Food Security In India

Changing climate, growing population and rising food prices may have significant yet highly uncertain impacts on food security. Food security is essential for economic growth and depends on the Public Distribution System (PDS). Whenever food security is threatened, government vigilance and action comes to play.

What is food security?

• Food security has the following components:
  • Availability: Food obtained by any means like production in the country, imports and stock of previous years.
  • Accessibility: Any person can avail food.
  • Affordability: A person should have enough money to meet his nutritional requirements.

Why food security?

• Food security may be affected in case of natural calamities like earthquake, drought, flood, tsunami and famine.
• However the poorest of people may face food insecurity most of the time.
• Due to any natural calamity, total food production decreases and prices increase.
• Such high prices devoid the poor people of food.
• In case of widespread calamity over a long time, it may cause starvation.
• It may be due to forced use of decaying food or contaminated water which causes weakening due to loss of body resistance.

Who are food-insecure?

• People with little or no land, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutes including beggars are the main sufferers of food and nutrition insecurity.
• In urban areas people employed for low wages and in the casual labour market are major victims.
• A large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers and children under 5 years of age suffer from malnutrition and are thus, food insecure.
• Economically backward states are more prone to natural disasters etc. are also affected.
• Since independence, India has aimed to achieve ‘Self Sufficiency in Foodgrains’.
• So the Green Revolution was the result of a strategy implemented after independence.

Food Security in India

• A variety of crops are grown all over the country and it has become self-sufficient during the last 30 years.
• The food security system in India has two components: buffer stock and public distribution system.

What is Buffer stock?

• The foodgrains stored in granaries, which includes wheat and rice and is procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India (FCI), is called buffer stock.

What is the Public Distribution System?

• It is the system by which the food procured by the FCI is distributed to the poorer sections of society through Fair Price Shops.

Current Status of the Public Distribution System

• The PDS has contributed to food security in the following ways:
  • In addition to increase in foodgrain production, PDS has provided income security to farmers in certain regions.
  • The PDS has also averted widespread hunger and famine.
  • The prices have been continuously revised to favour poor households.
• However, the PDS has received severe criticism because of the following reasons:
  • FCI godowns overflow with grains.
  • Some grains rot away and some are eaten by rats.
  • Yet, instances of hunger are prevalent.
• PDS dealers engage in malpractices at times.

Role of cooperatives in food security

• The cooperative societies, especially in the south and west regions set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people.
• Mother Dairy in Delhi and Amul are successfully run by cooperatives.
• Academy of Development Science (ADS) in Maharashtra is an example of a cooperative.