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Food security is a situation that exists when all people, at all times, have
physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that
meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life
Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and
economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary
needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. Household food security
is the application of this concept to the family level, with individuals within
households as the focus of concern.
Food insecurity exists when people do not have adequate physical, social or
economic access to food as defined above.
SOURCE: (http://www.fao.org/docrep/005/y4671e/y4671e06.htm)
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From this point of view, the following stages of food security may be visualized
for a developing country like India :
Stage 1) The most basic need from the point of view of human survival is to
make an adequate quantity of cereals available to all.
Stage2) In the second stage we may think of food security as the adequate
availability of cereals and pulses.
Stage3) In the third stage, food security should include cereals, pulses, milk,
and milk products
Stage 4) In the fourth stage, food security should include cereals, , pulses,
milk , milk products , vegetables and fruits , fish , eggs and meat.
POST INDEPENDENCE SENARIO
The ' Deficit '
A major question that arises in this context was the precise measure of the ' deficit' in food grains the
country must provide for. For that purpose, it was necessary to assess the trends in production and to see
how they compare with requirements. We have given careful consideration to this question, but we find
that on the basis of available data, it is not possible to reach any definite conclusions on this point. Official
figures regarding acreage and production prior to. 1949-50 are not comparable with those for earlier years
on account of changes in coverage, mergers of States, etc. The figures of production since 1949-50
indicate, as will be seen from the table below," no significant trend :
From an analysis of official figures it appears that there are large variations in the availability of food
grains between various States, and considerable variations from year to year within the same State. To
some extent, these variations might be indicative of the imperfection of the data themselves, but it is clear
that an estimate of the ' deficit' arrived at on the basis of an average norm of requirements for the entire
country is apt to prove wide of the mark.
1947 2-33
1948 2-84
1949 3-71
1950 2-13
1951 4-72
1952 3-90
( http://planningcommission.gov.in/plans/planrel/fiveyr/index9.html )
Bihar famine
The Bihar famine of 1966-7 was a minor famine with relatively very few deaths from starvation as
compared to the famines of the British era.[16] The famine demonstrated the ability of the Indian
government to deal with the worst of famine related circumstances.[17] The official death toll from
starvation in the Bihar famine was 2353, roughly half of which occurred in the state of Bihar.[134] No
significant increase in the number of infant deaths from famine was found in the Bihar famine.[37]
The annual production of food grains had dropped in Bihar from 7.5 million tonnes in 1965–66 to 7.2
million tonnes in 1966–1967 during the Bihar drought. There was an even sharper drop in 1966–67 to 4.3
million tonnes. The national grain production dropped from 89.4 million tonnes in 1964–65 to 72.3 in
1965–66 — a 19% drop. Rise in prices of food grains caused migration and starvation, but the public
distribution system, relief measures by the government, and voluntary organizations limited the impact.
[135]
On a number of occasions, the Indian-government sought food and grain from the United States to
provide replacement for damaged crops. The government also setup more than 20,000 fair-price stores to
provide food at regulated prices for the poor or those with limited incomes.[136] A large scale famine in
Bihar was adverted due to this import, although livestock and crops were destroyed. Other reasons for
successfully averting a large scale famine were the employing various famine prevention measures such
as improving communication abilities, issuing famine bulletins over the radio and offering employment to
those affected by famine in government public works projects.[137]
The Bihar drought of 1966–67 gave impetus to further changes in agricultural policy and this
resulted in the Green Revolution.
