Model Answer
0 min readIntroduction
Food security, at its core, is about ensuring that all people at all times have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life. The concept evolved from a focus solely on food availability to encompass access, utilization, and stability – the four pillars of food security as defined by the FAO in 1996. India, despite being a major agricultural producer, faces significant challenges in achieving universal food security, particularly in ensuring equitable access to food for its vast population. Recent disruptions like the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical conflicts have further highlighted the vulnerabilities in the food supply chain.
Constraints in Food Procurement
Procurement, primarily undertaken by the Food Corporation of India (FCI), faces several hurdles:
- Infrastructural Deficiencies: Lack of adequate storage capacity (godowns), scientific storage facilities, and transportation infrastructure leads to significant post-harvest losses. Approximately 5-8% of food grains are lost annually due to improper storage.
- Procurement Price & MSP Issues: While the Minimum Support Price (MSP) aims to incentivize farmers, its effectiveness is limited by uneven implementation across states, delays in payments, and the fact that it covers only a limited number of crops. Many small and marginal farmers are unable to access the benefits of MSP due to lack of awareness, logistical challenges, and exploitative intermediaries.
- Decentralization Challenges: Decentralized Procurement System (DPS) introduced in 2002 aimed to empower states, but its success varies. Some states lack the financial and logistical capacity to effectively manage procurement operations.
- Climate Change Impacts: Erratic rainfall, droughts, and floods significantly impact crop yields, reducing the quantity of food grains available for procurement.
- Farmer Distress & Indebtedness: Financial constraints often force farmers to sell their produce immediately after harvest at lower prices to private traders, bypassing the MSP system.
Constraints in Food Distribution
The Public Distribution System (PDS), the primary channel for food distribution, also suffers from several weaknesses:
- Targeting Errors & Inclusion/Exclusion Errors: Identifying genuine beneficiaries remains a challenge. Errors in beneficiary lists lead to diversion of food grains to ineligible individuals or the open market. The National Food Security Act (NFSA) 2013 aimed to improve targeting, but implementation remains imperfect.
- Leakage & Diversion: Corruption and inefficiencies within the PDS lead to significant leakage of food grains. Food grains are often diverted to the black market, reducing the quantity available for intended beneficiaries.
- Infrastructural Bottlenecks: Poor road connectivity, inadequate storage facilities at the fair price shop (FPS) level, and lack of electricity hamper efficient distribution.
- Limited Reach in Remote Areas: Access to FPSs is limited in remote and hilly areas, making it difficult for vulnerable populations to access subsidized food grains.
- Quality Concerns: Concerns regarding the quality of food grains distributed through the PDS, particularly in terms of hygiene and nutritional value, persist.
- Digital Divide: The move towards digitization of PDS (e-PDS) faces challenges due to limited digital literacy and internet connectivity in rural areas.
Comparison of Procurement & Distribution Challenges
| Constraint Category | Procurement Challenges | Distribution Challenges |
|---|---|---|
| Infrastructure | Lack of storage, transportation | Poor road connectivity, FPS storage |
| Financial | Delayed MSP payments, farmer indebtedness | Funding for FPS operations, digitization costs |
| Policy & Governance | Uneven MSP implementation, DPS limitations | Targeting errors, leakage & diversion |
| Socio-economic | Farmer awareness, intermediary exploitation | Digital literacy, remote area access |
Recent initiatives like the ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC) scheme aim to address some of these distribution challenges by enabling portability of rations across states. However, sustained efforts are needed to address the systemic issues plaguing both procurement and distribution.
Conclusion
Achieving food security in India requires a holistic approach that addresses the constraints in both procurement and distribution. Strengthening infrastructure, improving targeting mechanisms, enhancing transparency and accountability in the PDS, promoting crop diversification, and investing in climate-resilient agriculture are crucial steps. Furthermore, empowering farmers through access to credit, technology, and market information is essential. A multi-pronged strategy, coupled with effective monitoring and evaluation, is vital to ensure that all citizens have access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food.
Answer Length
This is a comprehensive model answer for learning purposes and may exceed the word limit. In the exam, always adhere to the prescribed word count.