Food Security in India

Food security means :

0availability,0accessibility and 0affordability of food to all people at all times.

Food Security is ensured in a country only if

0Enough food is available for all the persons 0All persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable

quality and 0There is no barrier on access to food.

Need for Food Security:

0For the poor sections of the society0Natural disasters or calamity like earthquake,

drought, flood, tsunami,0Widespread crop failure due to drought

How drought affects food security

Drought takes place

Totalproduction of food

grains

Shortage of food in the affected areas

Prices

Some peoplecannot afford to buy food = Food

Insecurity

Starvation

0 If such calamity happens in a very wide spread area or is stretched over a longer time period, it may cause a situation of starvation.

Famine0A massive starvation might take a turn of famine.

0A Famine is characterized by 1. widespread deaths and

2. epidemics

Famines and Starvation Deaths in India

0 Bengal Famine, 1943 -killed 1.5 million to 3 million0 The Bihar famine, 1966-7 - 2,353 deaths due to starvation reported

Starvation deaths have also been reported in: 1. Kalahandi and Kashipur in Orissa 2. Baran district of Rajasthan,3. Palamau district of Jharkhand and many other remote areas during the recentyears.

Food Insecure Groups

Worst Affected Groups:0 landless people0 traditional artisans0 traditional services providers0petty self-employed workers0Homeless, beggars etc.0Families employed in ill-paid occupations0 casual labourers (seasonal activities+ very low wages)

0SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs (lower castes among them) –having poor land-base or very low land productivity

0Migrants ( as a result of natural disasters )0Women and children

States facing problem of food insecurity

0Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar,

0 Jharkhand, 0Orissa, 0West Bengal,0Chattisgarh, 0parts of Madhya Pradesh and0Maharasthra

Hunger, another aspect of Food Insecurity

Inadequate diet for a long time

Poor people suffer from chronic hunger

Chronic Hunger Due agricultural

activities-rural regions & urban

areas- casual labour

When a person is unable to get work for the entire year

Seasonal Hunger

India’s attempts at attaining Food Security

Highest Growth

Punjab and Haryana

Tamil Nadu and Andhra

Pradesh

Low Growth

Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh

Bihar, Orissa and the N-E

states

Green Revolution: Foodgrain Production

India’s Food Security System

Buffer Stock

Public Distribution System

Food Security

System of India

How the Public Distribution System works:

Farmers or Producers

States

Fair Price Shops

F.C.I (maintains

Buffer Stocks)

Grains MSP

Allocates Grains

Central Issue Price

C.I.P Distributes Grains

Government schemes

0PDS (initial Public Distribution System scheme)0RPS (Revamped Public Distribution System)0TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System)

Special Schemes:0AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana)0APS (Annapurna Scheme)

Benefits from the PDS:

0Stabilizes prices of foodgrains 0Makes food available at affordable prices0By supplying food from surplus regions of the country

to the deficit ones, it helps in combating hunger and famine

0Prices set with poor households in mind0Provides income security to farmers in certain regions

Problems faced by PDS:

0Problem of Hunger still exists in many areas of India0Foodstock in granaries often above specifed levels0Deterioration in quality of stored foodgrains if kept

for longer time0High storage costs0 Increase in MSP has led to shift from coarse grain to

rice and wheat production among the farmers0Cultivation of rice has also led to environmental

degradation and fall in the water level

0Average consumption of PDS grain at the all-India level is very low

0Malpractices on part of PDS dealers: Diverting the grains to open market to get better

margin, Selling poor quality grains at ration shops, Irregular opening of the shops0Low Income families earning just above poverty line

have to pay APL rates which are almost equal to open market rates – lower incentive to buy from Fair Price Shops