Assessment of food losses at the stage of agricultural production in the Russian Federation

The article presents a method of quantitative measurement of food losses in agricultural production in Russia based on verifiable statistical data and the results of its application. The relevance of the study is related to the limited resources for agricultural production and the growing demand for food, considering climate change, leading to an increase in the risks of extreme weather events and epidemics. The estimates of losses presented in Russia are either based on the calculation of food resource balances and have limitations in terms of coverage of the types of losses considered, or are based on subjective assessments of respondents. The proposed method makes it possible to identify focal points of food losses in agricultural production. In addition, the results obtained can be used to assess the potential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions because of limiting food losses in Russian agricultural production.