The role of transport infrastructure in food delivery in Western Kazakhstan

Ensuring adequate food supply for the population in various regions of the country is one of the key goals of sustainable economic growth. However, achieving this is challenging in areas with unfavorable natural and climatic conditions for agriculture, where dependence on imported food increases – a significant risk amid unstable geopolitical and economic conditions. The solution lies in stimulating interregional exchange by expanding the transport infrastructure network. The goal is to develop recommendations for intensifying interregional transportation of socially important food products, based on a study of the level of food self-sufficiency in the regions of Western Kazakhstan and the potential of transport communication systems. The article also aims to demonstrate the degree of self-sufficiency in terms of volumes of socially relevant goods, reserves and development trends in the transport and logistics complex, the impact of efficiently functioning transport corridors on food autonomy indicators, and to substantiate proposals for further improvement of road and transport facilities to enhance the supply of socially significant goods in the western region of the republic. Methods – logical analysis and generalization were used to identify the principles of assessing food independence; correlation analysis was applied to determine its interdependence with the development level of the transport network; an expert survey addressed the regulation of economic stability issues; the economic-statistical method revealed differences in transport accessibility. Results – a high correlation was established between the adequacy of socially important food supplies and the modernization of road infrastructure. Proposals for its further reform and improved supply of socially valuable food products to Western Kazakhstan were substantiated. Conclusions – the authors stress the need to optimize tariff policy through differentiated transportation tariffs for socially significant goods, and to create a favorable investment climate for the renewal of transport infrastructure (increasing freight speed, delivery time predictability, and transport link reliability).