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Food Security in India
"The poor households are more vulnerable to food insecurity whenever there is a problem of production or distribution of food crops."
1.0Food Security
Food is as essential for living as air is for breathing. . But food security means something more than getting two square meals. Food security has following dimensions. It means availability, accessibility, and affordability of food to all people at all times. Food security depends on the Public Distribution System (PDS) and government vigilance and action at times, when this security is threatened.
Dimensions of food security
- Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous year's stocks stored in government granaries.
- Accessibility means food is within reach of every person.
- Affordability implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe, and nutritious food to meet one's dietary needs. Thus, food security is ensured in a country only if - (i) Enough food is available for all the persons. (ii) All persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality and (iii) There is no barrier on access to food.
Food security is ensured in a country only if.
- Enough food is available for all the persons.
- All the persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality.
- There is no barrier on access to food.
In the 1970s, food security was understood as the "availability at all times of adequate supply of basic foodstuffs" (UN, 1975). Amartya Sen added a new dimension to food security and emphasised the "access" to food through what he called 'entitlements' - a combination of what one can produce, exchange in the market along with state or other socially provided supplies. Accordingly, there has been a substantial shift in the understanding of food security. The 1995 World Food Summit declared, "Food security at the individual, household, regional, national and global levels exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life". The declaration further recognises that "poverty eradication is essential to improve access to food".
2.0Why food security?
The poorest section of the society might be food insecure most of the times while persons above the poverty line might also be food insecure when the country faces a national disaster.
(a) How is food security affected during a calamity?
- Due to a natural calamity, say drought, total production of food grains decreases.
- It creates a shortage of food in affected areas.
- Due to shortage of food, the prices go up.
- At the high prices, some people cannot afford to buy food.
If such calamity (Drought) happens in a very wide area or is stretched over a longer time period, it may cause a situation of starvation. A massive starvation might take a turn of famine.
(b) Features of famine
- Widespread deaths due to starvation.
- Epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food.
- Loss of the body resistance due to weakening from starvation.
- The most devastating famine that occurred in India was the FAMINE OF BENGAL in 1943. This famine killed thirty lakh people in the province of Bengal.
The agricultural labourers, fishermen, transport workers and other casual labourers were affected the most by dramatically increasing price of rice. They were the ones who died in this famine.
(c) Other places affected by famine in present scenario
Nothing like Bengal famine has happened in India again. It is, however, disturbing to note that even today, famine like conditions exist in many parts of the country, leading to starvation deaths at times. Natural calamities and pandemics may also lead to food shortage. For example, Covid-19 pandemic had an adverse impact upon the food security. Restriction on movement of people and goods and services impacted economic activity. Therefore, food security is needed in a country to ensure food at all times, including calamities and pandemics.3.0Who is Food - Insecure?
Although a large section of people suffers from food and nutrition insecurity in India, the worst affected groups are landless people with little or no land to depend upon, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self- employed workers and destitute including beggars. In the urban areas, the food insecure families are those whose working members are generally employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labour market. These workers are largely engaged in seasonal activities and are paid very low wages that just ensure bare survival.
(a) Social composition
The social composition along with the inability to buy food also plays a role in food insecurity. The SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs (lower castes among them) who have either poor land-base or very low land productivity are prone to food insecurity. The people affected by natural disasters, who have to migrate to other areas in search of work, are also among the most food insecure people. A high incidence of malnutrition prevails among women. This is a matter of serious concern as it puts even the unborn baby at the risk of malnutrition. A large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under the age of 5 years constitute an important segment of the food insecure population.According to the National Health and Family Survey (NHFS) 1998-99, the number of such women and children is approximately 11 crore.
(b) Prone area of food insecure
- The food insecure people are disproportionately large in some regions of the country, such as economically backward states with high incidence of poverty, tribal and remote areas, regions more prone to natural disasters etc.
