As a signatory to the historic Millennium Development Goals adopted at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September 2000, India is committed to end hunger.
However, India reduced the proportion of hungry people by about 35% as against 26% [half of what it was in 1990] and still India had 190 million hungry people. India still remains home to one quarter of world’s undernourished population, over a third of world’s underweight children and nearly a third of world’s food-insecure people.
Not getting enough food or not getting the right kind of food causes malnutrition. India continues to have one of every three malnourished children in the world. An indicator for chronic malnutrition is stunting, wherein an individual has low height for his/her age. Almost half of the children in India under the age of five are stunted. Deficiencies in essential nutrients are unacceptably high across income levels in India.
According to the latest Global Hunger Report, India continues to be among nations where hunger is "alarming." According to the Global Hunger Index [GHI], though the country’s GHI improved from 32.6 in 1990 to 21.3 in 2013, India ranks 63 out of 78 countries having the worst GHI. The most disappointing fact is that India ranks much below some South Asian countries, viz. Sri Lanka (43), Nepal (49), Pakistan (57) and Bangladesh (58).
The persisting low level of anthropometric indicators of nutrition in India, for both adults and children even in the midst of intensified interventions for poverty-alleviation, is a cause of serious concern. Intake of dietary energy per person is the most widely used indicator of the level of nutrition of the population. The National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) data showed declining trend in estimated per capita calorie intake in rural India from 2153 in 1993-94 to 2047 in 2004-05 and to 2020 in 2009-10 whereas in urban India from 2091 to 2020 and 1946 respectively.
Dismal Agricultural Growth
Sustainable Development Goal-2, recently declared by the United Nations (UN) in September 2015, emphasises on food security and sustainable agriculture. The Government of India has enacted in 2013 the National Food Security Act (NFSA) which aims to provide subsidised food grain to 75% of rural and 50% of urban households for which efforts are made to systematically operationalise its implementation through direct benefit transfer scheme where feasible and making public distribution system most effective elsewhere.
Besides, other measures including food-based social safety nets are being reviewed to make them effective and result-oriented viz. Public Distribution System; Antyodaya Anna Rozgar Yojana; Mid-day Meal Scheme; and National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. In the last two decades, India recorded [i] negative farm growth during five years which were drought years and [ii] 42% increase in the population as compared to 32% increase in food output. Between 1994-95 and 2013-14, availability of food grains per capita increased marginally from 471 gram to 511 gram.
Low Crop Productivity
Despite India being largest irrigated land and ranking second in terms of arable land, the yield of crops is 20%-40% of the world’s best levels. Yield of rice in India in 2011 was 3.2 tonne per hectare as against 7.5 tonne in USA, 6.7 tonne in China and 4.3 tonne for the world’s average. Average yields of coarse cereals were 1.0 tonne per hectare in India as compared to 2.7 tonne in USA and 2.1 tonne in China.
A study by Indian Council of Agricultural Research [ICAR] has showed that the yield difference between the yield of demonstration plots in farmers’ fields and the average yield of the geographical area varied by a factor 3 to 6. Integrating agricultural credit with technology and production inputs, farmers can increase wheat production by around 40% and double paddy production at current levels of technology. Efficient agricultural extension agency and support service providers can bridge the existing gap between the actual crop yields at field level and the potential yields.
Small Farmers
Small and marginal farmers owning less than two hectare constitute 85.9% of the total. Though small farmers are efficient in production their increasing number and shrinking farm size raises questions about their economic viability, sustainability and producing marketable surplus.
Disadvantages they face are economies of scale and inadequate access to technology, production inputs, institutional credit, insurance and marketing services. Small farmers are concentrated in rain-fed areas and cultivate crops under a high risk environment, often confronted by frequent droughts, floods and soil erosion.
Drought
Indian sub-continent is predominantly characterised by a tropical monsoon climate and the entire region is distinguished mainly by the differences in rainfall in terms of onset, distribution, quantity and withdrawal. While south-west monsoon accounts for 80% and north-east 20% of rainfall there is a large variability in the monsoon rainfall on both space and time scales. Only 63 million hectare [45%] of net cropped area is irrigated. Consequently, some parts of the country experience drought or flood almost every year.
Since the country’s Independence in 1947, India experienced 15 large-scale droughts in 1951, 1965,1966, 1972,1974, 1979, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, 2000, 2002, 2009 and 2012. About 49.8 million hectare [15.2% of geographical area] is flood-prone and 10 to 12 million hectare [MHA] are actually flooded each year.
Health of Soil
Intensive agriculture for increasing food production has caused problems of nutrient imbalance, greater mining of soil nutrients to the extent of 10 million tonne annually depleting soil fertility, emerging deficiencies of secondary and micronutrients, declining water table level and its quality, decreasing organic carbon content, increasing soil erosion and degradation leading to overall deterioration of soil health.
According to ICAR [2010], out of total geographical area of 328.7 MHA in India about 120.4 MHA (37%) are affected by various kinds of land degradation. Frequent droughts and climatic variability/aberrations, also, impact soil fertility and cause land degradation, thereby, affecting/threatening crop production across the country.
Ineffective Services
According to “Situation Assessment of Indian Farmers,” only about 28% of all farmers use any kind of agriculture-related information that is available rather than what they need. While about 72% of farmers do not have any source of information that can help them adopt latest technology, most farmers are unable to access on-time adequate credit, insurance and marketing services from the established institutions. The post-harvest losses exceed 25% annually. For marketing, small farmers have to deal with multiple layers of middlemen. For example, farmers sell in village itself 85% of wheat and 75% of oil seeds in Uttar Pradesh, 70% of oil seeds and 35% of cotton in Punjab, and 90% of jute in West Bengal. These middlemen take away about 47% of the price of rice, 52% of groundnut and 60% of potatoes. On an average, Indian farmers realise only 20% to 25% of the value paid for by consumers.
