FOOD SECURITY/CLASS 9
1. What is food security?
To ensure the availability of food to all sections of society, the Indian government carefully designed a food
security system, which is composed of two components: (a) buffer stock and (b) public distribution system.
Food security is ensured in India in the following ways:
1. Availability of Food – food produced in the country and the previous years’ stocks saved by the
Government
2. Accessibility of Food – food reaches every citizen of the country
3. Affordability of Food – every individual should have the money to afford food that is safe and
nutritious
2. Why do we need food security?
Food security is helpful at the time of natural disaster when there is a lack of food.
→ At the time of natural disasters like earthquakes, floods, or droughts, etc., production of food grains
decreases which creates a situation of decrease in food availability.
→ The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger and reducing the risks
of future hunger.
→ The famine of Bengal in 1943 was the most devastating famine.
3. Which people are prone to food-insecurity?
→ In rural areas, landless and small farmers, traditional artisans like blacksmiths, providers of services
like washermen, petty self-employed workers and the destitute are came under the category of food
insecure.
→ In urban areas, persons who are employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labourers are food
insecure, these labour are seasonal workers and have low wages.
→ Children under the age of 5 years, a large proportion of pregnant and nursing mothers also came
under the category of food-insecure.
→ People who are not able to fulfil their daily requirements or people who come below the poverty
line are also food insecure.
→ People belonging to some scheduled castes and OBC also came under the head of food insecurity.
4. Which states are more prone to food insecurity in India?
• The food insecure people are disproportionately large in some regions of the country, such as
economically backward states with high incidences of poverty, tribal and remote areas, regions
more prone to natural disasters, etc.
• In India, some states have a large number of food-insecure like Bihar, Orissa, Uttar Pradesh,
Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, parts of Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
5. Define Hunger.
Hunger is one of the aspects that indicate food insecurity. It is not just an expression of poverty, it
brings about poverty. The attainment of food security therefore involves eliminating current hunger
and reducing the risks of future hunger.
6. Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger.
Seasonal hunger
• When a person is unable to get work for entire year, then they came under the category of seasonal
hunger.
• It is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the
seasonal nature of agricultural activities and in urban areas because of the casual labour that is there is
less work for casual construction labour during the rainy season.
• This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year.
Chronic hunger
• Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and/or quality.
• A person who has a low level of income comes under the category of chronic hunger.
7. Do you believe that the green revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains? How?
• Post-independence, India adopted a new strategy in the agricultural field which led to the Green
Revolution, especially for the production of wheat and rice.
• Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India officially recorded the achievements of the Green
Revolution in Agriculture by releasing a special stamp entitled “Green Revolution” in July 1968 the
success of wheat was later replicated by Rice
• The increase in food grains was however disproportionate the highest rate of growth was achieved in
Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh which was 44.01 and 30.21 million tonnes In 2015-16. The total
food grain production was 250.22 million tonnes In 2015-16.
• Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh recorded significant production in the field of wheat which was
26.88 and 17.69 million tonnes in 2015-16 respectively.
• West Bengal and UP on the other hand recorded significant production of Rice which was 15.75 and
12.51 million tonnes In 2015-16.
• Ever since, India has avoided famine even in adverse weather conditions, and varieties of crops have
been grown all across the country. This availability of food grains, even in adverse conditions at the
country level, ensured the Government had a proper food security system. Hence, it can be said that
the Green Revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains.
8. Why buffer stock is created by the government?
A buffer stock of food grains is created by the government so that it can be distributed in the food
deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price much lower than the market price. A
buffer stock also helps to resolve the problem of food shortage during adverse weather conditions,
disasters, or calamities. Thus, maintaining buffer stock is a step taken by the government in order to
ensure food security.
9. Write notes on:
(a) Minimum support price – The Food Corporation of India purchases wheat and rice from the
farmers in states where there is surplus production. The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for
their crops. This price is called the Minimum Support Price. Before the sowing season every year, the
government announces the MSP and the purchased food grains are stored in granaries.
(b) Buffer stock – Buffer stock is the stock of food grains, mainly wheat and rice, procured by the
Government through the Food Corporation of India. This buffer stock is used by the government in
case of any calamity or disaster or for the poorer section of society.
(c) Issue price – Food is kept in stocks in the form of buffer stock to distribute food grains in the deficit
areas and among the poorer strata of the society at a price lower than the market. This price is also
known as the Issue Price.
(d) Fair price shops – Ration shops, also known as Fair Price Shops, keep stock of food grains, sugar,
and kerosene for cooking. These items are sold to people at a price lower than the market price. Any
family with a ration card can buy a stipulated amount of these items every month from the nearby
ration shop.
10. Explain the Public Distribution System?
• Public Distribution System (PDS) is the system of providing foodgrains from the Food Corporation of
India to the poor section of the society at a subsidized rate.
• This program was launched in 1992 in 1,700 backward blocks in the country. This is a food security
program.