- The states of Uttar Pradesh (eastern and southeastern parts), Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra account for largest number of food insecure people in the country.
4.0Hunger
Hunger is another aspect indicating food insecurity. Hunger is not just an expression of poverty; it brings about poverty. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risks of future hunger. Hunger has chronic and seasonal dimensions.
Hunger is not just an expression of poverty; it brings about poverty. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risk of future hunger.
Percentage of Households with 'Hunger' in India The percentage of seasonal, as well as chronic hunger has declined in India as shown in the above table.
There are two types of dimensions of hunger. (a) Chronic Hunger (b) Seasonal Hunger
(a) Chronic Hunger:
It is consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and/or quality. Poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their very low income and in turn inability to buy food even for survival.(b) Seasonal Hunger:
It is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of the agricultural activities and in urban areas because of the casual labour, e.g., there is less work for casual construction labour during the rainy season. This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year.5.0Self - sufficiency in food grain
India is aiming at Self-sufficiency in Food grains since Independence. After independence, Indian policy makers adopted all measures to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains. India adopted a new strategy in agriculture, which resulted in the 'Green Revolution' especially in the production of wheat and rice. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, officially recorded the impressive strides of the Green Revolution in agriculture by releasing a special stamp entitled 'Wheat Revolution' in July 1968. The success of wheat was later replicated in rice. The increase in foodgrains was, however, disproportionate.
The highest rate of growth was achieved in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, which was 44.01 and 30.21 million tonnes in 2015-16. The total food grain production was 252.22 million tonnes in 2015-16 and it has changed to 275.68 million tonnes in 2016-17. Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recorded a significant production in field of wheat which was 26.87 and 17.69 million tonnes in 2015-16, respectively. West Bengal and UP, on the other hand, recorded significant production of rice 15.75 and 12.51 million tonnes in 2015-16 respectively.
6.0Food Security in India
Since the advent of the Green Revolution in the early-1970s, the country has avoided famine even during adverse weather conditions. India has become self-sufficient in food grains during the last 30 years because of a variety of crops grown all over the country. The availability of food grains (even in adverse weather conditions or otherwise) at the country level has further been ensured with a carefully designed food security system by the government. Food security system has two components. (ii) Public Distribution System (a) Buffer stock: It is stock of food grains, namely wheat and rice procured by the government through Food Corporation of India (FCI). FCl: The food corporation of India was set in 1965. The main function of FCI is
- To procure food grains directly from the farmers.
- To store the food grains
- To distribute the food grains to various agencies.
(b) Minimum Support Price: The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum Support Price (MSP). The MSP is declared by the government every year before the sowing season to provide incentives to farmers for raising the production of these crops. The purchased food grains are stored in granaries. Do you know why this buffer stock is created by the government? This is done to distribute food grains in the deficit areas and among the poorer strata of the society at a price lower than the market price also known as Issue Price. This also helps resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or during the periods of calamity.
Public Distribution System
- The food procured by the FCI is distributed through government regulated ration shops among the poorer section of the society. This is called the Public Distribution System (PDS). Ration shops are now present in most localities - Villages Towns Cities
- There are about 5.5 lakh ration shops all over the country. Ration shops also, known as Fair Price Shops, keep stock of food grains, sugar, and kerosene for cooking. These items are sold to people at a price lower than the market price.
- Any family with a ration card can buy a stipulated amount of these items (e.g., 35 kg of grains, 5 litres of kerosene, 5 kgs of sugar etc.) every month from the nearby ration shop.
- The introduction of Rationing in India dates back to the 1940s against the backdrop of the Bengal famine.
- The rationing system was revived in the wake of an acute food shortage during the 1960s, prior to the Green Revolution.
- At present, there are several Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAPs), mostly in rural areas, which have an explicit food component also.
- While some of the programmes such as PDS, mid-day meals etc. are exclusively food security programmes, most of the PAPs also enhance food security.
