Basics
- Definition: Food security implies physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food. A “healthy diet” includes diverse food groups—fruits, vegetables, proteins, cereals.
- Context: FAO’s State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) Report tracks affordability of healthy diets globally.
- Fact: In 2024, 40.4% of Indians (~60 crore people) could not afford a healthy meal, down from 74.1% in 2021 (FAO estimate, revised methodology).
Relevance : GS-II (Food Security, Right to Food, Governance), GS-III (Agriculture, Nutrition, Climate-Smart Farming).
Why in News
- FAO Chief Economist Maximo Torero Cullen, in an interview, highlighted India’s improved but still high food insecurity numbers, urging diversification of production beyond cereals.
- Emphasis on India’s critical role in global Zero Hunger (SDG-2) by 2030.
Overview
- Polity/Legal
- Right to food part of Article 21 (Right to Life); enforced via National Food Security Act (2013).
- Judicial recognition in PUCL vs Union of India (2001) expanded food rights.
- Governance/Administrative
- NFSA covers ~81 crore people with subsidised cereals, but lacks focus on protein-rich and nutrient-dense foods.
- Need for convergence with Poshan Abhiyaan, ICDS, Mid-Day Meal Scheme (PM Poshan).
- Economy
- High cost of diverse diets due to supply-chain bottlenecks, storage losses, and tariffs.
- Cereal-centric MSP procurement distorts cropping patterns.
- Diversification (pulses, horticulture) can boost farmers’ incomes and reduce dietary costs.
- Society
- Malnutrition persists: NFHS-5 shows 35.5% of children under 5 stunted, 19.3% wasted.
- Gender dimension: Women and children disproportionately affected.
- Environment/Science & Tech
- Diversification aligns with climate-smart agriculture, water conservation, and soil health.
- Pulses fix nitrogen, reduce chemical fertiliser use.
- International
- India central to SDG-2 (Zero Hunger) due to scale.
- Tariff wars risk fragmenting food trade, creating inefficiencies and uncertainties.
- India’s export bans (e.g., rice) affect global markets, raising food insecurity elsewhere.
Challenges
- Persistent malnutrition despite NFSA coverage.
- High prices of fruits, vegetables, pulses.
- Policy bias towards cereals (wheat, rice).
- Post-harvest losses, weak cold storage.
- Trade uncertainties due to global tariff wars.
Way Forward
- Diversification: Shift from cereal-heavy procurement to pulses, oilseeds, horticulture (as recommended by Shanta Kumar Committee).
- Nutrition-sensitive policies: Integrate dietary diversity into NFSA and welfare schemes.
- Infrastructure: Invest in cold chains, logistics, and farmer-producer organisations.
- Market reforms: Rationalise tariffs, stabilise food trade policies.
- Best Practices:
- Brazil’s “Zero Hunger” programme linked agriculture with nutrition.
- SDG-aligned policies: Focus on affordability and sustainability together.
Conclusion
India has made notable progress in reducing food insecurity, but with 40% of people still unable to afford a healthy diet, urgent steps are needed in diversification, affordability, and nutrition-sensitive governance to meet SDG-2 and secure its role as a global leader in the fight against hunge
