World Food Day 2024 was observed on October 16 with the theme “Right to foods for a better life and a better future”.
What is equitable food system?
Food system - It encompasses every stage of food production and consumption from growing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consuming, and disposing.
Stakeholders of food system - It involves farmers, processors, retailers, consumers, and even policy makers, each playing a role in influencing the flow and quality of food.
Equitable food system - It is a framework that ensures access to safe, nutritious, and culturally appropriate food to all individuals while promoting fairness and justice throughout the food supply chain.
Production - Network of farms, ranches, and fisheries that use natural resources, capital, labor, and other inputs to cultivate food
Processing - Network of factories and facilities that transform agricultural goods into a range of food products for consumption
Distribution - Network of aggregators and shippers responsible for transporting food products across the supply chain by land, air, and sea
Retail - Constellation of stores of all kinds and direct-to-consumer and other operational models that transact the final sale of food products to customers and consumers
Recovery, recycling, and waste - Network of municipalities, companies, and nonprofits that handle remainder, discarded, expired, and unused food from numerous end points along the supply chain.
Significance of equitable food system - Addressing inequalities and empower marginalised communities by prioritising the right to food and nutrition security is essential for peaceful, prosperous communities.
How has India’s food system evolved?
Once a food-deficient nation, India has made significant strides in food security over the past 60 years and has transformed into a food-surplus country.
Increase in Food Availability – Green Revolution, White Revolution, Yellow Revolution, Gold Revolution, Blue Revolution have increased the Cereal, Milk, Oil , Horticulture, Fish availability in India.
Food Research - Agricultural research institutes that play a crucial role in advancing agricultural practices, improving crop yields, and addressing food security challenges.
Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), New Delhi
National Dairy Research Institute (NDRI), Karnal, Haryana
Indian Veterinary Research Institute (IVRI), zatnagar, Uttar Pradesh
National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research (NIAP), New Delhi
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Bengaluru, Karnataka
Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI), Jodhpur, Rajasthan
Indian Institute of Pulses Research (IIPR), Kanpur
Indian Institute of Rice Research (IIRR), Hyderabad
National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), New Delhi
Supply Chain - FCI procurement , Public Distribution System (PDS), APMC Markets are a crucial food distribution mechanism for ensuring food security.
Food Affordability – Minimum Support Price mechanism ensure the availability food at affordable price and income security for farmers.
Food Safety - Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) regulates the food quality and safety in India.
Right to Food - A key pillar of India’s food security is the National Food Security Act (NFSA) of 2013, which provides food entitlements to over 800 million citizens.
Nutritional Security – India has approved the distribution of fortified rice from July 2024 to December 2028 to address nutritional deficiency especially Anaemia.
PM POSHAN Scheme aims to enhance the nutritional status of children in government schools.
What are the challenges in achieving equitable food system ?
India’s agricultural sector is the cornerstone of its economy.
Population Growth – Feeding nutritiously the current population of about 1.4 billion and an annual growth rate of 0.9% is a huge challenge.
Fragmented Land Holdings - Of its 93.09 million agrarian households, approximately 82% are small and marginal farmers holding less than two hectares of land.
Fragmented landholding limits smallholder farmers’ adoption of modern techniques, reducing productivity and income.
Natural resource degradation - Overusing groundwater strains water tables while chemical fertilizers and monocropping harm soil and agricultural productivity.
Market Access Limitation - Many smallholder farmers need help accessing markets effectively due to infrastructure limitations and supply chain inefficiencies.
Poverty & Inequality –Rural poverty and inequality affects the participation and distribution of agricultural system.
Infrastructure - Inadequate infrastructure for storage, processing, and transportation of food affects the food supply chain system.
What lies ahead?
Addressing food inequality and ensuring that everyone has access to nutritious food are essential steps.
Facilitating better links between production and markets, farmers can increase their incomes and reduce food waste.
Enhancing access to appropriate technologies is vital.
Building resilience of farming system through sustainable agricultural practices such as water conservation and soil health restoration.
Quick Facts
Cereal Production – Launched in 1967 it creased the food availability by tripling the cereal production while only increasing the cultivated area by about 30%.
Milk Revolution - Operation Flood was launched in 1970 increased the milk production from 20 million tonnes to over 70 million tonnes.
White revolution 2.0 has been launched in 2024 to empower women, fight malnutrition, increase milk procurement, and strengthen cooperatives.
Oil Revolution – Yellow Revolution was launched in 1986- 1987 to increase the production of edible oil, especially mustard and sesame seeds to achieve self-reliance.
Fish Revolution – Blue Revolution was launched in 1985-1990 during the 7th Five-Year Plan to develop, manage, and promote fisheries to double the farmers' income.
Horticulture Revolution - Golden revolution between 1991 to 2003 aimed to increase the production of honey and horticulture.
