This document discusses issues related to food security and agriculture policies in India in the context of WTO implications. It notes that while India achieved self-sufficiency in food production, it has not solved the problem of chronic household food insecurity associated with poverty. The document outlines various government interventions for poverty alleviation and the public distribution system. It discusses the key aspects of the WTO Agreement on Agriculture such as market access, domestic support, and export subsidies. India's concerns with meeting international trade standards and potential future actions are also summarized.

1. Food and Agriculture-Various
Policies and WTO Implications

2. Issues
• The food security challenge has become more complex than it
was earlier
• Urbanisation, globalisation, private sector R&D on the one
hand, and persistent poverty and resource degradation on
the other, have contributed to the growing complexity of
the problem
• Food availability and stability were considered good
measures of food security till the seventies and the
achievement of self-sufficiency was accorded high
priority in the food policies of developing countries
• Though India was successful in achieving self-sufficiency in
food production, it could not solve the problem of chronic
household food insecurity

3. Chronic food insecurity
associated with poverty and arises due to continuously inadequate diet
Strategies like intervention (agricultural production programmes,
infrastructure, human resource development, etc.) to raise the purchasing
power of the poor

4. Conceptual links between resources and
food
Resources Production
Consumption
Income
Nutritional
status
The links between resources and food are conceptualized explicitly
together, they fall within a linear framework that begins with access
to resources and proceeds causally through production, income
generation, and consumption decisions to nutritional status

5. GOVERNMENT INTERVENTIONS
1.Poverty alleviation programmes
The poverty alleviation programmes
aim at generating incremental incomes for the poor
direct transfer of additional purchasing power into the
hands of people living below the poverty line
India has implemented a number of income and employment
generating programmes for poverty alleviation in the last three
decades

6. Poverty alleviation programmes
A. Self-Employment Programmes
1 Integrated Rural Development Programme (IRDP)
2. Training of Rural Youth for Self-Employment (TRYSEM)
3. Supply of Improved Toolkits to Rural Artisans (SITRA)
B. Special Area Development Programmes
1. Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP)
2. Desert Development Programme (DDP)
3. Hill Area Development Programme (HADP)

7. Poverty alleviation programmes
Rural Wage Employment Programmes
1. Rural Manpower Programme (RMP)
2. Crash Scheme for Rural Employment (CSRE)
3. National Rural Employment Programme (NREP)
4. Rural Landless Employment Guarantee Programme (RLEGP)
5. Jawahar Rozgar Yojana (JRY)

8. 2. Public Distribution System (PDS)
PDS : Most reaching by coverage and public expenditure on subsidy
Provides rationed amounts of
basic food items (rice, wheat, sugar, edible oils) and
other non food products (kerosene, coal, standard cloth)
at below market prices to consumers through a network of fair
price shops disseminated over the country
Since June 1997 PDS turned into the Targeted Public Distribution System
(TPDS),
the aim is to target the poorest household by differentiating the
access quantities and prices at which one is allow to buy

9. PDS and food security
50.82
82.02
108.42
129.59
176.39
196.81
211.78
0.00
50.00
100.00
150.00
200.00
250.00
1950-51 1960-61 1970-71 1980-81 1990-91 2000-01 2006-07
Trend in Foodgrain Production in India
Food grain production increased
dramatically from 51 mill tonnes
in 1950-51 to 212 mill tonnes in
2006-07
Net availability of food grains
increased from 391 g/capita /day
to 422 g/cap/day
394.9
468.7 468.8 454.8
510.1
416.2 422.4
0.0
100.0
200.0
300.0
400.0
500.0
600.0
Gm/capita/day
1951 1961 1971 1981 1991 2001 2005
Year
Why in a food surplus nation where surplus buffer stock for food security, thousands
still die of malnutrition and hunger?
While the objective of food security has been reached, the fundamental individual
right for food has not

10. Is PDS really pro-poor ?
According to the 1999/00 NSS, only about 10 percent of poor rural
households and 14 percent of poor urban households purchased
grain from the TPDS
ProblemsinPDS
Leakages
13% Poorqualityand
Weighment
16%
Non-availabilityof
goods
23%
Non-availabilityof non-
controlledgoods
27%
Non-availabilityof ration
cards
21%
Problems in PDS
Leakage
Poor quality and
under-weighment
Non-availability of goods
Non-availability of non-controlled
articles
Non-availability of ration cards

11. The WTO Agreement on
Agriculture
1. Market Access
2. Domestic Support
3. Export Subsidies

12. Market Acccess
 A) Trariffication
Conversion of quantitative restrictions and
other non-tariff measures into ordinary
custom duties.

13. B) Tariff Reduction
 36% for developed countries (1995-2000)
6Years
 24% for developing countries (1995-2004)
10 Years

14.  C) Access Opportunities
 Import atleast 3% of the domestic consumption
(1986-88 base year) to be stepped upto 5% over a
period of 6 years. Developed Countries
 Developing Countries – 2% in the first year and
stepped upto 3.33% over 6 years.
 Current access, excess of the minimum shall be
maintained.

