FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA CLASS 9 (NCERT) NOTES

 What is food 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

(a) Availability of food: It means food production within the country, food imports and the previous year's stock stored in government granaries.

(b) Accessibility: It means food is within reach of every person.

(c) Affordability: It 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 

(1) enough food is available for all the persons 

(2) all persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality 

(3) there is no barrier to access to food.

Why food security?

Impact on the Poorest and Those Above the Poverty Line:

• The poorest section of the society might be food insecure most of the time. 
• Persons above the poverty line might also be food insecure when the country faces a national disaster/calamity like: 
• earthquake, 
• drought, 
• flood, 
• tsunami, 
• widespread failure of crops causing famine, etc.

How is food security affected during a calamity?

• Natural calamities like droughts reduce the total foodgrain production, leading to food shortages in affected areas.
• Shortages cause food prices to rise, making it difficult for some people to afford food.
• 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. 
• A massive starvation might take a turn of famine.

Definition of famine:

A Famine is characterised by widespread deaths due to starvation and epidemics caused by: 

• forced use of contaminated water or decaying food and 
• loss of body resistance due to weakening from starvation.

Ex: 

FAMINE OF BENGAL in 1943. 

• One of the most devastating famine that occurred in India
• This famine killed thirty lakh people in the province of Bengal.

Do you know who were affected the most by the famine? 

• The agricultural labourers
• Fishermen, 
• Transport workers and 
• Other casual labourers 

were affected the most by dramatically increasing the price of rice. They were the ones who died in this famine.

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 alongwith 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” (FAO, 1996, p.3). The declaration further recognises that “poverty eradication is essential to improve access to food”. 1. What was the traditional understanding of food security in the 1970s, according to the UN (1975)? 2. How did Amartya Sen contribute to the concept of food security? 3. What new dimension did Amartya Sen add to food security? 4. According to the 1995 World Food Summit declaration, when does food security exist at various levels?

1. Some people say that the Bengal famine happened because there was a shortage of rice. Study the table and find out whether you agree with the statement?

2. Which year shows a drastic decline in food availability?

India's Ongoing Food Security Challenges

Absence of Bengal Famine Recurrence: India has not experienced a famine on the scale of the Bengal Famine in its recent history.

Persistence of Famine-like Conditions: However, famine-like conditions persist in many parts of the country, resulting in occasional deaths due to starvation.

Impact of Calamities and Pandemics:

• Natural disasters and pandemics, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, can lead to food shortages.
• The Covid-19 pandemic: Disrupted economic activity due to restrictions on movement and trade, affecting food security.

Importance of Food Security:

Therefore food security is needed in a country to ensure food at all times, including calamities and pandemics.

Who are food-insecure?

Rural Vulnerability:

• Landless individuals, traditional artisans, and those providing traditional services are among the worst affected by food insecurity.
• Petty self-employed workers and destitutes, including beggars, also face significant challenges in accessing food.

Urban Vulnerability:

• Urban families facing food insecurity often have members employed in low-paying occupations and casual labor markets.
• These workers are typically engaged in seasonal activities and earn meager wages, which barely cover their basic survival needs.

Self Study: pg. 44

Story of Ramu

Story of Ahmad

Other Factors Contributing to Food Insecurity in India

Social Composition and Economic Factors:

• Socially disadvantaged groups like Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and some lower castes among Other Backward Classes (OBCs) are vulnerable due to poor land ownership or low land productivity.
•  Those affected by natural disasters often migrate in search of work, further increasing their food insecurity.

Gender and Age Dynamics:

• Women, particularly pregnant and nursing mothers, face a high risk of malnutrition, posing a threat to both their health and the health of their unborn or young children under five years old.

 

According to the National Health and Family Survey (NHFS) 1998–99, the number of such women and children is approximately 11 crore.

Food Insecurity in India:

Disproportionate Food Insecurity:

• Certain regions in India face a disproportionate level of food insecurity.
• These include economically backward states with high poverty rates, tribal and remote areas, and regions prone to natural disasters.
• States like Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have the highest number of food insecure people in India.

Hunger as a Sign of Food Insecurity:

• Hunger is a significant indicator of food insecurity and is not just a result of poverty but also contributes to it.
• Achieving food security involves addressing current hunger and preventing future hunger.
• Hunger can be chronic and seasonal:

Chronic hunger is a 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. 

Seasonal hunger: 

• Is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. 
• This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agricultural activities and in urban areas because of casual labourers, e.g., there is less work for casual construction labourers during the rainy season. 
• This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year.

The percentage of seasonal, as well as, chronic hunger has declined in India as shown in the above table.

