State of food insecurity

Context: The latest edition of the State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report shows that the state of food insecurity has been sharpened by pandemics. Governments need to act urgently.

Highlights of the report

• Rise in food insecurity in India: 
  • Based on PoU: The prevalence of moderate to severe food insecurity in India rose by about 6.8% points in 2018-20; persons facing moderate to severe food insecurity has increased by about 9.7 crores since the outbreak of Covid.
  • Based on PMSFI: PMSFI estimates thus derived show that there was about 43 crore of moderate to severe food-insecure people in India in 2019; moderate to severe food insecurity increased from about 31.6% in 2019 to 38.4%  in 2021.
• Irony of huge buffer stock: The country with the largest stock of grain in the world — 120 million tonnes as of July 1, 2021 — accounts for a quarter of the world’s food-insecure population.
• Food insecurity at the global level: Estimates show that, in 2020, over 237 crore people were grappling with food insecurity globally, an increase of about 32 crores from 2019. 
  • South Asia alone accounts for 36% of global food insecurity.

Factors behind increased food insecurity

• Widespread economic distress, high unemployment and high inequality. 
• A large proportion of the poor is dependent on the informal economy in which incomes are too low and uncertain. 
• High (and fluctuating) food prices, shrinking public investment and the economic slowdown have compounded the distress among working classes and the peasantry. 

Way Forward: 

• Universalise access to the public distribution system: Everyone, irrespective of whether they have a ration card or not, should be allowed to take subsidised grain from ration shops. 
• With almost 120 million tonnes of grain currently lying with the government, it requires almost no additional resources.