Q. Critically examine the need of ‘food security’ in India. [64 BPSC/2019]

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Q. Critically examine the need of ‘food security’ in India. [64 BPSC/2019]

Ans:

As per the previous Economic Survey, India needs to take big initiatives to improve its food security as it faces supply constraints, water scarcity, small landholdings, low per capita GDP and inadequate irrigation.
Food security, as defined by the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security, means that all people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their food preferences and dietary needs for an active and healthy life.
Food security is the combination of the following three elements:

• Food availability i.e. food must be available in sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis. It considers stock and production in a given area and the capacity to bring in food from elsewhere, through trade or aid.
• Food access i.e. people must be able to regularly acquire adequate quantities of food, through purchase, home production, barter, gifts, borrowing or food aid.
• Food utilization: Consumed food must have a positive nutritional impact on people. It entails cooking, storage and hygiene practices, individuals health, water and sanitations, feeding and sharing practices within the household.

Food security is closely related to household resources, disposable income and socioeconomic status. It is also strongly interlinked with other issues, such as food prices, global environment change, water, energy and agriculture growth.

The need of ‘food security’ in India:

• India, currently has the largest number of undernourished people in the world i.e. around 195 million.
• Nearly 47 million or 4 out of 10 children in India do not meet their full human potential because of chronic undernutrition or stunting.
• Agricultural productivity in India is extremely low.
  • According to World Bank figures, cereal yield in India is estimated to be 2,992 kg per hectare as against 7,318.4 kg per hectare in North America.
• Under the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) 2022 (released by FAO, IFAD, UNICEF, WHO & WFP):
  • India has high undernourishment (about 16% of the population), wasting (about 17%), stunting (about 31%) and low exclusive breastfeeding practice (only 58%)
  • Previous SOFI report had pointed that hundreds of millions of people in India above the international poverty line of $1.90 purchasing power parity (PPP) per person per day cannot afford a healthy or nutritious diet.
  • This analysis confirms the fact that the problem of poor nutrition in India is largely on account of the unaffordability of good diets.
  • The number of people who cannot afford a healthy diet have risen post pandemic.
• India ranked 107th (slipped from the 101st position in 2021) out of 121 assessed countries on the 2022 Global Hunger Index (GHI) and continues to be in the “serious” hunger category, though it has made some progress, particularly since the enactment of National Food Security Act.
• According to the NFHS-4(2015-16):
  • 36% of children below five years were stunted, 32% were underweight and 19% are wasted.
  • The prevalence of anemia among women aged 15 to 49 years is 57% (it was 53% in NFHS-4).
• According to previous National Health Survey report, approximately 190 million people go to sleep hungry every day in India, comprising about 23% of the world’s undernourished population. Under 2nd sustainable development goal (zero hunger) India is committed to eliminate hunger by 2030.
• Food security is also needed to have healthy and productive workforce, to control on food prices, to boost the agricultural sector etc.
• It is also a stat’s duty under Art 47 of the constitution to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living of its people.
• Need of food security in Bihar,
  • Bihar has the highest number of people not getting benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) for want of ration cards,
    • Among these 39 lakh people not receiving benefits as they do not have ration cards, Bihar accounts for 14 lakh.
  • Child undernutrition is significantly more severe in Bihar than in several other states in the country. Here, the prevalence of stunting in the children of the below five years group is 48.3%, making it the worst state in India. It is 10% higher than the national average. In districts like Sitamarhi and Nalanda, it is as high as 57.3% and 54.1%.

The challenges to food security in india:

• Climate Change: Higher temperatures and unreliable rainfall makes farming difficult. Climate change not only impacts crop but also livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and can cause grave social and economic consequences in the form of reduced incomes, eroded livelihoods, trade disruption and adverse health impacts.
• Number of NFSA beneficiaries was frozen in 2013. Considering 67% coverage, at present least 90 crore people should be covered. However, only 80 crore people are included, which is just 59% of the total population in India
• Lack of access to remote areas: For the tribal communities, habitation in remote difficult terrains and practice of subsistence farming has led to significant economic backwardness.
• Increase in rural-to-urban migration, large proportion of informal workforce resulting in unplanned growth of slums which lack in the basic health and hygiene facilities, insufficient housing and increased food insecurity.
• Overpopulation, poverty, lack of education and gender inequality.
• Inadequate distribution of food through public distribution mechanisms (PDS i.e. Public Distribution System).
  • Deserving beneficiaries of the subsidy are excluded on the basis of non-ownership of below poverty line (BPL) status, as the criterion for identifying a household as BPL is arbitrary and varies from state to state.
• Biofuels: The growth of the biofuel market has reduced the land used for growing food crops.
• Conflict: Food can be used as a weapon, with enemies cutting off food supplies in order to gain ground. Crops can also be destroyed during the conflict.
• Unmonitored nutrition programmes: Although a number of programmes with improving nutrition as their main component are planned in the country but these are not properly implemented.
• Wastage and poor quality of food grains: This happens sue to poor storage facilities and wide regional disparity in storage infrastructure (Punjab, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh etc. have more storage facility).
• High fiscal burden: Government pays a subsidy of about Rs. 1.70 lakh crore annually under NFSA.
• Inflationary pressure on food items: Procurement by the Government results in lesser amount available for Open markets sale, thus increasing its price.
• Lack of coherent food and nutrition policies along with the absence of intersectoral coordination between various ministries.
• Corruption: Diverting the grains to open market to get better margin, selling poor quality grains at ration shops, irregular opening of the shops add to the issue of food insecurity.