( www.planningcomission.nic.in )
http://teacherweb.ftl.pinecrest.edu/snyderd/APHG/Unit%205/GreenRev.htm
In its 45 years of service to the nation, FCI has played a significant role in India's success in
transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system. FCI's
Objectives are:
• To provide farmers remunerative prices
• To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable section of the society
• To maintain buffer stocks as measure of Food Security
• To intervene in market for price stabilization
( www.fci.nic.in )
With a network of more than 4.62 lakh Fair Price Shops (FPS) distributing annually
commodities worth more than Rs 30,000 crore, to about 16 crore families, the PDS
in India is
perhaps the largest distribution network of its type in the world. All is not well with
the
Public Distribution System in India. The annual food subsidy involved in maintaining
the
system is huge (see Table). For the year 2002-3 an amount of Rs.21200 crore is
budgeted for
the food subsidy. This volume of food subsidy accounts for 5.2 percent of the total
budgeted
expenditure of the central government. A close look at the Table would show that
the level
of food subsidies in India as a proportion of total government expenditure has gone
up from a
level of about 2.5 percent or below during the beginning of the 1990s to more than
5 percent
today. The per capita food subsidy expenditure by the government in 2002-3 was
about Rs
200 or nearly Rs 17 per head per month. This, however, does not mean that
consumers got Rs
17 per head per month, for the cost of distributing this subsidy has to be deducted
from the
subsidy expenditure by the government.
A part of the subsidy also accrues to the cereals producers/surplus farmers, as the
increase in food subsidy is also due to high carrying cost of stocks in excess of the
buffer
norms. There are indications that the proportion of food subsidy accruing to farmers
has
increased over time. To reverse this trend, the Expenditure Reforms Commission
has
recommended that the cost of holding stocks in excess of the requirement for
National Food
Security and for PDS, arising from very generous MSP and procurement, be
reflected in the
budget as producers’ subsidy rather than consumer subsidy. The Public Distribution
System
needs to be improved through better targeting of the subsidy on the relatively less
well of
lower 50% of the total population and reducing leakages. The efficiency of the
Public
Distribution System can be improved by introducing innovative ideas such food
stamps and
food credit cards in the system, as we shall see in the following section.
Food Stamps
In order to ensure better targeting of the food subsidy major reforms are required in
the pattern of marketing of food grains in the country. The concept of having fair
price shops
over the length and breadth of the country needs to be re-examined. It may be
more efficient
to move towards a new system of providing food subsidy through the normal food
supply
shops that exist through out the length and breadth of the country (including the
current FPS),
supplemented by new/additional Fair Price Shops in remote and inaccessible
regions where
8
such shops may be absent. This could be achieved through the introduction of food
stamps or
the food credit card system as outlined below:
Under the system of food stamps, instead of issuing ration cards, the states could
issue
a subsidy entitlement card (SEC). The SEC should show the number of members in a
poor
family, their age etc, and indicate their entitlement level for food stamps. There
could, in
principle, be different levels of entitlement based on age. All adult members from a
poor
family could be entitled to “a” number of food stamps per month while the
entitlement for a
child could be “b” number of food stamps. There could also be a higher subsidy
entitlement
based on old age or infirmity. The SEC will indicate the total number of food stamps
a family
is entitled to every month.
The members of a family would produce their SEC and collect their monthly quota
of
food stamps from prescribed distribution centres. By using these food stamps in any
food
supply shop the poor should be able to purchase food grains (rice and wheat) at a
price (Rs x)
below the market price. The retailer who sells food to the stamp holder could
accumulate
these food stamps issued by the state governments and claim (Rs x) per food stamp
from the
state treasury.
There is less scope for corruption under such a system of food stamps than under
the
existing system. Under the existing system, it is well known that Fair Price Shop
owners
declare on paper that they have sold a certain quantity of food to the poor at
subsidised prices
but actually make a big profit by selling the food at market prices. Under a system
of food
stamps there will be less possibility of such diversion of food supplies. The retailer
can claim
food subsidy only if he acquires food stamps by selling food to the poor at
subsidised prices.
Under this system it could be made mandatory for retail traders in food grains to
display the
selling price of food grains at a prominent place in their shops.
There are two potential problems with food stamps that need to be kept in mind
while
designing and introducing the system: One relates to the possibility of
counterfeiting of food
stamps and the other to the system of reimbursement of subsidy to the
participating retailers.
