SOAS Research Online

Abstract

There is a controversial debate about what is the best public policy a government should adopt to achieve an affordable and stable supply of staple food for its citizens so to ensure food security. This paper contributes to the debate on the socio-economic impacts of food self-sufficiency policy (SSP) in three ways. First, it thoroughly outlines the costs and advantages of self-sufficiency policy presented in the literature. It argues that self-sufficiency policies are not neutral but have to be assessed for their distributional impacts across the different actors and over time, and in their context-specificity. Second, using the case of wheat self-sufficiency policy in Uzbekistan, it unpacks its effects on the different economic actors and institutions. Third, it reflects on the relevance of wheat self-sufficiency policy for food security in a context of dynamic economic development.