- Employment programmes greatly contribute to food security by increasing the income of the poor.
- Average consumption of PDS gain per person per month is 1 kg , at all India level.
Types of ration card
- Antyodaya cards for the poorest of the poor.
- BPL card for those below poverty line.
- APL cards for all other.
Three important food intervention programmes
- Public Distribution System.
- Integrated Child Development Services (introduced in 1975)
- Food for work (Introduced in 1977-78)
7.0The National Food Security Act, 2013
This Act provides for food and nutritional security life at affordable prices and enables people to live a life with dignity. Under this act, of the rural population and of the urban population have been categorised as eligible households for food security.
(a) Current Status of Public Distribution System
Some Important Features of PDSNote: W - Wheat; R - Rice; BPL - Below poverty line; APL - Above poverty line.
- In the beginning the coverage of PDS was universal with no discrimination between the poor and non-poor.
- In 1992, Revamped Public Distribution system (RPDS) was introduced in 1700 blocks in the country. The target was to provide benefits of PDS to remote and backward areas.
- From June 1997, in a renewed attempt Targeted Public Distribution system (TPDS) was introduced to adopt the principle of targeting the 'poor' in all areas. It was for the first time that a differential price policy was adopted for poor and non-poor.
- In 2000, two special schemes were launched i.e., Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and the Annapurna Scheme (APS) with special target groups of poorest of the poor and indigent senior citizens.
8.0Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
AAY was launched in December 2000. Under the scheme one crore of the poorest among the BPL families covered under the targeted public distribution system were identified. Poor families were identified by the respective state rural development departments through a Below Poverty Line (BPL) survey.
Twenty-five kilograms of food grains were made available to each eligible family at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2 per kg for wheat and Rs 3 per kg for rice. This quantity has been enhanced from 25 to 35 kgs with effect from April 2002. The scheme has been further expanded twice by additional 50 lakh BPL families in June 2003 and in August 2004. With this increase. 2 crore families have been covered under the AAY.
(c) Advantages of Public Distribution System
- The PDS has proved to be the most effective instrument of government policy over the years in stabilising prices and making food available to consumers at affordable prices.
- It has been instrumental in averting widespread hunger and famine by supplying food from surplus region of the country to the deficit ones.
- In addition, the prices have been under revision in favour of poor households in general.
- The system, including the MSP and procurement has contributed to an increase in food grain production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.
Central Food grains (Wheat + Rice) Stock and Minimum Buffer Norm (Million Tonnes) Subsidy is a payment that a government makes to a producer to supplement the market price of a commodity. Subsidies can keep consumer prices low while maintaining a higher income for domestic producers.
(d) Disadvantages of Public Distribution System
- Instances of hunger are prevalent despite overflowing granaries.
- FCI go-downs are overflowing with grains with some rotting away and some being eaten by rats.
- In 2014, the stock of wheat and rice with FCI was 65.3 million tonnes which was much more than the minimum buffer norms.
- However, these remained consistently higher than the buffer norms. The situation improved with the distribution of food grains under different schemes launched by the government.
- There is a general consensus that high level of buffer stocks of food grains is very undesirable and can be wasteful.
- The increased food grains procurement at enhanced MSP is the result of the pressure exerted by leading food grain producing states, such as Punjab, Haryana and Andhra Pradesh.
- Moreover, as the procurement is concentrated in a few prosperous regions (Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and to a lesser extent in West Bengal) and mainly of two crops - wheat and rice - increase in MSP has induced farmers, particularly in surplus states, to divert land from production of coarse grains, which is the staple food of the poor, to the production of rice and wheat.
- The intensive utilisation of water in the cultivation of rice has also led to environmental degradation and fall in the water level, threatening the sustainability of the agricultural development in these states.
- The high level of buffer stock food grains is very wasteful.
- The PDS dealers are sometimes found resorting to malpractices like diverting the grains to open market to get better margin, selling poor quality grains at ration shops, irregular opening of the shops.
