The green revolution, which took off in late 60s in India, made her self
sufficient and virtually ended her dependence on international food aid. A mix
of high yielding seeds, increased use of fertilizers and modern irrigation systems
brought more land under agriculture. Today India is self sufficient and in some
cases also provides food aid to other countries. Having said that there are
some disturbing statistics, which paint a different picture all together. The HUNGaMa
(hunger and malnutrition) survey (carried out by Naandi, a social sector organization)
of 2011 was carried out in 100 focus districts across India to measure hunger
and malnutrition among children. The results show that 40% of children surveyed
were malnourished and 59% were stunted. The percentage of malnourished children
is double that of Sub-Saharan Africa, which is among the poorest regions in
world. On the positive side, the report says there is reduction in prevalence
of child malnutrition with proportion of underweight children decreasing by
20.3% over a seven-year period (2004-11) with an average annual rate of
reduction of 2.9%. The situation is extremely alarming.
The incidents of malnutrition can be attributed to many things. Lack of
awareness, poor public distribution network, high wastage during transportation
and storage, inefficient farming methods, all contribute their share in denying
access to nutrition.
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| Stop the rot |
Thanks to efforts during green revolution, more
agricultural land was brought under assured irrigation, thus reducing its
dependence on unpredictable Monsoon. In the past few years the total combined
harvest of the year has been satisfactory and particularly the Rabi crop
(harvested in spring). With bumper harvest for consecutive years the storage
infrastructure ran out of capacity and fresh harvest was stored in open. For the
last two years millions of tons of wheat were left to rot in open due to poor
storage strategy. The governments at state and centre failed miserably to find
a solution to the problem.
Productivity of Indian agriculture is another major concern. Successive
governments have doled out large amounts on farm subsidies with cheap fertilizer
and free power (in some states). This has done little to boost the per unit
productivity. According to a study by Prof. Mahendra Dev of Indira Gandhi institute of Development Research, per hectare yield of rice is 3.4 tons in India, compared with the global
average of 4.31 tons per hectare and 6.6 tons per hectare of China . The government should realize that freebies will never be
judiciously used. Free power for example has lead to over exploitation of
underground water and has depleted water tables at an alarming rate. Subsidised
fertilizers coupled with poorly trained farmers on optimal usage, has lead to
deterioration of soil quality. The situation is complex with staggering
inequalities. On one hand there are stunted children and on the other the
government is unable to deal with problems of storing excess food grain. Huge amounts
are spent on farm subsidies, yet the yields are below global averages. There is
an urgent need for India to embark upon phase two of green revolution.
To start with investments should be made in creating more storage
facilities and modernizing the existing ones. Food Corporation of India (FCI)
has become one of the most inefficient bodies which lets huge amount of food to
rot and get wasted every year. FCI is also responsible for the corrupt Public
Distribution System (PDS) which is the government’s arm to sell food to the
poor at a subsidised rate. Even the Supreme Court of India has observed that
the present system of distribution is highly corrupt and ineffective. The
government should bring in transparency in its workings and shift from food
subsidies to cash subsidies. Bringing in private investment in such areas will
take some burden off the shoulders of the government and would introduce smooth
functioning.
Lessons should be learnt from dairy cooperatives, where individual
farmers with only a couple of cows are able to reach a larger market and get
benefited from economies of scale generated. Individual farm holdings in India are
smaller compared to countries with high per unit yield. According to the 2001
census 80% of farm holdings are less than two hectares. 62% of these were less
than half a hectare. With such small holdings it is difficult for the farmers
to raise capital or benefit from economies of scale. Farm cooperatives will be
an ideal solution to use equipment, seeds, manpower in a collective manner and
benefiting from it. This will also free up a lot of workforce for other high
value jobs (according to world fact book of CIA, 50% of total workforce in
India is working in farm sector, which contributes less than 18% to the total
GDP).
Finally the government should provide infrastructure for quick
distribution of food across the country so that artificial inflation can be
curbed. Good transport infrastructure will reduce wastage and ensure
availability when it is required. Food wastage in India (during transport) is colossal.
Some estimated put the figure at 40% (including vegetables). Eliminating wastage
is one way of controlling price. These measures will help in ensuring food
security for India in the coming years and would keep prices under control. High
food prices are a major reason why people are pushed back into poverty.
