Learning Objective
- Overview
- What Is Food Security?
- Why Food Security?
- Who Are Food-Insecure?
- Food Security in India
- What Is Buffer Stock?
- What Is the Public Distribution System?
- Current Status of Public the Distribution System
- Role of Cooperatives in Food Security
Overview
“Food security ensures that everyone has access to affordable and available food at all times. It relies on systems like the Public Distribution System (PDS) and government intervention during times of crisis.”
What Is Food Security?
Food security has the following dimensions
- Availability of food means food production within the country, food imports and the previous years’ stock stored in government granaries.
- Accessibility means food is within reach of every person.
- Affordability implies that an individual has enough money to buy sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet one’s dietary needs.
Food security is ensured in a country only if
- Enough food is available for all the persons
- All persons have the capacity to buy food of acceptable quality
- There is no barrier to access to food.
Why Food Security?
“During natural disasters like droughts, food production decreases, leading to shortages and higher prices. If this occurs over a large area or extended period, it can result in widespread starvation. Severe famine includes deaths from hunger, epidemics due to contaminated water, and weakened resistance.”
Who Are Food-Insecure?
Challenges and Affected Groups:
- A significant portion of the Indian population faces food and nutrition insecurity.
- Vulnerable groups include those with little or no land, traditional artisans, service providers, self-employed workers, and the destitute.
- Urban areas see food-insecure families employed in low-paying jobs and casual labor.
- Seasonal workers, often paid meager wages, form a substantial part of this group.
Social Composition and Food Insecurity:
Social factors contribute to food insecurity.
- SC (Scheduled Caste), ST (Scheduled Tribe), and OBC (Other Backward Classes) communities with poor land resources or low productivity are at risk.
- Natural disaster-affected individuals who migrate for work also face food insecurity.
- Pregnant, nursing mothers, and children under 5 years constitute a vulnerable segment.
Hunger and Poverty:
- Hunger is not merely a sign of poverty; it perpetuates poverty.
- Chronic hunger results from consistently inadequate diets in terms of quantity and quality.
- Seasonal hunger is linked to food production cycles.
India’s Pursuit of Self-Sufficiency:
- Since Independence, India has aimed for self-sufficiency in food grains.
- The ‘Green Revolution’ was a pivotal strategy adopted to achieve this goal.
Food Security in India
Green Revolution and Self-Sufficiency:
- Since the Green Revolution, India has successfully averted famines even in challenging weather conditions.
- Over the past 30 years, the country has achieved self-sufficiency in food grains.
- Diverse crops are cultivated across India, contributing to this achievement.
Food Security System Components:
The government has meticulously designed a food security system.
This system comprises two crucial components:
- Buffer Stock: Maintaining strategic reserves of food grains to address emergencies and stabilize prices.
- Public Distribution System (PDS): Ensuring equitable distribution of food grains to citizens through fair-price shops.
What Is Buffer Stock?
- What Is Buffer Stock?
- Buffer stock refers to the reserve of food grains (such as wheat and rice) held by the government.
- These stocks are procured through the Food Corporation of India (FCI).
- How Is It Acquired?
- The FCI purchases surplus wheat and rice directly from farmers.
- Farmers receive a pre-announced price known as the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for their crops.
- The MSP is declared annually by the government before the sowing season to encourage higher production.
- Purpose of Buffer Stock:
Buffer stock serves two main purposes:
- Deficit Areas: It ensures the availability of food grains in regions facing shortages.
- Poverty Alleviation: The stock is distributed to economically disadvantaged sections at a price lower than the market rate (known as the Issue Price).
What Is the Public Distribution System?
Public Distribution System (PDS):
- The PDS is a crucial Indian food security system.
- It distributes food grains through government-regulated ration shops (Fair Price Shops).
- These shops stock essential items like foodgrains, sugar, and kerosene for cooking.
- PDS originated during the 1940s, especially in response to the Bengal famine.
- Over time, it has become a vital part of managing food availability and affordability.
Other Food Intervention Programs:
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS): Aims to improve child nutrition, health, and development.
- Food-for-Work (FFW): Provides food in exchange for labor, benefiting both food security and employment.
- Several Poverty Alleviation Programs (PAPs) in rural areas also include food components.
- Employment programs play a significant role in enhancing the income of the poor.
Current Status of Public the Distribution System
- Introduction and Evolution:
- The PDS is a crucial Indian food security system established by the Government of India.
- It aims to distribute food and non-food items to India’s poor at subsidized rates.
Key milestones:
- Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) (1992): Strengthened and streamlined PDS, extending its reach to remote and inaccessible areas.
- Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) (since June 1997): Focused on targeting the poor across all regions.
- Special schemes: Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and Annapurna Scheme (APS).
- PDS Effectiveness and Challenges:
- PDS has been effective in stabilizing prices and ensuring food availability at affordable rates.
Criticisms:
- Excessive Buffer Stocks: Maintaining high levels of food grain reserves is wasteful.
- Crop Focus: States like Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh primarily cultivate wheat and rice.
- Water Intensive Rice Cultivation: Rice farming’s water-intensive practices harm the environment and water levels.
- Malpractices: Some PDS dealers divert grains to the open market, sell poor-quality grains, and operate irregularly.
- Decline Factors:
- Card Types and Price Ranges: The introduction of three different price categories under TPDS.
- Limited Incentive: Families above the poverty line receive minimal discounts, and prices for APL families are close to open market rates.
Role of Cooperatives in Food Security
- In India, cooperatives also play an important role in food security, especially in the southern and western parts of the country.
- The cooperative societies set up shops to sell low-priced goods to poor people.
- Some examples of cooperative societies are Mother Dairy in Delhi, Amul from Gujarat, and the Academy of Development Science (ADS) in Maharashtra.
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