1 Food security in India : Issues and Policies Vidya Sagar Institute of Development Studies, Jaipur

2

3

4 Calorie intake has declined in spite of an increase in income/ expenditure for expenditure deciles. An 1.19 per cent annual increase in real income of the bottom three deciles during is associated with a one per cent decline in calorie intake.Similar is the case with the next four expenditure deciles.

5

6 Chronic Energy Deficiency and Child Malnutrition is as much due to wastage as due to intake deficiency. Kerala for example, has been the lowest energy consuming state of India during the last three decades and has the lowest incidence of Chronic energy deficiency and child malnutrition. There is a perverse correlation between the incidence of malnourishment and calorie intake, incidence of calorie deficit, calorie gap and calorie severity across Indian states.

7 The perverse relationship between nutrition intake and its absorption can be explained in terms of state level differences in women’s education and autonomy status, health, availability of safe drinking water, sanitation and personal hygiene. Public expenditure on education and health infrastructure besides the child nutrition programs over a long period in Kerala and Tamilnadu have significantly helped these states show better outcomes in spite of high income poverty and low nutrition intake during the eighties.

8 Average intake of iron is 33 per cent higher in Rajasthan as compared to Kerala but the incidence of moderate to severe anemia is five times as much in Rajasthan. Similar is the case with other nutrients.

9 Agricultural Growth: Some Facts Food grain Production Increased from 50 mt during TE to 206 mt during TE Growth in Per capita food grain production was 0.84, 1.62 and 0.90 per cent per annum during the seventies, eighties and nineties respectively. There was a buffer stock of 48 mt on Jan-1, 2003 while drought induced hunger was reported in large parts of some states.

10 Policies and Programs for Ensuring Food Security Price and Non Price Interventions for –Ensuring Rapid Agricultural Growth Direct assistance Programs –Food assistance Programs –Programs Augmenting Entitlements

11 Objectives of Price Policy in India Provide adequate incentive to the producer for a sustainable increase in production of food grain, Evolve an agricultural production pattern in tune with the needs of the economy Increase economic and physical access of the masses to food by increasing purchasing power. Reduce growth and instability in prices.

12 Price Policy Interventions and Agricultural Performance Half of the output growth in rice and wheat during the nineties may be attributed to price interventions. In comparison its contribution during the seventies and eighties was modest.

13

14 Stability of Prices 40 per cent decline in real prices of wheat and rice during per cent inter year variation in wheat and rice prices as against per cent in international markets during ( ) In 14 out of eighteen years during intra year instability in domestic prices was lower than the international instability

15 Weakness of the price Policy Intervention The persistence of Hunger and malnutrition in large parts of the country points out that the objective of minimum supply of food grains to consumers affordable price is yet to be fully achieved The objective of ensuring fair returns to producers is restricted to small number of producers in Punjab, Haryana, Western U.P. and parts of Rajasthan, T.N. and Andhra. The focused attention to wheat and rice as the target crops for price policy affected agricultural diversification to the high value crops. This resulted in low purchasing power for the producers elsewhere.

16

17

18