Today the country is reeling under the pressure of tumbling GDP which dipped to -23.7%. The RBI eying it at -7.1% during the fiscal 2021–22 but some economists are expecting it to contract at -25% due to the second phase of a pandemic. The production of every sector is coming down, even in the industrial and service sectors, the businesses are closing their shops due to lackluster demand. The only sector which was a ray of hope for reviving the economy was agriculture, which despite falling GDP to -23.7% showed a growth of 3.4%. But despite showing a positive and stable growth rate, farmers are on roads since last year. The reason behind this was big industrial houses are now eyeing this sector, as there will always be demand in this sector because humans cannot survive without food. So the new farm laws are brought to help out corporate houses to produce, purchase, process and store the agricultural produce. Slowly the small and marginal farmers will be out of agribusiness which will further lead to unemployment and will increase the gap between rich and poor and in turn will further lower the demand for consumer goods.
The government is now under impression that it has surplus food grains and all its godowns are fully packed. This story appeals as traveling through Punjab and Haryana one can see the grains stored in open. In the down-to-earth report of November 2018, the government has said that it is not only self-sufficient in food grains but also exporting them. If we take the government record of July 2020 the country was having 558 lakh tons of wheat and 274 lakh tons of rice. Due to this government wants to shed its responsibility of procuring the food grains.
Let us do the reality check, are we really self–sufficient in food as claimed by the government. So in order to be considered as self–sufficient, FAO (Food Agriculture Organization) has divided it into three parts. First, if the production of food grains is less than 80% of the requirement, then that country is in famine. Second, if production falls from 80% to 120% then that country is self–sufficient, and third if more than 120% then the country is surplus. India falls in the second category of self–sufficiency along with China, Bolivia, and Tanzania.
The biggest question that arises is, if we are self–sufficient according to FAO criteria, then why India was ranked 103 out of 117 countries of the world in the Global Hunger Index 2018. Even on the Oxfam Index out of 125 countries, India comes in 97th position. Another contradicting figure come from the report of United Nation 2020 in which they have said that 19.4 crore people sleep hungry in India every day. In a pandemic, the government claims that it provided food to 80 crore people i.e. 5 kg grains and 2 kg dal, with that diet do we really think our citizens to be healthy?
We need to check that do we really have that much food in the country which is required to maintain good health as per standards of nutrition set by the ICMR ( Indian Council Of Medical Research) of the country. The first survey to check how many people in the country are below the poverty line was done in 1962. For this ICMR standards were used which say that in order to be in good health rural population needs 2400 kilocalories (Kcal) and the urban population requires 2100 KCal per person per day. If the person’s requirement of food is not met then they are considered as Below Poverty Line (BPL) population. The same standard was endorsed in 1969 by Dandekar and Rath committee and in 2009 by Suresh Tendulkar. Even in 1979 planning commission used the same standards.
Let us do a reality check whether India’s total food production is sufficient to feed the total population of 138 crores as per United Nations estimates. The total food produced in the country when divided by population comes out to per capita availability of 210 gm of rice, 190 gms of wheat, 59 gms of maize, bajra, ragi, etc, 28 gms of pulses, 31 gms of cooking oil, 200 gms of fruits and vegetables 375 gms of milk 24 gms of fish, 15 gms of meat and one egg after every 5 days. The above-mentioned figures are based on total production, and if we take into account the food which perishes in transit and stores, the availability will further decrease. Out of total production even rice, wheat, meat, etc are exported and even used for feeding domestic animals like dairy animals, poultry birds, and other pets, etc.
The total per capita food availability as calculated above gives one energy of 1845 KCal against the requirement of 2100 or 2400 KCal as per the lifestyle/working conditions of an individual.
Even if we take the average calories requirement based on i.e 65 percent rural population and 35 percent urban population, it comes out to be 2295 kilocalories which are again 450 calories less per person per day. Thus the scenario is whatever food produced is available, it is 24 percent lesser than required for healthy humans of the country. The fact is that many people are struggling to even get the meals 2 times a day and on another side you may see the food grains perishing in the stores, bringing the truth out about the failures of the government to provide adequate food to citizens. This is proved from the figures where govt provides 5 kg grains per person and 2 kg pulses per family per month, which means that daily one person gets 167 gms of wheat or rice and 13 gms dal. Is it sufficient for a person to survive on this diet for 24 hours?
The truth behind the whole story is people don’t have work and without work, they are not having sufficient funds to buy the food whereas governments are patting their backs that their stores are filled with food grains and do not require anymore. Realty is people cannot afford adequate foodstuff. The pandemic has further worsened the situation which will further reduce the people’s potential to buy food grains. (Govt will further say we have a surplus). Ultimately increased hunger will lead to an increase in many diseases, thefts and snatchings, and even dacoities.
The actual situation is we are not self-sufficient rather people don’t have the purchasing power to buy food grains. So the government should rethink its decision of handing over agriculture to corporates. Rather it should boost the morale of farmers in order to increase production which will not only help to retain and increase employment, but also improve people’s health. After meeting the actual food requirement of its own citizens, the surplus can be exported.
Dr Amanpreet Singh Brar
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