{"id":78289,"date":"2026-07-03T17:36:57","date_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=78289"},"modified":"2026-07-03T18:07:38","modified_gmt":"2026-07-03T12:37:38","slug":"food-sovereignty-france-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/editorial-analysis\/03-07-2026\/food-sovereignty-france-india","title":{"rendered":"Food Sovereignty: Lessons From France &#038; India"},"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>Orientation Law on Agricultural Sovereignty and Generational Renewal (2024)<\/strong> <strong>of France<\/strong> linked food sovereignty with youth participation in farming.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Simultaneously, concerns over declining youth interest in agriculture in India have revived debates on agricultural sovereignty and generational renewal.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Food and Agricultural Sovereignty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Agriculture and related activities are central to the economic and social fabric for countries like India and France.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>France<\/strong> shares nearly about <strong>18% of the EU&#8217;s agricultural output<\/strong>, however, there will be only about half of its farmers working in agriculture by 2030.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India faces a similar challenge as rural youth increasingly migrate to urban areas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As per the <strong>Annual Status of Education Report (2017)<\/strong>, 42% of youth aged 14\u201318 years are working, and 79% of these work in agriculture, almost all on their own family\u2019s farm. However, only 1.2% aspire to become farmers.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This crisis is not merely about production; it concerns <strong>who controls agriculture and on what terms<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Concept of Food Sovereignty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Food Sovereignty or Agricultural Sovereignty<\/strong> is the right of people and nations to determine their own agricultural systems, including control over seeds, land, markets, inputs and production practices.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However,<strong> Food Security <\/strong>ensures reliable access to sufficient, safe and affordable food.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>concept of food sovereignty<\/strong> was articulated by La Via Campesina in 1996 and later gained recognition from international organizations such as the <strong>United Nations and the World Bank.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Its <strong>six guiding principles<\/strong> 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.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Thus, food sovereignty seeks to adequate food production along with the empowerment of present and future generations of farmers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India&#8217;s Role in Food and Agricultural Sovereignty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Green Revolution<\/strong> in India was marked as self-reliance and self-sufficiency in agriculture, and now agriculture in India remains one of the world&#8217;s largest producers of cereals, pulses, milk and horticultural crops.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India\u2019s commitment to agricultural sovereignty is reflected by:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Minimum Support Price (MSP)<\/strong> mechanism for price assurance;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Public procurement and the<strong> Public Distribution System (PDS);<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promotion of indigenous seeds and millets under the <strong>International Year of Millets (2023);<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Support for smallholders through schemes such as <strong>PM-KISAN, Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY).<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Issues and Concerns<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Decreasing Youth Engagement: <\/strong>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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Land Fragmentation:<\/strong> As per Agriculture Census data, more than 85% farmers of India are small and marginal farmers restricting economies of scale.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Increasing Debt: <\/strong>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.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Climate Change and Ecological Risks:<\/strong> Erratic monsoons, soil erosion and groundwater depletion poses long term risk for agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Import Dependence:<\/strong> The increasing dependence on foreign inputs like fertilisers, agrochemicals and commercial seeds is hampering agricultural sovereignty.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>No Specific Focus on Generational Renewal:<\/strong> Unlike in France, there is no specific institution set up in India which focuses on attracting youths into agriculture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Efforts Made in Relation to the Problem<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Income and Credit Assistance:<\/strong> Income transfer through PM-KISAN programme; expansion of Kisan Credit Card and interest subvention schemes.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Sustainable Agriculture: <\/strong>National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA); Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and promotion of natural farming through Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati (BPKP).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Resource Efficiency: <\/strong>Soil health card scheme and Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Market Reforms: <\/strong>e-NAM; Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) and Agri Infra Fund.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>But all these efforts are mainly aimed at increasing productivity and incomes of farmers but not generational renewal directly.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Case Study: French Institutions for Agricultural Sovereignty<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The <strong>Orientation Law on Agricultural Sovereignty and Generational Renewal (2024)<\/strong> has a clear relationship between sovereignty and youths. Some key components of the law are:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Financial assistance to the incoming youths;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Streamlining of administrative procedures;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Education and training related to agriculture;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Facilities to access land for new farmers;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Environmentally sustainable agriculture incentives;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Harmonisation of <strong>EU&#8217;s Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) Strategic Plan.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>As per CAP, young farmers receive direct payment, eco-schemes and transition support. This makes agriculture an economically feasible profession for the incoming generation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Forward<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Developing a <strong>National Policy<\/strong> for generational renewal in agriculture.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Setting up <strong>Young Farmer Missions <\/strong>providing startup grants, concessional credit and incubation facilities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Making reforms for<strong> land leasing and land banks.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Enhancing <strong>agri-entrepreneurship, agri-tech and value chain linkages<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Development of agricultural education, skill development and digital extension services.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Promoting <strong>agroecology-based models<\/strong> led by the community, seed sovereignty and Farmer Producer Organisations.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Developing a balanced approach that combines <strong>state support and farmer participation<\/strong> and ensures economic viability, environmental sustainability and democratic governance of agriculture.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-background has-fixed-layout\" style=\"background-color:#fff2cc\"><tbody><tr><td><strong>Daily Mains Practice Question<\/strong><br><strong>[Q] <\/strong>Food and agricultural sovereignty has emerged as a critical dimension of India&#8217;s agricultural policy in the era of globalization and climate change. Discuss and suggest measures to ensure generational renewal in Indian agriculture.<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindubusinessline.com\/opinion\/food-sovereignty-lessons-from-france-and-india\/article71174673.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source: BL<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-layout-flex wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link wp-element-button\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Daily-Editorial-Analysis-03-07-2026.pdf\"><strong>Download PDF<\/strong><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Published on:<\/strong> 03 July, 2026<\/p>\n<p>The Orientation Law on Agricultural Sovereignty and Generational Renewal (2024) of France linked food sovereignty with youth participation in farming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":78291,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-78289","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-editorial-analysis"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/07\/food-sovereignty.webp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78289","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\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=78289"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78289\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":78296,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/78289\/revisions\/78296"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/78291"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=78289"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=78289"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=78289"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}