• For the implementation of this system many programs are launched by the government of India like
the Antyodaya Ann Yojana which is for the poorest of the poor and the Annapurna scheme which is for
needy senior citizens. These two programs were launched in 2000.
• To take the benefit of Public Distribution System the government of India provides three type of
ration cards:
(i) Antyodaya cards for the poorest of the poor
(ii) BPL card for people living below the poverty line
(iii) APL card for other all people.
• About 5.5 lakh ration shops or fair price shops are here all over the Country for implementation of
this system.
11. Briefly discuss the Current Status of the Public Distribution System in India.
• At the time of the introduction of the Public Distribution system, it was for all categories of
people i.e. there was no discrimination between the poor and non-poor.
• In 1992, the Government of India decided to launch Revamped Public Distribution System (RPDS) in
1992 with the aim to start it in 1,700 blocks in the country.
• Again in 1997, the Public Distribution System was revised as Targeted Public Distribution System
(TPDS) which was only for the poor section of the society.
12. Explain the Merits and demerits of Public Distribution System:
Merits:
→ It helps to keep food prices stable by providing food at a concessional rate.
→ It helps to prevent large numbers of hunger and famine by the way of supplying food from surplus
regions to deficit ones.
→ Public Distribution System purchased foodgrains from the Food Corporation of India and created
buffer stock.
→ The poor section of society can easily buy food at subsidized rates from fair-price shop and it has
been possible through the Public Distribution System.
→ It assuring to the farmers by the way of purchasing food at minimum sport price.
• Demerits of Public Distribution System:
→ In this system foodgrains are stored as buffer stock which became wasteful due to gradually
decrease in the quantity of foodgrains due to deterioration, wear and tear, and rotting etc.
→ Sometimes products of the Public Distribution System is malpracticed by the PDS dealers through
selling the foodgrains in the open marked for getting better margin.
13. Discuss the various steps taken by government for ensuring food security in India.
• The introduction of rationing in India dates back to the 1940s against the backdrop of Bengal
femine.
• The rationing system was revived in the wake of an acute food shortage during the 1960s.
• In the mid-1970s three important food intervention programs were introduced public
distribution system for food grains. Integrated child development services were introduced in
1975 on an experimental basis and food for work was introduced in 1977-78.
• There were several poverty elevation programmes mostly in rural areas which have an explicit
food component while some of the programmes such as the public distribution system midday
meal etc are exclusively food security programmes most of the poverty elevation programmes
also enhanced food security employment programmes greatly contribute to food security by
increasing the income of the poor
14. Explain the problems of the functioning of Ration shops.
• PDS dealers are sometimes found resorting to malpractices like diverting the grains to open the
market to get better margins.
• Selling poor quality grains at ration shops
• Irregular opening of the shops
• Ration shops regularly have unsold stock of poor-quality grains left.
• With the Introduction of three types of Ration cards any family above the poverty line gets
very little discount at the Russian shop the price of above poverty line family is almost as high
as open market price so there is little incentive for them to buy these items from the Ration
shops.
15. Discuss the Role of cooperatives in food security.
The cooperatives are playing an important role in providing food security in India, especially in the
southern and western parts of the country.
• Cooperative opens many fair-price shops to sell foodgrains at a concessional rate.
• The Academy of Development Science is an organization of training and capacity-building programs
on food security for NGOs in Maharashtra. It facilitates a network of NGOs for setting up a bank of
grains. It is a successful food security intervention.
• In Tamil Naidu, 94 percent of fair price shops are being run by cooperatives.
• Mother Dairy is a success story of cooperatives in milk and vegetables in Delhi.
• Amul is also a success story of cooperatives in milk and milk products in Gujarat.
16. Write short notes on following:
National Food for Work Programme
• This programme was started on November 14, 2004, in 150 most backward districts of the country.
• The program is for those rural people who are needy of wage employment and desire to do manual
unskilled work.
• this program aims to intensify the generation of supplementary wage employment.
• It is a 100 percent centrally sponsored scheme. In this program, the food grains are provided to
States free of cost.
• At the district level nodal officer is the collector in this programme.
Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY)
• This yojana was started in December 2000.
• One crore of the poorest among the BPL families came under the Public Distribution System in this
program.
• In this program, the poorest people were identified through the Below Poverty Line survey.
• Now, 2 crore families have been covered under the AAY with the increment of 50 lakh each in June
2003 and in August 2004.
Subsidy
• It is a form of financial aid made by the government to a producer to fix the price of a commodity.
• It leads to a fall in the price of subsidized products while maintaining the producer’s profit.
16. What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or calamity?
When there is a disaster or calamity, the production and cultivation of food grains are highly affected.
The production decreases, and this causes a shortage of food grains and, ultimately the hiked prices of
food grains. The region affected by calamity might also turn into a food-insecure state if the calamity
lasts for a longer period of time.