Government Initiatives:

• National Food Security Mission
  • It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2007.
  • It aims to increase production of rice, wheat, pulses, coarse cereals and commercial crops, through area expansion and productivity enhancement.
  • It works toward restoring soil fertility and productivity at the individual farm level and enhancing farm level economy.
  • It further aims to augment the availability of vegetable oils and to reduce the import of edible oils.
• The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, legally entitles up to 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution System.
  • The eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above is mandated to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards under the Act.
  • Recently, due to Covid-19, the number of beneficiaries has been increased to 800 million people.
• Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR)
  • Making farming a remunerative economic activity through strengthening the farmer’s effort, risk mitigation and promoting agri-business entrepreneurship. Major focus is on pre & post-harvest infrastructure, besides promoting agri-entrepreneurship and innovations.
• Operation Green
• Under Bonn challenge, India is committed to restore degraded land to 26 million hectares by 2030.
• Various poverty elimination programs e.g. MGNAREGA, Deen Dayal Antyodaya Yojana or DAY.
• One nation and one ration card
• Initiatives in Bihar:
  • Various schemes for the expansion Of agricultural and allied sectors like Har Khet Tak Sinchai Ka Pani, the Climate Resilient Agriculture Programme etc.
  • Towards achieving food security, the State Government manages the Public Distribution System. FCI in partnership with the Bihar State Warehousing Corporation (BSWC) and other agencies maintains vast network of storage silos and depots for food-grains. In 2020-21, the State government had set up a target for procurement Of 45000 thousand tonnes Of rice during the kharif marketing season, out of which a total of 3559 thousand tonnes was procured.
  • To address the issue of food availability during lean seasons, JEEViKA has introduced the concept of Food Security Fund (FSF) at the village organization (VO) level. The intervention has implemented with 47,461 VOs that have made profound impact on the food security of the poorest sections Of society.
  • The State Government also makes efforts to control food prices, black marketing, hoarding of essential commodities and to protect consumer rights under PDS, the process of issuing Ration Card to get the essential food grains has now been digitized through Ration Card management system, also called Jan Vitran App (JVN). This App provides features to generate new Ration Card for the eligible household, modify existing Ration Card, or surrender them.
  • Supplementary Nutrition Programme for every pregnant woman and lactating mother till 6 months after child birth, and even child in the age group of 6 months to 6 years.

Measures suggested:

• Improving the size of the farms, Cooperative farming.
• Aeroponics and hydroponics are systems that allow plants to be grown without soil. Plants grown in this way take in water and nutrients efficiently. These methods can be used in the areas of poor soil quality and soil erosion.
• Adoption of crops and techniques with lower water requirements, such as the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) method of rice production, contributes to resilience by enabling equal or better yields to be achieved with less water withdrawal.
• Crop diversification: Higher profitability and stability in production highlight the importance of crop diversification, e.g. legumes alternative with rice and wheat. Growing of non-cereal crops such as oilseeds, fruits and vegetables etc need to be encouraged.
• An earlier economic survey had pointed out that, “The need for a Second Green Revolution is being experienced more than ever before.”
• Strategies for better food storage should be adopted.
• Alternative method for food security: Direct benefit transfer would help in reducing financial cost related to procurement, storage, physical movement, etc. and also plug leakage and reduce corruption.
  • Presently it is implemented on a pilot basis in three UTs of Chandigarh, Puducherry, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (urban areas)
• Update food prices: Revision of CIPs as recommended by Economic Survey 2020-21.
• The Blue Revolution: Sea, lakes and rivers can be used to provide food and nutrition. Fish are a very good source of protein and do not require good soil.
• Food fortification to address the prblem of micro-nutrients.
• Local community education on key family health and nutrition practices using participatory and planned communication methodologies will be helpful.

The COVID-19 pandemic is threatening the long-cherished food security of India. It has impacted all four aspects, namely ‘availability, access, stability, and utilization’ of food. Though, the country had sufficient buffers of food grains: 58.4 million tons and pulses 3 million tons. However, it is not so for other commodities such as fruits and vegetables, eggs, meat, milk, and sugar that constitutes 78 percent of the total food consumption. Thus, the availability of these food item has to be ensured.
The issue of food security has multi-faceted challenges and requires a holistic solution. India needs to adopt a policy that brings together diverse issues such as inequality, food diversity, indigenous rights and environmental justice to ensure sustainable food security. The NGOs, local institutions etc can also play an important role in this direction as they did during lockdown.To conclude, the food security is not only a social or economic need of the country, it also has ethical dimensions. India is seen by many as emerging super-power, to further boost it’s international image it must ensure the food security to its citizen.