15. Domestic Support (AMS)
 AMS to be reduced by 20% in developed
countries and 13.3% in developing countries
 AMS consists of 2 components – Product specific
support, non-product specific support.
 Product Specific Support – difference between
domestic price of the product and fixed external
reference price multiplied by the quantity of
output.

16.  Non-Product Specific – Input subsidies for fertilizers,
electricity, irrigation, seeds, credit etc.
 Obligation to India if AMS exceeds 10% of Agri. GDP
 Base Period (1986-88)
 Price support programme in India (22 Products) 19
products included in the list of commitments rice, wheat,
bajra, jowar, barley, gram, groundnut, rapeseed, toria,
cotton, soyabean (yellow), Soyabean (black) urad, moong,
tur, tobacco, jute and sugarcane.
 India – Total product specific AMS minus Rs. 24,442
crores. Non – product specific support Rs. 4,581 crores
(5.2%). Total support works out to be negative.

17.  Non-Product Specific – Input subsidies for fertilizers,
electricity, irrigation, seeds, credit etc.
 Obligation to India if AMS exceeds 10% of Agri. GDP
 Base Period (1986-88)
 Price support programme in India (22 Products) 19
products included in the list of commitments rice, wheat,
bajra, jowar, barley, gram, groundnut, rapeseed, toria,
cotton, soyabean (yellow), Soyabean (black) urad, moong,
tur, tobacco, jute and sugarcane.
 India – Total product specific AMS minus Rs. 24,442
crores. Non – product specific support Rs. 4,581 crores
(5.2%). Total support works out to be negative.

18. 3 categories of support
measures
i) Green Box Measures:
 Minimum impact on pattern of production and
flow of trade.
 Govt. Assistance on general services
 Public stock holding for food security
 Domestic food aid
 De-coupled income support.
 Payment under environmental assistance
programmes
 Payment under regional assistance programme.

19. ii) Blue box Measures:
 Direct payment to the farmers for
production limiting programmes

20. iii) Amber Box Measures
 Product specific and non- product specific
subsidies
 Policies that do have a substantial impact on
the pattern of production and flow of trade.

21. Export Subsidies
 Developed countries – Reduction commitment
36% of total export subsidy expenditure in 6 years
in equal installment (1986-1990).
 Developing Countries – 24% reduction in 10
years.
 For products not subjected to export subsidy
reduction commitment – No such subsidies
granted in future.
 No direct subsidy for exporters in India except
exemption of export profit from income tax under
section 80-HHC of the IT Act.

22. Sanitary and Phytosanitary
measures (SPS)
Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT)
 SPS measures should be applied only to the extent
necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or
health and should be based on scientific principles.
 TBT attempts to bring about harmonization in
technical regulations and standards including
packaging, marking and labelling.
 Technical Organizations – Codex Alimentarius
Commission and the International Office of
Epizooties.

23. Dumping and Anti Dumping
Measures
 The Agreement allows governments to act
against dumped imports where there is
material injury to the competing domestic
industry.
 Importing country has to investigate.
a) Whether Dumping is taking place
b) Calculate the extent of dumping
c) Determine that dumping is causing injury

24. India’s Concerns
 Can We compete with international trade
and standards which require heavy
investment.
 High cost of production – low subsidy –
low productivity
 Poor marketing & processing infrastructure
 Diversion of Agril. Sector from food grains
to commercial crops – Threat to food
security.
 Due to price fluctuations – Dilemma before
farmers with regard to cropping pattern.

25. Future Action
 To review the present cropping pattern and also
varieties of seeds.
 Recommend measures for reduction of gap
between potential and actual productivity of
various crops in various agro-climatic conditions.
 Information base about production – marketing
prices in international market should be made
known.

26.  Strengthen infrastructure & value addition
activities.
 Act quickly for dumping
 INM, IPM

27.  Reinvest resources in agriculture research with
specific emphasis on agricultural economics to
attain lower unit cost for all agriculture produce.
 Improve sanitary & phytosanitary standards
 Educate the public about WTO implications and
opportunities
 WTO cells should be established in its state.

28.  The lack of infrastructure like roads,
markets, storage, transportation is also an
important constraint. These bottlenecks
hinder our progress and reduce our strength
to get integrated with the world market.

29.  Strengthening R&D because that is essential for
any restructuring. India spends just 0.46 per cent
of the agricultural GDP on research. In developed
countries it is around 2 percent.
 Investment should be made in the emerging
avenues like biotechnology, agribusiness, post-
harvest and value addition. These are the cutting
edge areas where more investments are required
and they are capital-intensive.

30.  We are as efficient as the exporting
countries as far as production is concerned.
But from the view of processing and
marketing, we are inefficient.

31. It must be understood that the opening up of
global trade/competition is not a substitute
for economic development. It is an
outcome. The WTO does provide
opportunities for countries to grow and
realize their export opportunities, provided
appropriate domestic policies are in place.

32. Thank you