Food Security In India

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Food-insecure: In rural areas, the worst affected people are: small and landless farmers, traditional artisans (weavers, potters, blacksmith etc.) providers of services (e.g. barbers, washermen, etc.), petty self-employed workers and destitute. In the urban areas, persons employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labourers are food insecure.

Hunger: Hunger has chronic and seasonal dimensions. Poor people suffer from chronic hunger and are food insecure all the times. Seasonal hunger is caused by the seasonal nature of agricultural activities in rural areas. In urban areas, seasonal hunger occurs because of the casual type of work. Thus, seasonal hunger exists when people are unable to get work for the whole year.

Need for self-sufficiency in food grains. Our government since Independence realised the need to attain self-sufficiency in food grains because India experienced acute shortage of food grains after partition of the country in 1947. The need for self-sufficiency arises from the following :

1. to feed rising population
2. to fight against droughts, floods, cyclone, etc.
3. to reduce import of food grains
4. to control prices of food grains.