India is aiming at Self-sufficiency in Foodgrains since Independence.

Green Revolution and Self-Sufficiency:

• Post-Independence, India aimed for food grain self-sufficiency.
• A new agricultural strategy, known as the Green Revolution, focused on increasing wheat and rice production.

Indira Gandhi's Recognition:

• Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister, acknowledged the Green Revolution's success by releasing a special stamp titled 'Wheat Revolution' in July 1968.
• The success with wheat was later replicated in rice production.

Disproportionate Growth:

• While food grain production increased overall, the growth was uneven.
• Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh saw the highest growth rates, producing 44.01 and 30.21 million tonnes in 2015–16.

Total Food Grain Production: In 2015–16, India produced 252.22 million tonnes of food grain, which increased to 275.68 million tonnes in 2016–17.

Wheat and Rice Production:

• Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were significant producers of wheat, yielding 26.87 and 17.69 million tonnes in 2015–16, respectively.
• West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh were significant rice producers, with 15.75 and 12.51 million tonnes in 2015–16, respectively.

Food Security in India

Impact of the Green Revolution: Since the Green Revolution in the early 1970s, India has managed to prevent famines even in challenging weather conditions.

Achieving Self-Sufficiency: Over the past 30 years, India has achieved self-sufficiency in food grains through diverse crop cultivation across the country.

Ensuring Availability:

The government has implemented a robust food security system to ensure the availability of food grains nationwide.

This system consists of two key components: 

(a) maintaining a buffer stock, and 

(b) operating a public distribution system.

Study Graph 4.1 and answer the following Qs:

(a) In which year did our country cross the 200 Million tonne per year mark in foodgrain production?

(b) In which decade did India experience the highest decadal increase in foodgrain production?

(c) Is production increase consistent in India since 2000–01?

What is Buffer stock?

Buffer Stock is the stock of foodgrains, namely wheat and rice, procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India (FCI).

The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states where there is surplus production.

The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum Support Price (MSP).

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 foodgrains are stored in granaries.

Do you know why this buffer stock is created by the government? 

This is done to distribute foodgrains 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.

What is the Public Distribution System?

Overview:

• The Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures food for the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• The PDS distributes food among the poorer sections of society through government-regulated ration shops.

Ration Shops:

• Ration shops, also known as Fair Price Shops, are widespread, found in localities, villages, towns, and cities across the country.
• There are approximately 5.5 lakh ration shops nationwide.
• Stock and Sales: 
• Ration shops maintain stocks of foodgrains, sugar, and kerosene.

• These items are sold to people at prices lower than the market rates.

Access and Allocation:

• Families with a ration card can purchase a fixed amount of items (e.g., 35 kg of grains, 5 litres of kerosene, 5 kgs of sugar) every month from nearby ration shops.

Types Of Ration Card:

(a) Antyodaya cards for the poorest of the poor; 

(b) BPL cards for those below poverty line; and 

(c) APL cards for all others.

Evolution of Rationing and Food Security Programs in India

Historical Context:

Rationing in India originated in the 1940s during the Bengal famine.

It was revived in the 1960s due to a severe food shortage before the Green Revolution.

1970s Initiatives:

In response to high poverty levels reported by the NSSO in the mid-1970s, three key food intervention programs were introduced:

• Public Distribution System (PDS) for food grains, (in existence earlier but strengthened thereafter)
• Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS), (Introduced on an experimental basis in 1975).
• Food-for-Work (FFW) (Introduced in 1977–78).

Poverty Alleviation Programmes (PAPs):

• Over time, new programs have been launched, mostly in rural areas, which have an explicit food component also.

• While some programs like PDS and mid-day meals focus solely on food security, most PAPs also contribute to food security.

• Employment programmes greatly contribute to food security by increasing the income of the poor.

The 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, 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population have been categorised as eligible households for food security.

Current Status of Public the Distribution System:

Introduction: The PDS is a vital part of India's (GOI) efforts to ensure food security.

  

Evolution: Initially, the coverage of PDS was universal with no discrimination between the poor and the non-poor.

  

Reforms: 

RPDS: In 1992, the Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) was introduced in 1,700 blocks, focusing on remote and backward areas. 

TPDS: Then, in June 1997, the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) was launched, 

• 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.

  

Special Schemes: In 2000, two special schemes were launched: 

• The Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) for the "poorest of the poor" and 
• The Annapurna Scheme (APS) for indigent senior citizens. These schemes were integrated with the existing PDS network.

