FOOD SECURITY

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Mains Examination: General Studies 3

(Food Security Issues)

Reference :

  • Due to India's increasing population and limited resources, the present situation of poverty and food insecurity in the country is a matter of concern from the point of view of inclusive development and food security.

Foreword :

  • Food nourishes, develops and lives a person and it is the fundamental right of every citizen to have it.
  • It is ironical that on one hand people die due to starvation in the country and on the other hand no concrete arrangements have been made to save the grains stored in godowns from rotting. In addition, excessive amount of food wastage creates food crisis. At the same time, the minimum support price policy of the government is not on all the food grains but only for some food grains. Due to this food insecurity increases in the country.

Data related to Food Insecurity:

The Global Food Policy Report 2022

  • According to this report, more than nine crore Indians may face starvation by 2030 due to climate change in India.
  • According to the report, the yield of crops is likely to decrease to a great extent in the next 70-80 years. Along with this, the level of heat and heat is also expected to increase manifold.
  • Under normal circumstances, this figure would have been 73.9 million, but due to climate change, the number of people facing hunger could increase by 23 per cent.
  • According to the report of the International Food Policy Research Institute, by the year 2100, along with India, all countries like America, Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Russia and Britain, whether rich or poor, hot or cold, will all be affected by food crisis.

New reports from UN and EU agencies

  • According to this report, the number of people suffering from hunger around the world has increased significantly in 2021 due to conflict, economic crisis and climate change.
  • Nearly 190 million people in 52 countries are facing sudden food insecurity.
  • Compared to 2020, there is an increase of 4 crores in the number of victims. At the same time, the Russia and Ukraine war has also greatly affected global food production.
  • Ongoing conflicts in countries such as Congo, Yemen, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, Sudan, Syria and Nigeria further threaten food security there.

Food Insecurity (Crisis):

  • Broadly, food crisis can be divided into two parts: 1. Moderate food crisis, 2. Severe food crisis.

Moderate food crisis:

  • Food crisis is the lack of assured access of people to nutritious and sufficient food. When people start becoming victims of starvation due to lack of money or other resources, then the situation is called food crisis. Many people do not get enough food or rations are not provided to their families, this is called moderate food crisis.
  • In this crisis people have to compromise with the quantity and quality of food.

Severe food crisis :

  • In this crisis, people do not get food for many days. Nutritious and adequate food is not available to them. If this situation persists for a long time, it takes the form of a problem of hunger.
  • Thus starvation deaths occur only because of severe food crisis.

Causes of increasing Food Insecurity:

Poverty and population growth:Poverty is the biggest reason for food insecurity in India. Due to financial constraints, many people do not get enough and nutritious food, due to which they become victims of malnutrition. The production of food grains remained low in comparison to the population growth in the country and this is the reason that the food problem remains a serious problem even today.

Lack of cultivable land: Cultivable land in the country is very limited and green revolution could not succeed in solving the food problem due to its limited effect in increasing the productivity of land. One of the reasons for agricultural production not increasing rapidly is that chemical fertilizers, high yielding seeds, etc. essential means of agriculture were not easily available and due to their high prices, they remained out of reach of ordinary farmers.

Disasters: The problem of food crisis in the country takes a serious turn due to the calamities of drought and floods from time to time.

Irregular supply and storage problem:Irregular supply means that all the food that is produced does not reach the consumer, but a lot of grain is wasted due to insects, rats, birds and many other reasons. Sometimes stored grains also rot in large quantities.

Uncertain Monsoon:As most of the crops in India are dependent on monsoon for irrigation and monsoon is erratic and erratic. Due to this the production of food grains also remains uncertain.

Inflation: Due to the increase in the prices of food grains due to inflation, it becomes very difficult for the low income group people to buy them.

Food insecurity also increases due to lack of proper implementation of schemes.

Initiatives of Government of India For food Security:

  • National Food Security Mission
  • National Farmer Policy
  • Food Subsidy Scheme
  • Establishment of National Rainfed Area Authority
  • Large Agricultural Management Plan
  • International Cereals Council
  • World Food Program
  • SAARC Food Bank
  • Food and Agriculture Organization

Way Forward:

  • Efforts should be made to reduce poverty in the country. Population control is very important in the country.
  • Poverty can be controlled by providing more and more employment opportunities to unemployed people, due to which people's family financial crisis will be removed and they will be able to take nutritious food.
  • Financial assistance should be provided by the government to people with disabilities and extremely poor families, so that they can avoid becoming victims of starvation. Although the government is depositing money in the accounts of the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package, but in view of the rising inflation, more attention needs to be paid to it.
  • Only a few food products are distributed under the National Food Security Act. There is also a need to include some other nutritious food grains in these.
  • Instead of some selected crops, minimum support price should be given by the government on other nutritious crops, so that the farmers produce more of those crops.
  • There is a need to make the country more and more self-sufficient in the production of food grains, so that there is no shortage of food grains in our country and we do not have to import them from any other country.
  • All necessary measures should be taken to protect the food grains stored in the go down from rotting.
  • Many schemes are run by the government, but they are not implemented properly, due to which the right person does not get the benefit.
  • Special attention needs to be paid to this and this shortcoming should be removed, so that the poorest of the poor can take advantage of government schemes. Providing food security to the citizens should be the first priority of the country's government, only then the development of the nation would be possible.
  • Without eradication of poverty-unemployment and fulfillment of basic needs like food security, the youth of any country cannot be strong.

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Mains Exam Question

Discuss the measures to solve the causes of food crisis in the country.