Energy security of the agro-industrial complex in ensuring food stability in Russia

The paper examines the role of energy security of the agro-industrial complex in ensuring food stability in Russia. It is substantiated that, under current conditions, the energy factor goes beyond a conventional component of production costs and becomes one of the basic conditions for the sustainable functioning of the entire agri-food chain. The production, storage, processing, cooling, transportation and sale of food require the continuous use of fuel, electricity, heat and gas, which increases the dependence of the agro-industrial complex on the reliability of energy infrastructure and the dynamics of energy prices. The purpose of the study is to substantiate the role of energy security of the agro-industrial complex in ensuring food stability based on an analysis of energy interrelations between the main stages of the agri-food chain. The methodological basis of the study includes system-functional analysis, economic-statistical methods and calculation-graphical methods. It is shown that the modern energy dependence of the agro-industrial complex has a dual nature: on the one hand, the importance of stationary energy supply is increasing for livestock complexes, poultry farms, greenhouse facilities, elevators, refrigerated warehouses and processing enterprises; on the other hand, liquid fuel retains its critical role as the mobile energy basis of agricultural production. It is revealed that the combination of infrastructure failures and the price gap between fuel costs and selling prices of agricultural products can limit the reproductive capacity of agribusiness. The article proposes directions for reducing energy risks: forecasting seasonal demand for energy resources, forming regional fuel reserves, improving the reliability of stationary energy supply for critical agro-industrial facilities, modernizing rural electric grids and differentiating support measures with regard to sectoral and regional specificities.