Need for Focussed Attention
For “zero hunger,” India will have to ensure that [i] all have 100% access to adequate food all year round [ii] food system is sustainable [iii] smallholder productivity and income increase substantially [iv] there is no wastage of food output and food [v] no stunted children of less than two years. To combat the challenge of zero hunger successfully [i] government should develop state-of-the-art technologies and put in place effective mechanism to implement the national food security programme [ii] focus should shift from mere access to enough food to enough of the right kind of food [iii] efficient implementation of safety-net programmes to prevent diseases, provide safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and education To combat the challenge of zero hunger successfully [i] government should develop state-of-the-art technologies and put in place effective mechanism to implement the national food security programme [ii] focus should shift from mere access to enough food to enough of the right kind of food [iii] efficient implementation of safety-net programmes to prevent diseases, provide safe drinking water, adequate sanitation and education [iv] stronger political will needs to be demonstrated right from policy-making to commitment for result-oriented implementation to make hunger and malnutrition a reality of the past.
A modern and professional agricultural sector embodying following components can boost farm productivity [crops, livestock, fish] and make India “zero hunger” through adequate availability of nutritious food, its affordability, easy and reliable access, proper assimilation and stability of food production.
Research
While the first Green Revolution in 1970s had its genesis in the Seed-Fertiliser-Irrigation Technology, the second Green Revolution should originate from radiation-induced mutation technique and biotechnology along with integrated nutrient, pest & water management technology. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has called for increased investments in radiation-induced mutation techniques that help in producing crop varieties with high yields and disease resistance, and can grow in stressful conditions such as drought, flood and salinity. This technique has been in use since 1920s and more than 3,000 varieties of 170 different plant species have been released for cultivation. Similarly, biotechnology in recent years has created unprecedented opportunities and revolutionised research activities in the area of agriculture viz. plant tissue culture and genetic engineering leading to transgenic plants carrying desirable traits like insect and herbicide resistance; tolerance to salinity, drought and major pests; enhancing nitrogen fixing ability, improving storage/shelf life, proteins and crops for food processing, thereby addressing problems related to malnutrition, poverty and hunger. India should, therefore, concentrate on inventing new seeds and planting material of various field crops through application of new technology. Research should focus on food crops, pulses, oilseeds, vegetables, fruits, milk, fish, eggs, broilers and meat so that people can access nutritional and balanced food.
Potential of ICT
Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has the potential to revolutionise Indian agriculture in terms of raising crop-productivity and profitability per unit area and resources. Several apps are now available and many more can be developed which can help farmers access authentic, accurate and timely information related to high-yielding variety seeds, production-enhancing and cost-minimising farming practices, efficient use of water including micro-irrigation system, integrated nutrient and pest management, post-harvest management practices, measures to mitigate adverse impact of climate change and marketing of farm produce in domestic and international markets.
Irrigation
Initiate strategic actions to improve utilisation of irrigation potential already created to 90% from 78% and water use efficiency through increasing area under micro-irrigation system to 50% from the current 9%.
Food Management
Despite increase in food output a significant percentage of food produced never reaches the consumers for a plethora of reasons. Former minister of agriculture Sharad Pawar once said that India is wasting food products worth Rs 500 billion each year [40% value of total production]. Apart from wastages of perishable food, wheat and rice are also abundantly wasted as annually around estimated 21 million tonne of wheat rots and is infested by insects and pests. This is because of inadequate/ inappropriate storage facilities accompanied by inefficient management of the government-managed Food Corporation of India [FCI] with no accountability.
The solution to the country’s future hunger problem lies in formulating a strategic action plan to minimise losses to zero by 2019 from the currently estimated wastage of 33% to 50% of all food produced. It is, therefore, necessary to develop effective food production, procurement, storage and management system, methods and procedure through policy intervention and programmes that can [i] produce food grains as expected/targeted annually even under frequent unpredictable weather conditions, drought and floods in some parts of the country[ii] formulate a strategic action plan to minimise food wastages/ losses to zero by 2019 [iii] facilitate the estimated level of only need-based procurement preferably district-wise in each state with complete safe storage [iv] create additional facilities for quick and cost-efficient transport, processing and storage and [v] redesign the public distribution system and install mechanism to redress public grievance.
Investment
To accelerate the agricultural growth rate, which has direct influence on the country’s GDP and reduction in hunger and poverty, significant amount of capital formation in agriculture supported by public and private sectors is a sine qua non in specific areas viz. [i] development of irrigation [exploiting potential surface irrigation and groundwater resources, generation of electricity/power to draw groundwater] [ii] intensifying measures for soil and moisture conservation and land improvement [iii] improving drainage system [iv] strengthening flood control measures [v] all weather roads connecting all villages and towns to facilitate easy and timely transport [vi] storage, warehousing, preservation and processing facilities [vii] value chain systems and integrated marketing infrastructure [viii] developing sound information, communication and market intelligence system [ix] building integrated agricultural research, extension and education system [x] soil and water testing facilities [xi] production, quality control and pricing system to facilitate competitively and timely availability of farm inputs [seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, fuel, farm equipment and machinery etc.] [xii] establishing in each agro-ecological region the state-of-the-art agricultural meteorology.
