Challenges in Achieving Food Security in India

Abstract

First Millennium Development Goal states the target of "Halving hunger by 2015". Sadly, the recent statistics for India pre­sent a very gloomy picture. India currently has the largest number of undernourished people in the world and this is in spite of the fact that it has made substantial progress in health determinants over the past decades and ranks second world­wide in farm output. The causes of existing food insecurity can be better viewed under three concepts namely the: ‘tradi­tional  con­cept' which includes factors such as unavailability of food and poor purchasing capacity; ‘socio-de­mographic concept' which includes illiteracy, unemployment, overcrowding, poor environmental conditions and gender bias; ‘politico-devel­opmental concept' comprising of factors such as lack of intersectoral  coordination and political will, poorly monitored nu­tritional programmes and inadequate public food distribution system. If the Millennium Development Goal is to be achieved by 2015, efforts to improve food and nutrition security have to increase considerably. Priority has to be assigned to agricul­ture and rural development along with promoting women empowerment, ensuring sustainable employ­ment and im­proving environmental conditions (water, sanitation and hygiene). As the problem is multi-factorial, so the solu­tion needs to be multi-sectoral.