Policies for enhancing food security

1. Policies for Enhancing Food Security:
Lessons from India
International Conference:
Policies for Water and Food Security in the Dry
Areas
Cairo, 24-26 June 2013
A.K.Sikka1 and B.Venkateswarlu2
1 Deputy Director General (NRM), Indian Council
of Agricultural Research, New Delhi, India
2 Director, Central Research Institute for Dryland
Agriculture, Hyderabad, India

2. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), food
security exists when all people, at all times, have
physical and economic access to sufficient, safe,
and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs
and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Food security has three interconnected
components, viz., availability, access, and
absorption (nutrition). Food security has intrinsic
as well as instrumental value.

3. Achieving self-sufficiency in food grains at the national level has been
one of India’s major successes in the second half of the 20th Century.
Food grain production increased from about 50 million tonnes in
1950-51 to 259.32 million tonnes in 2011-12.
The yields of rice, wheat, maize and oilseeds had increased
by several folds, but the increase in the yields of pulses and
coarse cereals, which are mostly grown in rain-fed areas by
small farmers, was not so dramatic.
However, the growth in agricultural production started declining
from 10 - 12% in the 80’s to 4.7% in the 90’s and to 2.3% during
2002-07 (Government of India, 2011).

4. Crops Production Yield
1986-87 to
1996-97
1996-97 to
2007-08
1986-87 to
1996-97
1996-97 to
2007-08
Foodgrains 2.93 0.93 3.21 1.04
Cereals 3.06 0.97 3.36 1.19
Coarse cereals 1.19 1.53 3.66 2.25
Pulses 1.32 0.36 1.49 -0.02
Oilseeds 6.72 1.99 3.32 1.49
Rice 3.06 1.02 2.37 1.22
Wheat 4.09 0.65 2.93 0.34
Trend Growth Rates in Production and Yields of Food grains and Oilseeds
(% per annum) Source: CACP, Ministry of Agriculture (2009)

5.  Food systems in other words are the whole some integration of production,
processing, distribution, and consumption that reinforces food security. Food
systems include food availability (production, distribution and exchange), food
access (affordability, allocation and preference) and food utilization (nutritional
and societal values and safety) , so that food security is, therefore, diminished
when food systems are stressed (Lumpkin 2013, Gregory et al 2005)
 During the first decade of the 21st Century major threats are seen causing a
concern on food security in India. These are mainly land degradation, water
shortages and climate change.
 Climate change and its variability are emerging as major challenges facing
Indian agriculture. The high inter and intra-seasonal variability in rainfall
distribution, extreme temperature and rainfall events are causing crop
damages and huge losses to farmers resulting in serious concerns on food
security.

6.  Major changes in consumption pattern in India and economic boom in terms of
purchasing power has indeed increased the demand for fruits, vegetables, dairy,
meat, poultry, and fisheries.
 Since food security basically refers firstly to the availability of food and then one's
access to it, the onus falls on improving the production system.
 This calls for sound policies and effective investments in natural resources which
form the foundation for sustainable food security. Besides population pressure the
demand from non-farm sector for natural resources must be taken into account.
 There is need to increase crop diversification and improve allied enterprises to
reduce risk at farm level and spur investment.

7. Key programmes for food security in India
National Food Security Mission
 The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) was started in 2007 after it was
recognized that the current pace of food grain production was not fast enough to
cover for the increase in the population, leading to shortage of food at aggregate
level.
 The major objective of this scheme is to increase production and productivity of
wheat, rice and pulses on a sustainable basis.
 The NFSM is entirely funded by the Central Government of India, and is divided
into three branches: Rice, Wheat, and Pulses
 The quantitative targets of the scheme are increasing the production of rice by 10
million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by this year.

8. National Mission For Sustainable Agriculture
 The National Mission for Sustainable agriculture (NMSA), which is one of the eight
Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) seeks to address
issues regarding ‘Sustainable Agriculture’
 It is in the context of risks associated with climate change by devising appropriate
adaptation and mitigation strategies for ensuring food security, equitable access to
food resources, enhancing livelihood opportunities and contributing to economic
stability at the national level.
 The main mission interventions are in the areas of Improved crop seeds, livestock and
fish cultures; water use efficiency, soil health management, agricultural insurance,
credit and market support and access to information

9. National Horticulture Mission
 The National Horticulture Mission (NHM) is a centrally sponsored scheme launched in
2005 to enhance production of every horticultural product (fruits, vegetables, flowers,
plantation crops, spices, medicinal aromatic plants).
 The NHM aims to provide holistic growth of the sector, spreading technology, providing
assistance to the farmers through regionally-differentiated strategies and creating
employment opportunities in the sector.
 The ultimate objective is further improve food and nutritional security by assuring a
sufficient variety of nutrient rich crops in each area.

10. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana or
National Agriculture Development Scheme
 It is a State Plan Scheme of Additional Central Assistance launched in August 2007
as a part of the 11th Five Year Plan by the Government of India.
 It seeks to achieve 4% annual growth in agriculture through development of Agriculture
and its allied sectors
 It incorporates information on local requirements, geographical/climatic conditions,
available natural resources/ technology and cropping patterns in their districts so as to
significantly increase the productivity of Agriculture and its allied sectors and eventually
maximize the returns to farmers in agriculture and allied sectors

11. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture
 National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is a network project of the
Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in February, 2011.
 The project aims to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change and
climate variability through strategic research and technology demonstration.
 The project consists of four components viz. Strategic Research, Technology
Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grants.
 The project was implemented with the research initiatives of critical assessment of
different crops/zones in the country for vulnerability to climatic stresses and extreme
events, in particular, intra seasonal variability of rainfall.
 Efforts are on to evolve climate ready crop varieties and farm management practices
that contribute to adaptation and mitigation.

12. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment
Guarantee Act
 It is a unique rights based scheme to ensure sustainable livelihood to the rural
population of India.
 It aims to provide a minimum number of workdays, at the minimum wage, to one
member of every rural household of the country, so that they have the means to
feed their families (and this is the reason why it belongs to the “right to food”
projects).
 This scheme directly contributes to food security in two ways; first by enhancing
access to food to the poor by way of assured wage employment and second by
enhancing food production through improving natural resource base of the country
through land and water related works undertaken in the villages.

13. Major Challenges in Agriculture Production system
 Dryland agriculture production systems with 40% of the food grains and supporting
two-thirds of the livestock population will be the key to food security future as yield
growth in irrigated regions is plateauing.
 large yield gaps exist in several crops and regions between research stations and
farmer's fields.
 The major challenges of rainfed agriculture by 2050 would be to sustain the livelihoods
of the small and marginal farmers who will still depend on agriculture despite
increased climate variability and shrinking land holding size.
 Failure to address these challenges will lead to substantial shift of rural youth to
service sector resulting in huge manpower shortage in farming.
 Some of the challenges like retaining area under the nutritious cereals can be
converted into opportunities with growing awareness on the health benefits of these
crops.

14. Managing risks
 There is ample evidence on the benefits of improving soil organic matter SOM through
biomass recycling and integrated nutrient management on stability and yields of
rainfed crops.
 The economic benefits from rain water harvesting at farm level have been well
documented. Translating these evidences into wider adoption constitutes the challenge
for short and medium term.
 Appropriate technologies including crop diversification; developing crop genotypes
with high and stable yields coupled with abiotic and biotic stress tolerance; location
specific soil and water conservation measures, alternate land use systems and
integrated farming systems have to be evolved and promoted through a participatory
approach.

15. Cereals area 2030 2050
Rainfed area (million hectare) 40 36
Rainfed yield (tonnes/hectare) 1.8 2.0
Rainfed production (million metric tonnes) 73 72
Irrigated area (million hectare) 57 62
Irrigated yield (tonnes/hectare) 4.3 4.6
Irrigated production (million metric tonnes) 248 285
Total area (million hectare) 97 98
Total yield (tonnes/hectare) 3.3 3.7
Total production (million metric tonnes) 321 357
The projected area, yield and production of cereals under different production
systems of India

16. Bridging yield gaps
 Attention must be given to regional imbalances in terms of natural resources and
technology intake capacity of farmers
 For yield maximization, selecting genotypes with wide adaptability and resilience
to climate variability remains a challenge.
 Developing crop simulation models and region specific decision support systems
is another area that needs urgent attention
 Wherever appropriate, steps must be taken to contribute to formulation of
policies for promoting crops that are not so resource-demanding but at the same
time have better food, nutrition and fodder value

17. Concerns on nutritional security
 Total cereal demand is projected to grow by 1048 million metric tonnes, out of
which 45% is expected from maize; 26% from wheat; 8% from rice; and the
rest from minor millets and other coarse grains.
 The high levels of malnutrition, especially among poor, needs immediate
attention as this affects their contribution to the national GDP.
 Biofortification of rainfed crops, particularly millets would be the future
challenge as most of the tribal people and farm labourers of dryland areas are
suffering from protein and micronutrient malnutrition.

