The Right to Food and Food Security as a Vital Cornerstone of Human Dignity in Armenia

This image was generated using AI and is for illustrative purposes only. Any resemblance to real people or events is coincidental.

 

06/05/2026

 

Everyone has the right to food; however, only three out of ten people in Armenia are food secure. Food insecurity remains high in Armenia. According to the 2024 "Sixth Food Security and Vulnerability Assessment" of the UN World Food Programme (WFP), 20% of the surveyed households in Armenia are food insecure, while 54% are marginally food security. In other words, seven out of ten people in Armenia - the significant majority of the population - are at risk of becoming food insecure in the event of crisis or shock situations. Meanwhile, according to Article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), the right to adequate and healthy food is part of the right to an adequate standard of living. Within the context of international law, the right to food became mandatory in 1966 through Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). The Republic of Armenia acceded to this Covenant on June 9, 1993.

 

A major political advancement at the international level was brought by the 1996 World Food Summit in Rome, in which Armenia's delegation participated among high-level representatives from 186 countries. Within the framework of the World Food Summit, a new definition of food security was established:

 

"Food security is a complex of legal, organisational, logistical, and other measures aimed at ensuring an adequate quantity and quality of food that is safe for health and acceptable from the perspective of the socio-cultural and historical characteristics of society; food that is accessible to every member of society and can be consumed by them at any time and in any situation (including during emergencies and martial law) to lead a healthy and prosperous life."

 

Additionally, in the Plan of Action adopted by the World Food Summit, states called upon the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) to clarify the right to food and the specific obligations states must fulfil. In response, the CESCR published its General Comment No. 12 (1999), which defines the right to food. According to it, the right to food is realised "when every man, woman and child […] has physical and economic access at all times to adequate food or means for its procurement." Thus, member states of the ICESCR, including Armenia, have the obligation to respect, protect, and fulfil the right to food.

 

Generally, the status of food security is assessed by the Global Food Security Index, which was first published in 2012 and is managed and updated annually by the British The Economist and its partners. The index evaluates food security across four main pillars: affordability, availability, quality and safety, as well as sustainability and adaptation. The index is based on a dynamic model built from 68 qualitative and quantitative indicators of food security. In the latest 2022 Global Food Security Index report, which assessed food security in 113 countries, data regarding Armenia is missing.

 

The primary indicator for defining food security is the level of food self-sufficiency. To understand the level of food self-sufficiency in Armenia, it is important to examine the self-sufficiency levels of essential (staple) food items and the food balance, which shows the movement of food from the moment of production to final consumption. Analysis of official statistical data published by the Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia shows that the level of food self-sufficiency in Armenia remains critically low. For instance, in 2024, Armenia produced only 22.8% of its wheat, 8.3% of its corn, 38.4% of leguminous crops (peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas), 26.0% of fowl meat, 49.7% of pork, and 55.0% of sugar. Notably, in 2025, the price of wheat imported to Armenia increased by 28.0% compared to the previous year. Generally, in 2025 compared to 2024, inflation was recorded in several important food groups: for instance, the price of oils and fats (an entirely imported commodity) rose by 12.3%, fish and seafood by 18.1%, vegetables by 10.7%, fruit by 6.9%, bakery products and cereals by 3.2%, and meat by 2.2%. At the same time, the poverty level serves as an important indicator for assessing the well-being and standard of living of the population. In 2024, the poverty rate in Armenia was 21.7%, and extreme poverty was 0.6%.

