Chapter Food Security in India

1 42 EconomicsOverview food Security means availability,accessibility and affordability of food toall people at all times. The poorhouseholds are more vulnerable to foodinsecurity whenever there is a problemof production or distribution of foodcrops. food Security depends on thePublic Distribution System (PDS) andgovernment vigilance and action attimes, when this Security is is food Security ? food is as essential for living as air is forbreathing. But food Security meanssomething more than getting two squaremeals. food Security has followingdimensions(a)availability of food means foodproduction within the country, foodimports and the previous years stockstored in government granaries.(b)accessibility means food is within reachof every person.(c)affordability implies that an individualhas enough money to buy sufficient,safe and nutritious food to meet one'sdietary , food Security is ensured in acountry only if (1) enough food is availablefor all the persons (2) all persons havethe capacity to buy food of acceptablequality and (3) there is no barrier onaccess to food Security ?

2 The poorest section of the society mightbe food insecure most of the times whilepersons above the poverty line might alsobe food insecure when the country facesFood Security in IndiaChapter4 food Security in Indiaa national disaster/calamity likeearthquake, drought, flood, tsunami,widespread failure of crops causingfamine, etc. How is food securityaffected during a calamity? Due to anatural calamity, say drought, totalproduction of foodgrains decreases. Itcreates a shortage of food in the affectedareas. Due to shortage of food , the pricesgoes up. At the high prices, some peoplecannot afford to buy food . If such calamityhappens in a very wide spread area or isstretched over a longer time period, itmay cause a situation of massive starvation might take a turnof Famine is characterised by widespread deaths due to starvation andIn the 1970s, food Security wasunderstood as the availability at all timesof adequate supply of basic foodstuffs (UN, 1975).

3 Amartya Sen added a newdimension to food Security andemphasised the access to food throughwhat he called entitlements acombination of what one can produce,exchange in the market alongwith stateor other socially provided , there has been a substantialshift in the understanding of food 1995 World food Summit declared, food Security at the individual,household, regional, national and globallevels exists when all people, at all times,have physical and economic access tosufficient, safe and nutritious food to meettheir dietary needs and food preferencesfor an active and healthy life (FAO, 1996, ). The declaration further recognisesthat poverty eradication is essential toimprove access to food .42022-23 food Security in India 43 Picture the Bengal Famine of1943, a family leaves its villagein Chittagong district in Starvation victims arriving at arelief centre, 1945. Let s people say that the Bengal famine happened because there was a shortageof rice.

4 Study the table and find out whether you agree with the statement? year shows a drastic decline in food availability?Do you know who were affected themost by the famine? The agriculturallabourers, fishermen, transportworkers and other casual labourerswere affected the most by dramaticallyincreasing price of rice. They were theones who died in this Availability(Lakh tonnes)(Lakh tonnes)(Lakh tonnes)(Lakh tonnes)193885 8519397904 8319408203 8519416802 70194293 019219437603 79 Source: Sen, , 1981 Page 61 Table : Production of Rice in the Province of Bengalepidemics caused by forced use ofcontaminated water or decaying food andloss of body resistance due to weakeningfrom most devastating famine thatoccurred in India was the FAMINE OFBENGAL in 1943. This famine killed thirtylakh people in the province of EconomicsNothing like Bengal famine hashappened in India again. It is, however,disturbing to note that even today, faminelike conditions exist in many parts of thecountry, leading to starvation deaths attimes.

5 Natural calamities and pandemicsmay also lead to food shortage. Forexample Covid-19 pandemic had anadverse impact upon the food on movement of people andgoods and services impacted economicactivity. Therefore food Security is neededin a country to ensure food at all times,including calamities and pandemicsWho are food -insecure?Although a large section of people sufferfrom food and nutrition insecurity inIndia, the worst affected groups arelandless people with little or no land todepend upon, traditional artisans,providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutesincluding beggars. In the urban areas, thefood insecure families are those whoseworking members are generally employedin ill-paid occupations and casual labourmarket. These workers are largely Suggested Activity(a)What do you see in Picture (b)Which age group is seen in the firstpicture?