- The storage of massive food stocks has been responsible for high carrying costs, in addition to wastage and deterioration in grain quality.
- Freezing of MSP for a few years should be considered seriously.
As per the NSSO report No. 558 in rural India, the per person per month consumption of rice has declined from 6.38 Kg . in 2004-05 to 5.98 Kg in 2011-12. In urban India, the per person per month consumption of rice, too has declined from 4.71 Kg in 2004-05 to 4.49 Kg in 201112. Per Capita consumption of PDS rice has doubled in rural India and increased by in urban India since 2004-05. The per Capita consumption of PDS wheat has doubled since 200405 in both rural and urban India.
9.0Problems of the working of the ration shops
Some scholars criticise the Public Distribution System on various grounds and stress the need of reforming the whole system. They point out the following problems in the working of the Ration Shops or the Public Distribution system : (a) Firstly, it is pointed out that the quality of rationed articles issued to the poor is much less than required by them. As a result, the poor have to depend on markets than the ration shops for their food needs. (b) Secondly, the ration shop dealers resort to malpractices. They divert the grains to the open market to get a better margin.
- Some ration shop dealers sell poor quality of grains at the ration shops.
- Still others open their shops irregularly so that the poor people could not draw their ration quota. Some dealers weigh less and cheat the illiterate customers.
- Some ration shops are unable to sell their poor-quality grains, which becomes a great headache for the FCI.
- When ration shops are unable to sell, a massive stock of food grains piles up with the FCI.
- In recent years, there is another factor that has led to the decline of the PDS. Earlier every family, poor and non-poor had a ration card with a fixed quota of items such as rice, wheat, sugar etc.
- These were sold at the same low price to every family. The three types of cards and the range of prices that you see today did not exist.
- A large number of families could buy food grains from the ration shops subject to a fixed quota. These included low-income families whose incomes were marginally higher than the below poverty line families.
- Now, with TPDS of three different prices, any family above the poverty line gets very little discount at the ration shop.
- The price for APL family is almost as high as open market price, so there is little incentive for them to buy these items from the ration shop.
10.0Minimum Support Prices
The rising Minimum Support Prices (MSP) have raised the maintenance cost of procuring food grains by the government. Rising transportation and storage costs of the FCI are other contributing factors in this increase.
11.0Role of cooperatives in food security
The cooperatives are also playing an important role in food security in India especially in the southern and western parts of the country. The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people. For example, out of all fair price shops running in Tamil Nadu, around 94 per cent are being run by the cooperatives. In Delhi, Mother Dairy is making strides in provision of milk and vegetables to the consumers at controlled rate decided by Government of Delhi. Amul is another success story of cooperatives in milk and milk products from Gujarat. It has brought about the White Revolution in the country. These are a few examples of many more cooperatives running in different parts of the country ensuring food security of different sections of society. Similarly, in Maharashtra, Academy of Development Science (ADS) has facilitated a network of NGOs for setting up grain banks in different regions. ADS organises training and capacity building programmes on food security for NGOs. Grain Banks are now slowly taking shape in different parts of Maharashtra. ADS efforts to set up Grain Banks, to facilitate replication through other NGOs and to influence the Government policy on food security are thus paying rich dividends. The ADS Grain Bank programme is acknowledged as a successful and innovative food security intervention.
12.0Glossary
- Malnutrition - It is the state of not having enough food or not getting nutritious food.
- Buffer stock - It is the stock of food-grains namely rice and wheat procured by the government through FCI.
- Minimum Support Price - The FCI purchases food grains from the farmers in states where there is surplus production. The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. It is fixed to protect the small farmers.
- Issue Price - It is price lower than the market price at which the government distributes food grains among the poorer strata of society.
- Public Distribution System (PDS) - It implies distribution of food among the poorer section of the society by the government through government regulated shops.
13.0MIND MAP