 

In conditions of concerning volumes of food imports and continuous price increases for key food groups in recent years, it is also vital to address the state of Armenia's agri-food system, as the country's food security and self-sufficiency are ensured especially through agriculture and local food production systems. It is noteworthy that the volumes of agricultural production in Armenia’s food balance are stagnating due to small and fragmented land plots; lack of information, knowledge, and resources; absence of modern technologies, machinery, and necessary infrastructure; the scarcity of food processing companies, as well as low and irregular supplies of agricultural products and the presence of non-formal economic entities. In addition, approximately 50% of arable land in Armenia is not cultivated due to inaccessible irrigation water or insufficient supply, the unaffordability of using agricultural machinery, low soil fertility, the absence of the land user or owner, low profitability, insufficient working capital, etc. Besides, perceptions regarding the transformation and development of the agri-food system are deficient, especially due to the gap between science, policy, and agricultural practice, as well as the absence of agricultural extension and advisory services. As a result, local production volumes remain small, and the level of food self-sufficiency remains low.

 

Returning to the right to food: the constitutions of Brazil, Ukraine, South Africa, Mali, Nepal, and several other states explicitly recognise the right to food. The constitution is the supreme law of the state, and if the right to food becomes a constitutionally protected fundamental right, it is reflected in all areas of law. In Armenia’s Constitution, the right to food is protected implicitly within the context of broader human rights. Specifically, Article 84 of the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia stipulates that everyone in need and the elderly have the right to a dignified existence in accordance with the law.

 

Overall, several legal acts have been adopted for the purpose of ensuring food security in Armenia.

 

The National Security Strategy of the Republic of Armenia, adopted in 2020, states in point 7.20 that the state will take active steps toward ensuring the physical and economic accessibility of diversified food products that meet health standards for all population groups. It adds that the policy is aimed at increasing the resilience level of the food security system.

 

Food security issues are also reflected in the "Doctrine for the Economic and Institutional Transformation of Armenia" adopted in 2026. Paragraph 71 of the Doctrine defines strategies for the innovative development of agriculture, the introduction of sustainable production methods, and the transformation of food production systems in the context of ensuring food security. At the same time, the Doctrine foresees to ensure the sustainable development of Armenia's agriculture and increase food security through the efficient use of land and water resources, promotion of intensive development in plant cultivation and animal husbandry, modernisation of food processing and logistics infrastructure, and ensuring the development of the entire agricultural value chains by consolidating small and medium-sized farms.

 

Food security goals and mechanisms are also defined in the RA Law "On Ensuring Food Security" adopted in 2002, as well as in the "Strategy for the Development of the Food Security System" adopted in 2023 and the 2023-2026 Action Plan of the Food Security System Development Strategy. Particularly in the context of the latter, it is important to understand to what extent the expected short- and long-term results are measurable and, in general, which institutions will measure them and how.

 

The analysis of legal acts shows that although the right to food is not explicitly defined by the Constitution, the challenges of food security and the mechanisms to address these challenges are described in the aforementioned legal acts. What remains is their implementation and, most importantly, the short-term and long-term impact of measurable results on the life and well-being of people living in Armenia. Of course, the high level of food insecurity in Armenia suggests that active efforts are still needed to achieve the ambitious goals defined by legal acts. It is necessary to analyse and evaluate the work carried out to date by state, academic, expert, and general civil society institutions to achieve the goals set by relevant legal acts, as well as the recorded successes, lessons learned, and critical analyses of failures. It is also necessary to understand which institutions are missing in the innovation system and what new accountability and monitoring mechanisms are required to build resilience against changing national, regional, and global challenges and to achieve the visions and strategic goals set. At the same time, it should be considered that to effectively address the contemporary challenges, it is important to promote cross-sectoral cooperation. For example, considering the large share of marginally food security population in Armenia, is of crucial importance to establish a cross-sectoral platform, infrastructure, and capacities for the forecasting, prevention, and rapid response to relevant food crises and emergency situations. Similar mechanisms are also necessary to ensure a fair and sustainable transition of Armenia's agri-food system to make better use of the opportunities in the context of new realities.

 

And in general, it is necessary to place the people living in Armenia and their dignified life at the centre of all legal acts, implemented mechanisms, and institutional actions by recognizing that a vital cornerstone of human dignity is the right to food and food security.

 

Emil Gevorgyan

JUSTUS Research and Consultancy Foundation