Short Essay On Food Security

CHAPTER:I

INTRODUCTION

1.1. INTRODUCTION

Since independence India has been suffering from food insecurity problem. In India most of the people do not have adequate incomes and purchasing power. The government of India assumes about these issues and provides food for the vulnerable population in the country. Therefore the government of India has introduced food support system in order to provide foodgrains at reasonable prices. The main objective of the food policy/food support system in India is to stabilize the food prices and distribute the foodgrains for low income consumers at household level. Food policy in India began to emerge only with the Bengal famine of 1943 . During the Second World War, it’s created adverse supply of foodgrains in the eastern states of India mainly in Bengal. In this situation the government of India imported rice from other surplus countries. (From 1931-41, India had a net annual import of foodgrains and pulses varying from 6, 00,000 to 22, 00,000 tons) .

The famine of 1943, the adverse food situation was continued in many parts of the country, led to the appointed foodgrains policy committee

Food security comprises four important elements viz, availability, accessibility, absorption and sustainability (Vidyasagar – 2005). Food insecurity could be of two types i.e. transitory food insecurity is a temporary decline in the access to food needed to a household due to the fluctuations in the price of food items. On the other hand chronic food insecurity is the persistent consumption of inadequate diet. Food availability plays major role in ensuring food security its depends upon agricultural growth. Before 1970 importance to the physical access to food after 1980 it importance to the economic access to food and after 1990 importance to the utilization of food and recently right food. Here mention the food security definition given by Food and Agriculture