18. Environmental footprints of changing demand
profile
The projected domestic demand for different crop groups shows that rice and
wheat may be surplus whereas other cereals will be in acute shortage
Projected domestic demand and production of different crop/crop groups by year 2050
Amarasinghe et al (2008)

19. Managing water resources
 In spite of large scale irrigation potential created (108 million ha), the gaps
between gross sown and gross irrigated area and net sown and net irrigated
area are about 105 million ha and 78 million ha, respectively.
 Research must address enhancing water productivity in canal systems.
 There is a need to invest substantially by central and state governments on the
issue of ground water use in rainfed areas.
 India has a unique history of implementing one of the largest watersheds
programmes of the world to conserve natural resources and enhance
productivity

20. A meta analysis of the impact of watershed programmes in the country by Joshi et al
(2005) covering 311 watersheds pointed to better returns (IRR, BCR), equity and
employment generation from watersheds in the rainfall region of 700-1100 mm
rainfall zone.
Distribution (%) of watersheds according to BCR

21. Maintaining soil health and productivity
 Dryland soils are not only thirsty but also hungry. Ensuring optimum fertility
of soils in the backdrop of declining animal population is a key challenge.
 Even though, about 80 million tonnes of crop residues are produced annually
in rainfed areas, their recycling is not done due to competitive uses and
burning.
 Unlike irrigated systems, harnessing the synergy between soil moisture and
applied nutrients in rainfed crops is a major challenge due to erratic
distribution of rainfall

22. Climate change and climate variability
 Climate Projections show that atmospheric concentration of GHG would reach
almost 685 parts per million (ppm) CO2-equivalents by 2050.
 Rainfall is likely to decline by 5 to 10% over southern parts of India whereas 10
to 20% increase is likely over other regions.
 Warming is likely to be more over northern parts of India. A rise in night
temperatures is also likely over India except some small pockets in the
peninsular region.
 Resilience to climate change will depend on increasing agricultural productivity
with available water resources; refining technologies and timely deployment of
affordable strategies to accomplish potential levels of arable land and water
productivity

23. Wheat, rice and maize yield changes (%) under different scenarios relative to
baseline scenario (1970-2000)
Source: Climate: Observations, projections and impacts – India 2011 UK Met
office report

24.  Irrigated rice yields are expected to reduce by 2050's. The likely yield loss
would be 7% at country level.
 Crop simulation results indicate a positive impact of future climate (combined
change in temperature, rainfall and CO2 levels) on the productivity of the
soybean and groundnut crops.
 By 2050 climate change projected scenarios (HadCM3, A2), average crop
water requirement of groundnut, mustard, maize and wheat is likely to
increase by 6.4, 6.6, 4.7 and 6.0%, respectively, from the baseline of 1961-
1990.
 In livestock and fisheries sectors, increased heat stress associated with rising
temperature may cause distress to dairy animals and possibly impact milk
production
Climate change and climate variability

25. Institutional and policy issues
 Livelihoods and sustainable production in rainfed areas are linked to the extent and
health of common pool resources (CPRs).
 Harnessing the contribution of these resources in reducing the emissions, ensuring
ground water availability, biomass availability for grazing livestock, and meeting
fuel/ firewood needs will help to increase small farm holders’ income.
 The major challenge is to formulate a rational land and water use policy at national
level and persuade the states for effective implementation.stock is yet another
important contribution that can come from rainfed agriculture.

26. The way forward
 All three essential components of food security i.e. production, storage and distribution
need continued attention in future.
 Greater investments on agricultural R&D are needed with focus on enhancing
production from regions which have not contributed substantial quantity in the past
and where the yield gaps offer scope for immediate gains.
 These includes regions in Eastern India and North-East where the Government of India
is already investing on infrastructure, technologies and capacity building to enhance
production.
 Climate change and variability are emerging threats for which new technology
development and promoting the adoption of existing best-bet practices are urgently
needed.

27. The way forward
 To improve the access to food to the vulnerable communities, the existing wage
guarantee schemes need to be sustained and expanded linking them to asset
creation in agriculture
 Government of India need to invest substantial resources for creating storage
infrastructure for foodgrains and fruits and vegetables in the next 10 years in
order to reduce the post-harvest losses from the 30% at present to 10%.
 The country need to adopt a de-centralized approach of ensuring food security
by promoting drought tolerant millets in the public distribution system so that
investments on procurement and distribution of rice and wheat across the
country can be rationalized.
 Investments on value chain in agricultural sector will also contribute to reduced
post-harvest losses.

28. The way forward
 The trade policies have to balance the interest of the farmers and protect
minimum guaranteed profit.
 Accurate analysis of food security indicators should be achieved capturing the
vulnerability of food systems to climate change.
 Steps are to be taken to broaden the livelihood base along with diversification
and employment generation in non-farm sector in addition to the farm sector.

29. The way forward
 Maintenance of ecosystem health will become more and more central to
safeguard the food production base. Environmental policy tools enabling
ecosystem services, economic appraisal strategies can contribute in this effort by
making it easier to deliver incentives.
 Rational use of water by designing appropriate policies and incentives are going
to be a biggest game changer in ensuring food security in India in years to come.