CHAPTER 4 FOOD SECURITY IN INDIA

Explanation:

Food security is ensured in India to all the sections of the society by the Indian Government. It is mainly done by the following two ways:

(a)Buffer stock; and

(b)Public Distribution System.

The food security factors:

 (a)The availability of the food in India depends on the buffer stocks of the previous years

(b)Accessibility deends on whether food reaches to every citizen of India ;and

(c)Affordability depens whether ebery Indian citizens are being able to avail the food in India.

Explanation:

The people prone to food insecurity include the following categories:

(a)Low-income households: People with low income are more likely to experience food insecurity because they have limited financial resources to purchase sufficient and nutritious food.This include the people below the poverty line. The SCs, STs, and some sections of the OBCs (lower castes among them) who have either poor land-based or very low land productivity are prone to food insecurity.

(b)Children: Children are at a higher risk of food insecurity due to their increased need for proper nutrition and their dependence on adults for food. Food insecurity in childhood can have long-term consequences on physical, cognitive, and social development.

(c)Seniors: Seniors who live on a fixed income or have limited mobility may struggle to access or afford nutritious food. Health problems that come with aging may also contribute to food insecurity.

(d)Natural disaster: people hit by natural calamities are also prone to suffer from food insecurity.

Explanation:

Food insecurity is a global issue, affecting both developed and developing countries. The prevalence and severity of food insecurity vary widely between countries, regions, and even communities within the same country. In India, the states of eastern and south-eastern parts of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra are the largest food-insecure

Explanation:

The Green Revolution in India, which began in the 1960s, is often credited with increasing agricultural productivity and helping India achieve self-sufficiency in food grains. Green Revolution lead to significant increases in the production of wheat and rice, which are two of India's main staple crops. The introduction of high-yielding varieties of seeds, combined with the use of irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides, helped farmers produce more food on less land. This led to an increase in agricultural productivity, reduced dependence on food imports, and helped India become self-sufficient in food grains.

Explanation:

With the large increase in population, there needs to be more foodv grain production in the country which is not sufficient in country like India. Rapid inflation has worsened the ituation. With the constant rise in prices of essential commodities it has become quite difficult for ordinary people to afford food grains . Unemloyment is another reason why many rural Indians suffer from hunger at present.

Explanation:

When the country is hit by a natural calamity, the production of foodgrains decreases as a result of which threre is a shortage in the food grains . This causes price rise and the region affected by calamity might also turn into a food-insecure state if the calamity lasts for a longer period of time.

Explanation:

Hunger is of two types. One is seasonal hunger and the other is chronic hunger.

Seasonal hunger refers to a temporary lack of food during specific times of the year, such as the lean season before a harvest, when food is scarce and prices are high. This type of hunger is typically caused by factors such as crop failures, weather patterns, or economic conditions that limit access to food during certain periods. Seasonal hunger is often cyclical and predictable, and can be alleviated through short-term interventions such as food aid or income support.

Chronic hunger, on the other hand, is a persistent and ongoing lack of access to sufficient and nutritious food. It is often caused by poverty, inequality, and limited access to resources such as land, water, and education. Chronic hunger can lead to malnutrition, stunting, and long-term health problems. This type of hunger is not limited to a particular season or time of year, and requires more sustained interventions to address its root causes, such as improving livelihoods and providing access to education and healthcare.

Explanation:

The Government of India has implemented several programs and schemes to address the issue of food insecurity and provide food security to the poor. Here are two examples of schemes launched by the government:

National Food Security Act (NFSA): The NFSA, passed in 2013, aims to provide subsidized food grains to two-thirds of the population, including priority households (which are identified as the poorest of the poor), and general households. Under this scheme, priority households are entitled to 5 kg of food grains per person per month at a highly subsidized rate of Rs. 3/kg for rice, Rs. 2/kg for wheat, and Rs. 1/kg for coarse grains. General households are entitled to 5 kg of food grains per person per month at a price not exceeding 50% of the minimum support price.

Mid-Day Meal Scheme (MDMS): The MDMS is a school feeding program that aims to improve the nutritional status of school-age children and encourage school attendance. Under this scheme, cooked meals are provided to children in government and government-aided primary and upper primary schools. The meals are required to meet certain nutritional standards and provide a minimum of 450 calories and 12 grams of protein per child per day. The program covers more than 120 million children across the country and has been credited with improving attendance, reducing dropouts, and enhancing the nutritional status of children.

Explanation:

Buffer stock is created by the government to ensure stability in the market. It’s primary objective is to regulate the supply of agricultural commodities and maintain stable prices for farmers and consumers. In our country the cultivation and production of crops is highly seasonal and is affected by a lot more factors such as floods, pest and disease attacks. These situations lead to shortage and unavailability of foodgrains and crops . so, the Government of India maintains a surplus stock which is the excesss production of crops in a season . The Government purchases the excess stocks at MSP (minimum support price). When there is shortage or price fluctuations these buffer stocks help in maintaining the demand requirements of the people.

Explanation:

(a) Minimum support price – MSP stands for Minimum Support Price, which is the price at which the government of India purchases crops from farmers. The MSP is announced by the government at the beginning of each sowing season and is intended to provide farmers with a guaranteed price for their crops, irrespective of the market conditions.

 (b) Buffer stock – Buffer stock refers to the stock of a particular commodity that is held by the government or any other authorized agency, to stabilize the market prices and ensure that there is an adequate supply of the commodity in the market during periods of fluctuating demand or supply. Buffer stock is created by the government to ensure stability in the market and address the issue of price volatility in the agricultural sector. The primary objective of creating buffer stocks is to regulate the supply of agricultural commodities and maintain stable prices for farmers and consumers.

 (c) Issue price - Issue price refers to the price at which food grains and other essential commodities are distributed to consumers through government-run public distribution systems (PDS) or other welfare schemes. The issue price is usually lower than the market price of the commodity and is subsidized by the government to make it affordable for low-income households.

(d) Fair price shops – Fair price shops are retail outlets established by the government of India to distribute essential commodities, including food grains, at subsidized rates to the poor and vulnerable sections of the society. These shops are part of the Public Distribution System (PDS) and are meant to ensure that essential commodities reach the intended beneficiaries at affordable prices to the economically pooor sections of the society.

Explanation:

Ration shops,which are also known as Fair Price Shops, keep stocks of food grains, sugar, and kerosene for cooking which are sold to people at a price lower than the market price in these stops. They tend to cater the needs of the poorer sections of the society. However, there are several problems with the functioning of the ration shops. These are as follows:

(a)The quality of food provided to poor people is less than the expected quality of food grains.

 (b)The ration shops indulge in malpractices and do not provide the poor people with the sufficient quantity of foodgrains.

(c)Some ration shops are not opened regularly, and this causes several problems to the poor.

(d)The ration shopkeepers even update wrong entries in the name of the poor people. The poor people thus gets hampered unnecessarily.

Explanation:

Cooperatives play an important role in providing food and related items, especially in rural areas and among small-scale farmers. A cooperative is a democratic organization that is owned and controlled by its members, who pool their resources and work together to achieve common goals. The cooperatives can help to address a number of challenges, including access to markets, inputs, and financing. By pooling their resources, farmers can access markets and buyers that would otherwise be difficult to reach on their own. Cooperatives can also help to negotiate better prices for inputs and improve food security at the same time. Farmers learn from each other the best practices to grow their crops and get training about food safety, nutrition and hygiene. Examples include Amul, responsible for the White Revolution in India, is a cooperative involved in providing milk and milk products. The Academy of Development Science (ADS) in Maharashtra has been involved in the setting up of Grain Banks in different regions.