Food Security- What it is? Problems and Government Measures
What
do you understand by food security? What are the problems associated with food security? Briefly discuss the government’s different initiatives for providing food security.
Approach :
According to the FAO:- "Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and a nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.(World Food Summit, 1996)
Problems:-
(1) There has been a gradual shift from the cultivation of food crops to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, and crops which act also as industrial raw materials. This had led to the reduction in the net sown area under cereals, millets, and pulses.
(2) The use of more and more land for construction of factories, warehouses, and shelters has reduced the land under cultivation and now fertile land for farming is no longer available.
(3) The productivity of land has started showing a declining trend. Fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides, which once showed dramatic results, are now being held responsible for reducing the fertility of the soil.
(4) Corruption lies at different stages
(5) Wastage for food grains while transportation and storage
(6) Lack of empathy among lower bureaucracy for food security schemes to implement
Them in true letter spirit
7. Inadequate sanitation conditions ensure that children suffer from gastrointestinal problems that prevent them from absorbing nutrition from the food they eat.
8. Lack of knowledge about nutrition is an important impediment towards ensuring nutrition among children. Even Rich families have been found out to be having malnourished children.
Government’s initiatives for providing food security
• Government of India set up a special agency — Food Corporation of India (FCI). The agency is responsible for the execution of the food policies of the Central Government. FCI purchases food grains on pre-determined rates (fixed by the government in advance). This price is known as the Minimum Support Price.
• The system through which FCI makes the food grains available to the poor society is known as the Public Distribution System (PDS). The ration shops in most localities, villages, towns, and cities serve as channels and facilitate this distribution system.
• Food intervention programs since the 1970s.
The programs are as follows −
o Public Distribution System (PDS) for food grains (though it was already existing, the execution of responsibilities was strengthened further).
o Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• Food-for-Work (FFW).
• National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 It is passed with an objective to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. The Act provides for coverage of up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population. The eligible persons will be entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains. The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
Despite having surplus food production, India has one-third of hungry people who are lacking food security. The problem lies in affordability and accessibility due to poor implementation of the abovementioned initiatives due to corruption, inadequate coverage, ghost beneficiaries, leakages, etc. These can be overcome by overhauling the delivery system with the help of Aadhar, Jan Dhan and Mobile application and providing employment opportunity to people with help of schemes such National livelihood mission and MNREGA etc. Following model examples like that of Chhattisgarh PDS is advisable".
Approach :
- Define food security in an introductory part.
- HIghlight problems associated with food security.
- Discuss the government’s different initiatives for providing food security.
According to the FAO:- "Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and a nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.(World Food Summit, 1996)
Problems:-
(1) There has been a gradual shift from the cultivation of food crops to the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, and crops which act also as industrial raw materials. This had led to the reduction in the net sown area under cereals, millets, and pulses.
(2) The use of more and more land for construction of factories, warehouses, and shelters has reduced the land under cultivation and now fertile land for farming is no longer available.
(3) The productivity of land has started showing a declining trend. Fertilizers, pesticides, and insecticides, which once showed dramatic results, are now being held responsible for reducing the fertility of the soil.
(4) Corruption lies at different stages
(5) Wastage for food grains while transportation and storage
(6) Lack of empathy among lower bureaucracy for food security schemes to implement
Them in true letter spirit
7. Inadequate sanitation conditions ensure that children suffer from gastrointestinal problems that prevent them from absorbing nutrition from the food they eat.
8. Lack of knowledge about nutrition is an important impediment towards ensuring nutrition among children. Even Rich families have been found out to be having malnourished children.
Government’s initiatives for providing food security
• Government of India set up a special agency — Food Corporation of India (FCI). The agency is responsible for the execution of the food policies of the Central Government. FCI purchases food grains on pre-determined rates (fixed by the government in advance). This price is known as the Minimum Support Price.
• The system through which FCI makes the food grains available to the poor society is known as the Public Distribution System (PDS). The ration shops in most localities, villages, towns, and cities serve as channels and facilitate this distribution system.
• Food intervention programs since the 1970s.
The programs are as follows −
o Public Distribution System (PDS) for food grains (though it was already existing, the execution of responsibilities was strengthened further).
o Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• Food-for-Work (FFW).
• National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 It is passed with an objective to provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity. The Act provides for coverage of up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about two-thirds of the population. The eligible persons will be entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains. The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
Despite having surplus food production, India has one-third of hungry people who are lacking food security. The problem lies in affordability and accessibility due to poor implementation of the abovementioned initiatives due to corruption, inadequate coverage, ghost beneficiaries, leakages, etc. These can be overcome by overhauling the delivery system with the help of Aadhar, Jan Dhan and Mobile application and providing employment opportunity to people with help of schemes such National livelihood mission and MNREGA etc. Following model examples like that of Chhattisgarh PDS is advisable".
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