Food Sovereignty: Lessons From France & India

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• The Orientation Law on Agricultural Sovereignty and Generational Renewal (2024) of France linked food sovereignty with youth participation in farming.
• Simultaneously, concerns over declining youth interest in agriculture in India have revived debates on agricultural sovereignty and generational renewal.

About Food and Agricultural Sovereignty

• Agriculture and related activities are central to the economic and social fabric for countries like India and France.
• France shares nearly about 18% of the EU’s agricultural output, however, there will be only about half of its farmers working in agriculture by 2030.
• India faces a similar challenge as rural youth increasingly migrate to urban areas.
• As per the Annual Status of Education Report (2017), 42% of youth aged 14–18 years are working, and 79% of these work in agriculture, almost all on their own family’s farm. However, only 1.2% aspire to become farmers.
  • This crisis is not merely about production; it concerns who controls agriculture and on what terms.

Concept of Food Sovereignty

• Food Sovereignty or Agricultural Sovereignty is the right of people and nations to determine their own agricultural systems, including control over seeds, land, markets, inputs and production practices.
  • However, Food Security ensures reliable access to sufficient, safe and affordable food.

• The concept of food sovereignty was articulated by La Via Campesina in 1996 and later gained recognition from international organizations such as the United Nations and the World Bank.
  • Its six guiding principles include right to food; valuing food producers; localising food systems; placing control at local levels; building knowledge and skills; and working in harmony with nature.
• Thus, food sovereignty seeks to adequate food production along with the empowerment of present and future generations of farmers.

India’s Role in Food and Agricultural Sovereignty

• The Green Revolution in India was marked as self-reliance and self-sufficiency in agriculture, and now agriculture in India remains one of the world’s largest producers of cereals, pulses, milk and horticultural crops.
• India’s commitment to agricultural sovereignty is reflected by:
  • Minimum Support Price (MSP) mechanism for price assurance;
  • Public procurement and the Public Distribution System (PDS);
  • Promotion of indigenous seeds and millets under the International Year of Millets (2023);
  • Support for smallholders through schemes such as PM-KISAN, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).

Issues and Concerns

• Decreasing Youth Engagement: As agriculture is becoming economically non-viable with low income, uncertainty in earning and climate risks, more and more rural youths are migrating to urban areas.
• Land Fragmentation: As per Agriculture Census data, more than 85% farmers of India are small and marginal farmers restricting economies of scale.
• Increasing Debt: With the increase in cost of production and need for credit and price fluctuations, discourages the next generation to take up agriculture as their profession.
• Climate Change and Ecological Risks: Erratic monsoons, soil erosion and groundwater depletion poses long term risk for agriculture.
• Import Dependence: The increasing dependence on foreign inputs like fertilisers, agrochemicals and commercial seeds is hampering agricultural sovereignty.
• No Specific Focus on Generational Renewal: Unlike in France, there is no specific institution set up in India which focuses on attracting youths into agriculture.

Efforts Made in Relation to the Problem

• Income and Credit Assistance: Income transfer through PM-KISAN programme; expansion of Kisan Credit Card and interest subvention schemes.
• Sustainable Agriculture: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and promotion of natural farming through Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP).
• Resource Efficiency: Soil health card scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
• Market Reforms: e-NAM; Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Agri Infra Fund.
  • But all these efforts are mainly aimed at increasing productivity and incomes of farmers but not generational renewal directly.

Case Study: French Institutions for Agricultural Sovereignty

• The Orientation Law on Agricultural Sovereignty and Generational Renewal (2024) has a clear relationship between sovereignty and youths. Some key components of the law are:
  • Financial assistance to the incoming youths;
  • Streamlining of administrative procedures;
  • Education and training related to agriculture;
  • Facilities to access land for new farmers;
  • Environmentally sustainable agriculture incentives;
  • Harmonisation of EU’s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.
• As per CAP, young farmers receive direct payment, eco-schemes and transition support. This makes agriculture an economically feasible profession for the incoming generation.

Way Forward

• Developing a National Policy for generational renewal in agriculture.
• Setting up Young Farmer Missions providing startup grants, concessional credit and incubation facilities.
• Making reforms for land leasing and land banks.
• Enhancing agri-entrepreneurship, agri-tech and value chain linkages.
• Development of agricultural education, skill development and digital extension services.
• Promoting agroecology-based models led by the community, seed sovereignty and Farmer Producer Organisations.
• Developing a balanced approach that combines state support and farmer participation and ensures economic viability, environmental sustainability and democratic governance of agriculture.

Source: BL