- Prelims: Current events of national and national and international importance(NFSA, PDS, NITI Ayog etc)
- Mains GS Paper III: Issues related to poverty and hunger, institutions and bodies constituted for the protection of vulnerable sections of society etc
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
- The 28th annual Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations (UN) Framework Convention on Climate Change will take place in Dubai.
INSIGHTS ON THE ISSUE
Context
National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013:
- Objective:
- To provide for food and nutritional security in the human life cycle approach
- Ensuring access to adequate quantities of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
- Coverage: 75% of the rural population and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
- Eligibility:
- Priority Households to be covered under TPDS, according to guidelines by the State government.
- Households covered under existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana.
Provisions:
- 5 Kgs of foodgrains per person per month at 3/2/1 per Kg for rice/wheat/coarse grains.
- The existing AAY household will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per household per month.
- Meal and maternity benefit of not less than 6,000 to pregnant women and lactating mothers during pregnancy and six months after the child birth.
- Meals for children upto 14 years of age.
- Food security allowance to beneficiaries in case of non-supply of entitled foodgrains or meals.
- Setting up of grievance redressal mechanisms at the district and state level.
Present issues:
- Disasters are projected to increase to 560 per year, that is 1.5 per day;
- Hunger and malnutrition are expected to grow by 20%
- If the climate change impact goes unchecked
- Food productivity is expected to decline by 21% due to global warming.
Case of Odisha:
- Odisha’s transformational journey is cited as a model and a source of ideas for creating food security that is built around equity and sustainability.
Agricultural transformation of Odisha:
● Odisha has moved from importing rice from other States and making ends meet in the pre-2000s
○ In 2022, producing 13.6 million tonnes of food grains(its highest production on record)
● Majority of farmers are small/marginal, and productivity has increased despite a stable crop area.
● The average rice yield, which is Odisha’s main crop, has tripled in two decades.
○ In 2000-01, the average yield was 10.41 quintals per hectare, In 2020-21, it had increased to 27.30 quintals per hectare.
● Kalahandi district was known as the “land of hunger,” but has now been transformed into Odisha’s rice bowl.
● At United Nations World Food Programme headquarters: Odisha’s commitment towards achieving the ‘Zero Hunger’ goal of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 2.
○ The focus is on small and marginal farmers and increasing their income.
○ It has directly contributed to strengthening their food security and creating resilient livelihoods.
● Implementing flagship schemes such as Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA)
● Disseminating scientific crop management practices through conventional and digital extension
○ It has increased non-paddy crop cultivation, while paddy cultivation has decreased.
● Odisha Millet Mission has helped diversify crops and promote climate resilience.
Challenges:
- Due to its geographical location and physical conditions, Odisha is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
- It can disrupt current growth strategies and exacerbate poverty
- It may lead to a loss of life, livelihoods, assets, and infrastructure.
Odisha’s comprehensive Climate Change Action Plan:
- This plan covers various sectors, including agriculture, coastal zone protection, energy, fisheries and animal resources, forests, health, industries, mining, transport, and urban and water resources.
- It was formulated by a team of experts from multiple departments and incorporates inputs from civil society.
- Various departments and agencies are responsible for implementing the activities identified in the plan
- which are being monitored by a committee headed by the Chief Secretary.
- The approach towards climate resilience is being developed from the bottom up.
- The Crop Weather Watch Group: It conducts weekly meetings, sees field visits by officers, and has video conferences to monitor the crop programme.
- It helps the authorities to take necessary measures during adverse weather conditions such as cyclones, floods, and droughts, which are frequent in the State.
- Farmers are adopting climate-resilient cultivation practices, that include
- Integrated farming
- Zero-input-based natural farming
- Non-paddy crops
- Better water management
- Water-saving devices
- e-pest surveillance
- Large-scale farm mechanization with women-friendly drudgery-reducing farm implements.
- Training farmers in crop-specific techniques, including integrated nutrient and pest management, has boosted food grains production.
Steps taken by Government for food security:
- Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana(which promotes organic farming)
- Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana(which focuses on more crops per drop for improved water use)
- Soil Health Management(fosters Integrated Nutrient Management under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture)
- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKY
- Pradhan Mantri Poshan Shakti Nirman Yojana (PM POSHAN Scheme)
- Take-home rations
- Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)
- Digitisation and measures such as rice fortification, better health, and sanitation.
Way Forward
- The consistent improvement of the agricultural sector has made Odisha a surplus State for paddy production.
- It is the fourth most significant contributor to the paddy pool of the Food Corporation of India.
- According to the available statistics for 2020-21: Odisha produces 9% of the total rice in India and accounts for 22% of the total food-grain production of the country.
- The partnership between the United Nations World Food Programme and the Government of Odisha has seen innovation for pilots on improving food and nutrition security schemes, such as:
- The application of biometric technology in the Targeted Public Distribution System
- Rice fortification
- In the State Ranking Index for the National Food Security Act by the Department of Food and Public Distribution, Government of India, for 2022
- Odisha emerged as the top-ranked State in the entire country.
- The WFP collaborates with the Government of Odisha on its food security, livelihood and climate resilience initiatives.
QUESTION FOR PRACTICE
How has the emphasis on certain crops brought about changes in cropping patterns in the recent past? Elaborate the emphasis on millets production and consumption.(UPSC 2018) (200 WORDS, 10 MARKS)
