food security
TRANSCRIPT
Food security means :
0availability,0accessibility and 0affordability of food to all people at all times.
DIMENSIONS OF FOOD SECURITY
a) AVAILABILITY of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous years stock stored in govt. granaries.
b) ACCESSIBILITY means food is within reach of every person.
c) AFFORDABILITY implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious to meet ones dietary needs.
Food Security is ensured in a country only if
0Enough food is available for all the persons 0All persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable
quality and 0There is no barrier on access to food.
Need for Food Security:
0For the poor sections of the society0Natural disasters or calamity like earthquake,
drought, flood, tsunami,0Widespread crop failure due to drought
How drought affects food security
Drought takes place
Totalproduction of food
grains
Shortage of food in the affected areas
Prices
Some peoplecannot afford to buy food = Food
Insecurity
Starvation
0 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.
Famine0A massive starvation might take a turn of famine.
0A Famine is characterized by 1. widespread deaths and
2. epidemics
Famines and Starvation Deaths in India
0 Bengal Famine, 1943 -killed 1.5 million to 3 million0 The Bihar famine, 1966-7 - 2,353 deaths due to starvation reported
Starvation deaths have also been reported in: 1. Kalahandi and Kashipur in Orissa 2. Baran district of Rajasthan,3. Palamau district of Jharkhand and many other remote areas during the recentyears.
Food Insecure Groups
Worst Affected Groups:0 landless people0 traditional artisans0 traditional services providers0petty self-employed workers0Homeless, beggars etc.0Families employed in ill-paid occupations0 casual labourers (seasonal activities+ very low wages)
0SCs, STs and some sections of the OBCs (lower castes among them) –having poor land-base or very low land productivity
0Migrants ( as a result of natural disasters )0Women and children
States facing problem of food insecurity
0Uttar Pradesh (eastern and south-eastern parts), Bihar,
0 Jharkhand, 0Orissa, 0West Bengal,0Chattisgarh, 0parts of Madhya Pradesh and0Maharasthra
Hunger, another aspect of Food InsecurityInadequate
diet for a long time
Poor people suffer from chronic hunger
Chronic
Hunger
Due agricultural activities-rural regions & urban areas- casual labour
When a person is unable to get work for the entire year
Seasonal
Hunger
India’s attempts at attaining Food Security
Highest Growth
Punjab and Haryana
Tamil Nadu and AndhraPradesh
Green Revolution: Foodgrain Production
How the Public Distribution System works:
Farmers or Producers
States
Fair Price Shops
F.C.I (maintains
Buffer Stocks)
Grains MSP
Allocates Grains
Central Issue Price
C.I.P Distributes Grains
Government schemes
0PDS (initial Public Distribution System scheme)0RPS (Revamped Public Distribution System)0TPDS (Targeted Public Distribution System)
Special Schemes:0AAY (Antyodaya Anna Yojana)0APS (Annapurna Scheme)
Benefits from the PDS:
0Stabilizes prices of food grains 0Makes food available at affordable prices0By supplying food from surplus regions of the country
to the deficit ones, it helps in combating hunger and famine
0Prices set with poor households in mind0Provides income security to farmers in certain regions
Problems faced by PDS:
0Problem of Hunger still exists in many areas of India0Footstock in granaries often above specified levels0Deterioration in quality of stored food grains if kept
for longer time0High storage costs0 Increase in MSP has led to shift from coarse grain to
rice and wheat production among the farmers0Cultivation of rice has also led to environmental
degradation and fall in the water level
0Average consumption of PDS grain at the all-India level is very low
0Malpractices on part of PDS dealers: Diverting the grains to open market to get better
margin, Selling poor quality grains at ration shops, Irregular opening of the shops0Low Income families earning just above poverty line
have to pay APL rates which are almost equal to open market rates – lower incentive to buy from Fair Price Shops
FOOD SECURITY BILL OF 2013
0The Indian National Food Security Act, 2013 (also Right to Food Act), was signed into law September 12, 2013.
0This law aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two thirds of India's 1.2 billion people. Under the provisions of the bill, beneficiaries are to be able to purchase 5 kilograms per eligible person per month of cereals at the following prices:
0R = INR- 30W= INR - 20CG= INR- 1