These problems are however miniscule in comparison to the problem of physically
procuring,
storing, transporting and delivering food grains to Food Price Shops across the
country by the
FCI and the State food corporations/ agencies. One possible solution is to phase in
the
system by initially allowing food stamps to be redeemed only at the FPS currently
used by
9
the poor consumer along the lines of the current system in Andhra. This will allow
food
stamps to be printed with the identification number of the FPS so that the totals can
be
matched and crosschecked later thus reducing the scope for counterfeiting. This
could be
followed by allowing the consumer to designate any participating retailer and have
its
identification number printed on the food stamp. Normally consumers purchase
their daily
food provisions from the most convenient shop or in very rare cases two shops. As
the
difficulty of delivering money is a fraction of that for delivering food it should not be
too
difficult to set up a re-imbursement system perhaps by sub-contracting it to a
financial service
provider. To reduce malpractices, it is felt that food stamps should be issued to
female
members of the family who can be designated as heads of households for the
purpose. The
system should be introduced cautiously on an experimental basis where proper
market
infrastructure exists. The conventional FPS system may have to be continued in
remote and
inaccessible areas.
Informal trading of food stamps can also convert the food subsidy into an income
subsidy. The use of smart cards in the form of a food credit/debit card can remove
these
problems and ensure provision of a food subsidy (i.e. a reduction in the relative
price of
food), as it can have inbuilt security features that make it difficult if not impossible
to trade.
A food coupon system for distribution of rice and kerosene through PDS was
introduced in Andhra Pradesh during 1998-1999 (Government of Andhra Pradesh:
2001).
Basically, the scheme was aimed at improving the delivery system of kerosene and
rice.
The Applied Nutrition Programme (ANP) was introduced as a pilot scheme in Orissa in 1963 which later
on extended to Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh with the objectives of: a) promoting production of
protective food such as vegetables and fruits and b) ensure their consumption by pregnant and
nursing mothers and children. During 1973, it was extended to all the state of the country. The
nutritional Education was the main focus and efforts were directed to teach rural communities through
demonstration how to produce food for their consumption through their own efforts. The beneficiaries
are children between 2-6 eyars and pregnant and lactating mothers. Nutrition worth of 25 paise per
child per day and 50 paise per woman per day are provided for 52 days in a year. No definite nutrient
content has been specified. The idea is to provide better seeds and encourage kitchen gardens,
poultry farming, beehive keeping, etc., but this programme does not produced any impact. The
community kitchens and school gardens could not function properly due to lack of suitable land,
irrigation facilities, and low financial investment.
( www.nihfw.org/.../NationalHealthProgramme/APPLIEDNUTRITIONPROGRAMME.html )
• The programme was launched in the country in 1970-71. It provides supplementary feeding of about
300 calories and 10 grams of protein to preschool children and about 500 calories and 25 grams of
protein to expect at and nursing mothers for six days a week. This programme was operated under
Minimum Need Programme. The programme was taken up in rural areas inhibited predominantly by
lower socio-economic groups in tribal and urban slums. Fund for nutrition component of ICD
programme is taken from the SNP budget.
http://www.nihfw.org/NDC/DocumentationServices/NationalHealthProgramme/SNP.h
tml
Objectives
The objectives of the mid day meal scheme are:
• Improving the nutritional status of children in classes I-V in Government, Local Body and
Government aided schools, and EGS and AIE centres.
• Encouraging poor children, belonging to disadvantaged sections, to attend school more regularly
and help them concentrate on classroom activities.
• Providing nutritional support to children of primary stage in drought affected areas during summer
vacation.
Calories 300
Protein 8-12
Restructuring of PDS
a) Items other than rice and wheat need to beexcluded from the purview
of TPDS. The main
objective of providing food subsidy to the pooris to ensure food security.
Since rice and wheat
are the basic necessities for the poor, foodsubsidies must be restricted to
these two commodities.
f) The FPS should be permi t ted to sel l al lcommodities (other than rice
and wheat) at full
market prices in order to ensure their economicviability.
g) The coverage of TPDS and food subsidy should be restricted to the BPL
population.
Forthe APL population, which has the purchasingpower to buy food, the
Government needs to
only ensure the availability of food grains at astable price in the market.
Stability in food grain
p r i c e s s h o u l d b e e n s u r e d t h r o u g h t h e maintenance
of buffer stock and open market operations of the FCI.
Any attempt to revert tothe old concept of a universal PDS will be
aretrograde step and needs to be resisted. However, in the current
situation, where the
FCI has huge surplus stocks of foodgrains, itmay be necessary to continue
supply of cereals
under PDS to the APL population at below