6 (c)Can you say that the family shown inthe Picture is a poor family? why?(d)Can you imagine the source oflivelihood of the people, (shown in twoPictures) before the occurrence offamine? (In the context of a village)(e)Find out what type of help is given tothe victims of a natural calamity at arelief camp.(f) Have you ever helped such victims (inthe form of money, food , clothes,medicines etc.)PROJECT WORK: Gather moreinformation about famines in of RamuRamu works as a casual labourerin agriculture in Raipur village. Hiseldest son Somu who is 10 years oldalso works as a pali to look after thecattle of the Sarpanch of the villageSatpal Singh. Somu is employed forthe whole year by the Sarpanch andis paid a sum of Rs 1,000 for thiswork. Ramu has three more sonsand two daughters but they are tooyoung to work on the field. His wifeSunhari is also (part time) workingas house cleaner for the livestock,removing and managing cow gets litre milk and somecooked food along with vegetablesfor her daily work.

7 Besides she alsoworks in the field along with herhusband in the busy season andsupplements his being a seasonalactivity employs Ramu only duringtimes of sowing, transplanting andharvesting. He remains unemployedfor about 4 months during theperiod of plant consolidation andmaturing in a year. He looks forwork in other activities. Some timeshe gets employment in brick layingor in construction activities in thevillage. By all his efforts, Ramu isable to earn enough either in cashor kind for him to buy essentials fortwo square meals for his , during the days when heis unable to get some work, he andhis family really face difficulties andsometimes his small kids have tosleep without food . Milk andvegetables are not a regular part ofmeals in the family. Ramu is foodinsecure during 4 months when heremains unemployed because of theseasonal nature of agriculture in seasonal activities and are paidvery low wages that just ensure Security in India 45 Let s Discuss Does Ahmad have a regular incomefrom rickshaw-pulling?

8 How does the yellow card help AhmadStory of AhmadAhmad is a rickshaw puller inBangalore. He has shifted fromJhumri Taliah along with his 3brothers, 2 sisters and old stays in a jhuggi. The survival ofall members of his family depends onhis daily earnings from pullingrickshaw. However, he does not havea secured employment and hisearnings fluctuate every day. Duringsome days he gets enough earning forhim to save some amount after buyingall his day-to-day necessities. Onother days, he barely earns enoughto buy his daily necessities. However,fortunately, Ahmad has a yellow card,which is PDS Card for below povertyline people. With this card, Ahmadgets sufficient quantity of wheat, rice,sugar and kerosene oil for his dailyuse. He gets these essentials at halfof the market price. He purchases hismonthly stock during a particular daywhen the ration shop is opened forbelow poverty people.

9 In this way,Ahmad is able to eke out his survivalwith less than sufficient earnings forhis big family where he is the onlyearning s Discuss Why is agriculture a seasonal activity? Why is Ramu unemployed for aboutfour months in a year? What does Ramu do when he isunemployed? Who are supplementing income inRamu s family? Why does Ramu face difficulty whenhe is unable to have work? When is Ramu food insecure?run his family even with smallearnings from rickshaw-pulling?The social composition along with theinability to buy food also plays a role infood insecurity. The SCs, STs and somesections of the OBCs (lower castes amongthem) who have either poor land-base orvery low land productivity are prone tofood insecurity. The people affected bynatural disasters, who have to migrate toother areas in search of work, are alsoamong the most food insecure people. Ahigh incidence of malnutrition prevailsamong women.

10 This is a matter of seriousconcern as it puts even the unborn babyat the risk of malnutrition. A largeproportion of pregnant and nursingmothers and children under the age of 5years constitute an important segment ofthe food insecure to the National Health andFamily Survey (NHFS) 1998 99, thenumber of such women and children isapproximately 11 food insecure people aredisproportionately large in some regionsof the country, such as economicallybackward states with high incidence ofpoverty, tribal and remote areas, regionsmore prone to natural disasters etc. Infact, the states of Uttar Pradesh (easternand south-eastern parts), Bihar,Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal,Chattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh andMaharasthra account for largest numberof food insecure people in the is another aspect indicatingfood insecurity. Hunger is not just anexpression of poverty, it brings aboutpoverty.