in high- and middle-income countries (Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia). International food trade and its volumes are in many cases determined by political motives rather than economic and commercial factors. The analysis reveals the most effective ways to overcome the problems of food security in Arab countries. Research implications. New material on the topic under study is summarized and proposals for achieving food security as the basis of economic security of countries are formulated. It is shown that food security and food security of the countries of the region is mosaic in a wide range and is determined by a large spectrum of economic, social and geopolitical factors. The conducted research has both theoretical and practical significance, in particular for a better understanding of Russia's economic and geopolitical interaction with the Arab countries.
Lobzhanidze et al. (Wed,) studied this question.