Tamil Nadu Food security
Food Security Index
- In India, the dimension of food security is important despite attaining self-sufficiency in food production. Though there has been a considerable improvement in productivity and production of rice and wheat, we have not been able to eliminate chronic hunger and poverty. Understanding of the different dimensions of food security, therefore, is of critical importance.
- The concept of food security in the Indian context has been increasingly refined during the last 50 years.
- After World War II, food security meant building emergency grain reserves and ensuring the physical availability of food in the market.
- After the onset of green revolution in the late 1960s, it became obvious that economic access to food is equally important to ensure food security at the household level.
- During the 1980s, the principle of social access was emphasised, with special reference to marginalised communities and gender discrimination.
- After the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) conference in Rio de Janeiro, there has been an increasing recognition of the role of environmental factors in food security.
- The ecological foundations essential for sustained agricultural progress are increasingly under stress due to human activities.
- One of the early initiatives in assessing the food security scenario in the country was the release of a series of Atlases by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) that looked into the food security in rural and urban areas and also the Sustainability of Food Security atlas of India.
- Ensuring food security is an overall objective of development programmes in most developing economies like India. Several problems, such as hunger, malnutrition, under-nutrition and poverty, Association between Food Insecurity and Poverty Poverty Low productivity Human Development Food insecurity, hunger & Malnutrition Poor physical & Cognitive development arise due to food insecurity.
Historical View on Food Security
- India‟s Public Distribution System (PDS) is the largest distribution network of its kind in the world. PDS was introduced around World War II as a war-time rationing measure.
- Before the 1960s, distribution through PDS was generally dependant on imports of food grains.
- It was expanded in the 1960s as a response to the food shortages of the time; subsequently, the government set up the Agriculture Prices Commission and the Food Corporation of India to improve domestic procurement and storage of food grains for PDS.
- By the 1970s, PDS had evolved into a universal scheme for the distribution of subsidised food.
- In the 1990s, the scheme was revamped to improve access of food grains to people in hilly and inaccessible areas, and to target the poor.
- Subsequently, in 1997, the government launched the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), with a focus on the poor.
- TPDS aims to provide subsidised food and fuel to the poor through a network of ration shops.
- Food grains such as rice and wheat that are provided under TPDS are procured from farmers, allocated to states and delivered to the ration shop where the beneficiary buys his entitlement.
- The centre and states share the responsibilities of identifying the poor, procuring grains and delivering food grains to beneficiaries.
- In September 2013, Parliament enacted the National Food Security Act, 2013.
- The Act relies largely on the existing TPDS to deliver food grains as legal entitlements to poor households.
- This marks a shift by making the right to food a justiciable right. In order to understand the implications of this Act, the note maps the food supply chain from the farmer to the beneficiary, identifies challenges to implementation of TPDS, and discusses alternatives to reform TPDS.
Tamil Nadu Food Security also based on National Food Security
- The National Development Council (NDC) in its 53rd meeting held on 29th May, 2007 adopted a resolution to launch a Food Security Mission comprising rice, wheat and pulses to increase the production of rice by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12).
- Accordingly, a Centrally Sponsored Scheme, ‘National Food Security Mission’ (NFSM), was launched in October 2007.
- The Mission is being continued during 12th Five Year Plan with new targets of additional production of food grains of 25 million tons of food grains comprising of 10 million tons rice, 8 million tons of wheat, 4 million tons of pulses and 3 million tons of coarse cereals by the end of 12th Five Year Plan.
- The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) during the 12th Five Year Plan will have five components
- NFSM- Rice;
- NFSM-Wheat;
- NFSM-Pulses,
- NFSM-Coarse cereals and
- NFSM-Commercial Crops.
Area Coverage under NFSM from 2016-17 onwards:
- From 2016-17, NFSM is implemented in 638 districts of 29 states.
- NFSM-Rice is being implemented in 194 districts of 25 states.
- NFSM-Wheat is being implemented in 126 districts of 11 states.
- NFSM-Pulses is being implemented in 638 districts of 29 states
- An NFSM-Coarse cereal is being implemented in 265 districts of 28 states.
Food Security in Tamil Nadu
- Food Security refers to ensuring a sustainable access to food (both physical and economic) for the entire population, taking into account the dietary needs and food preferences.
- In other words, food security means ensuring sufficient, safe and nutritious food for all.
- The household has emerged as the basic unit for assessing food security by measuring the food energy intake (quality and quantity) at the household level.
- The Tamil Nadu State Food Policy pursues a Universal Public Distribution System (PDS) to ensure non-excludability, easy access and adequate availability of food grains at affordable prices.
- The focus is to ensure that genuinely poor households do not get excluded from the PDS owing to administrative infeasibility and errors in estimation and enumeration of families Below Poverty Line (BPL).
- The PDS in Tamil Nadu is administered by the Commissioner of Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Department (CCS&CP).
- Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation (TNCSC) acts as the facilitator in procurement and storaging. The Fair Price Shops in the State are run mostly by the Cooperatives and the TNCSC.
Fair Price Shops in Tamil Nadu
- At present, 33,222 Fair Price Shops are serving 1.98 crore families.
- Out of 33,222 Fair Price shops, 31,232 are run by the Cooperative Societies, 1,394 are run by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation and 596 are run by Women Self Help Groups.
- To improve accessibility to PDS, it is necessary that they are located in close proximity to habitations.
- Accordingly, it has been proposed to open new fair price shops so that, no card holder walks more than 1.5 km.
Family Card
- Family Cards are issued to the people of the State based on their needs and preferences.
- The family cards are segregated as Rice Cards (rice with all other commodities), Antyodaya Anna Yojana Scheme Cards, Sugar Cards (additional sugar in lieu of rice and all other commodities) and No Commodity Cards Under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Scheme of the Government of India. which targets the poorest of the poor, the Government of Tamil Nadu provides 35 kg rice per month to all the AAY family cards in the State.
- The essential commodities supplied through the PDS in Tamil Nadu include rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene.
- The Special PDS which was initiated to protect people from steep increase in prices of essential commodities includes pulses like Toor and Urid dhal, Palmolein oil and Fortified Flour.
- Tamil Nadu is a pioneering State with regard to successfully applying Information (cards for identification purposes).
- Besides, Police personnel are issued with family cards in distinct colour.
- Transgenders living in a house as a group are treated as family and family cards are issued to them.
- A total of 1.98 crore Family Cards have been issued to the citizens in Tamil Nadu.
- Under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) Scheme of the Government of India, which targets the poorest of the poor, the Government of Tamil Nadu provides 35 kg rice per month to all the AAY family cards in the State.
- The essential commodities supplied through the PDS in Tamil Nadu include rice, wheat, sugar and kerosene.
- The Special PDS which was initiated to protect people from steep increase in prices of essential commodities includes pulses like Toor and Urid dhal, Palmolein oil and Fortified Flour.
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