{"id":30904,"date":"2024-10-16T18:02:27","date_gmt":"2024-10-16T12:32:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=30904"},"modified":"2025-07-12T12:12:00","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T06:42:00","slug":"food-access-to-all","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/16-10-2024\/food-access-to-all","title":{"rendered":"Food Access to All"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The<strong> World Food Day 2024 (October 16) <\/strong>theme is \u2018<strong>Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future,\u2019<\/strong> highlighting the need for equitable access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Food security<\/strong> is vital for individual well-being and social stability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The FAO\u2019s 2024 report <\/strong>estimates that <strong>733 million <\/strong>people face hunger, highlighting the urgency of addressing food insecurity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Journey Towards Food Security<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Transformation from Food-Deficient to Food-Surplus Nation:<\/strong> Over the past 60 years, India has shifted from being food-deficient to a food-surplus country.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Green Revolution was pivotal in boosting agricultural productivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Supportive Policies: <\/strong>Effective policies and advancements by institutions like the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) played a crucial role. Enhanced supply chains have helped in ensuring better food availability.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Diversification of Agrifood Systems:<\/strong> Initiatives like the <strong>White Revolution (dairy) <\/strong>and <strong>Blue Transformation (fisheries)<\/strong> have diversified India&#8217;s agrifood system.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Focus on Addressing Inequalities:<\/strong> India is focusing on reducing inequalities in food access and improving nutrition as part of its ongoing efforts in food security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Challenges to Achieve Food Security&nbsp;<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Small and Marginal Farmers:<\/strong> With over 82% of India&#8217;s 93 million agrarian households being small and marginal farmers, landholdings are less than two hectares.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>These fragmented landholdings limit productivity, market access, and the adoption of modern techniques.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Natural Resource Degradation:<\/strong> Unsustainable practices, such as overusing groundwater and chemical fertilizers, are degrading natural resources, threatening the long-term sustainability of agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Market Access:<\/strong> Many smallholder farmers lack adequate infrastructure and supply chain access, limiting their ability to reach markets and fetch better prices for their produce.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Water Scarcity:<\/strong> Agriculture in India is highly dependent on monsoon rains, which makes it vulnerable to droughts and inconsistent rainfall.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Outdated Farming Practices: <\/strong>Despite advancements in agricultural technology, many Indian farmers still rely on traditional methods which hinder their&nbsp; productivity improvements.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate Change:<\/strong> The increasing impact of climate change, with erratic weather patterns and extreme events, continues to pose risks to agricultural production and food security.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Steps Taken to Achieve Food Security in India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Food Security Act (2013)<\/strong>: Guarantees subsidized food grains to a significant portion of the population, ensuring basic food security.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fortified Rice Distribution (2024-2028): <\/strong>Aims to tackle malnutrition by distributing fortified rice to millions, improving dietary nutrition.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY): <\/strong>Focuses on improving irrigation coverage and ensuring efficient water use in agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>e-NAM (National Agriculture Market): <\/strong>An initiative to create a unified national market for agricultural commodities, enabling farmers to sell their produce directly to buyers across the country.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ensuring equitable food access requires strengthening both agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While continuing to support rural farmers, it is crucial to address the growing urban food insecurity. A holistic approach to agrifood systems must incorporate sustainability, climate resilience, and inclusivity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: TH<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The World Food Day 2024 (October 16) theme is \u2018Right to Foods for a Better Life and a Better Future,\u2019 highlighting the need for equitable access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food for all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30904","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30904","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30904"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30904\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30905,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30904\/revisions\/30905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30904"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30904"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30904"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}