The Road to Zero Hunger

Context: Resilient food systems will have to be built back as the world is not on track to achieve global targets.

India’s Food security Achievements and Measures

• India has gone from being a net importer to a net exporter of food grains: as evident during the pandemic 
• Central and State governments were able to distribute around 23 million tonnes through the Public Distribution System (PDS).
• Mobilised food rations for 820 million people from April to November 2020, including ?nding alternate solutions, to provide food rations to 90 million school children. 
• Agricultural Reforms: marketing and removal of bottlenecks in supply chains have led to a growth of 3.4% in agriculture during the first quarter and the area under Kharif has increased.
• Integrated Child Development Services and Midday meal programme which provides cooked meals and take-home rations to 100 million children under the age of six and pregnant and lactating mothers.

• Innovative dealing with Climate Change: through the development of drought and flood-tolerant seed varieties, weather-based agricultural advisories, promotion of millets, and small-scale irrigation.

Multidimensional Food Challenges in India

• Malnutrition and Anaemia: The Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey 2016- 18 revealed that over 40 million children are chronically malnourished, and more than half of Indian women aged 1549 years are anaemic. 

• Climate Change: continues to be a real and potent threat to agro-biodiversity, affecting productivity and livelihood across food and farm systems.
• Intensified food production systems: with excessive use of chemicals and unsustainable farming practices cause soil degradation, fast depletion of the ground water table, and rapid loss of agrobiodiversity. 
• Increase in fragmentation of landholdings, with more than 86% of farmers having less than two hectors of land, while they contribute around 60% of the total food grain production.
• Food Wastage: Around one-third of the food we produce is wasted.

Way Forward: Building a sustainable food system

• Adoption of agroecology and sustainable production practices in agriculture and allied sectors.
• To become sustainable, food systems must provide enough nutritious food for all without compromising feeding future generations.
• Adoption of technology solutions based on scientific evidence can help to build back better and make systems more resilient and sustainable.
• Working in Concert: Governments, the private sector, civil society, and local communities must work towards building a sustainable food system.