Public Distribution System (PDS) Impact and Criticism:

Impact: 

1. The PDS has effectively stabilized prices and ensured food available to consumers at affordable rates. 

2. It has prevented widespread hunger and famine by distributing food from surplus to deficit regions. 

3. Prices have been revised to favor poor households, and 

4. The system, including the minimum support price and procurement has contributed to an increase in foodgrain production and provided income security to farmers in certain regions.

Criticism: 

Despite its impact, the PDS has faced severe criticism. 

1. Instances of hunger persist despite overflowing granaries. 

2. Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns are filled with grains, some of which are rotting or being consumed by rats. 

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.

Graph 4.2 illustrates the disparity between foodgrain stocks in the Central pool and its stocking norms.

Graph 4.2: Central Foodgrains (Wheat + Rice) Stock and Minimum Buffer Norm (Million Tonnes)

Study the Graph 4.2 and answer the following Qs:

• In which recent year foodgrain stock with the government was maximum?

• What is the minimum buffer stock norm for the FCI?

• Why were the FCI granaries overflowing with foodgrains?

Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY):

Launch: 

In December 2000, 

Objective: To assist one crore of the poorest among the Below Poverty Line (BPL) families covered under the targeted public distribution system.

Identification: State rural development departments identified the poorest families through a BPL survey, with one crore families initially targeted.

Benefits: Each eligible family received 25 kilograms of foodgrains at highly subsidized rates (₹2 per kg for wheat and ₹3 per kg for rice), later increased to 35 kg wef. from April 2002.

Expansion: The scheme was expanded twice, adding 50 lakh BPL families in June 2003 and August 2004, reaching a total of 2 crore families under AAY.

Food Corporation of India (FCI) Stock and MSP Impact:

Stock Situation: 

• In 2014, the stock of wheat and rice with FCI was 65.3 million tonnes which was much more than the minimum buffer norms.
• Distribution of foodgrains under government schemes improved this situation.

Concerns: 

• There's consensus that maintaining high buffer stocks is undesirable and wasteful. 
• It leads to: 
• high carrying costs, 
• wastage, and 
• grain quality deterioration. 
• There's a suggestion to freeze MSP for some years.

Procurement Influence: 

• Increased MSP has resulted from pressure by leading foodgrain-producing states like Punjab, Haryana, and Andhra Pradesh. 

• Procurement Concentrated in few prosperous regions (Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and to a lesser extent in West Bengal) mainly for wheat and rice, has led to a divert land from coarse grains production (staple food of the poor) to these wheat + Rice, affecting the poor's food supply.

Environmental Impact: 

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 rising Minimum Support Prices (MSP) have raised the maintenance cost of procuring foodgrains by the government. Rising transportation and storage costs of the FCI are other contributing factors in this increase.

Changes in Rice Consumption:

As per the NSSO report No. 558 in rural India.

Rural India:

• Decline in per person per month rice consumption from 6.38 Kg (2004-05) to 5.98 Kg (2011-12).
• Doubled per capita consumption of PDS rice since 2004-05.

Urban India:

• Decline in per person per month rice consumption from 4.71 Kg (2004-05) to 4.49 Kg (2011-12).
• 66% increase in per capita consumption of PDS rice since 2004-05.

Wheat Consumption:

Rural and Urban India: Doubled per capita consumption of PDS wheat since 2004-05.

Issues with PDS:

Malpractices: PDS dealers resort to malpractices like diverting grains to the open market and selling poor quality grains, irregular opening of the shops, etc.

Stockpile: Ration shops often have unsold stocks of poor quality grains, leading to a pile-up of foodgrains with the FCI.

Decline of PDS:

Changes in Ration Cards:

Previously, every family had a ration card with a fixed quota of items such as rice, wheat, sugar etc. sold at low prices to every family.

Now, with TPDS of three different prices, families above the poverty line get little discount at ration shops.

APL families pay prices almost as high as the open market, reducing the incentive to buy from ration shops.

Role of cooperatives in food security:

Southern and Western India:

Cooperatives establish shops selling affordable goods to the poor.

• Ex: Tamil Nadu: About 94% of fair price shops are run by cooperatives.
• Delhi: Mother Dairy provides milk and vegetables at controlled rates.
• Amul in Gujarat has revolutionized milk production and brought about the White Revolution in the country

Maharashtra:

• Academy of Development Science (ADS) has facilitated NGOs in setting up grain banks in different regions.
• ADS conducts training and capacity building programmes on food security for NGOs.
• Grain Banks are now established in various parts of Maharashtra, thanks to ADS.
• Efforts to establish Grain Banks, replicate through NGOs, and influence government policy are successful.
• The ADS Grain Bank programme is recognized as a successful and innovative food security intervention.