Legislative Measures Relating to Food Security in South Asia: A Case Study of India
Prepared by Suresh P Singh, Policy Analyst Neha Jain, Research Assistant CUTS International, India
March, 2013
Table of contents List of tables .......................................................................................................... i List of figures ........................................................................................................ i List of boxes .......................................................................................................... i Abbreviations and Acronyms .............................................................................. ii
1. Introduction .......................................................................................................1 1.1. Food and human lives ........................................................................1 1.2. Need for and importance of food related legislations ........................2 1.3. Food Security and its Components ....................................................4 2. Distribution of food related legislations ...........................................................9 3. Legislations Relating To Food Availability....................................................12 3.1. Agriculture Production, Supply and Distribution Control ...............12 3.2 Land Reforms and Agricultural Input ...............................................16 3.3. Agriculture Finance, Infrastructure, and Development ...................27 4. Legislation Relating to Stability in Food Supplies .........................................40 4.1. Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 ..............................................40 4.2. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture ................................42 4.3. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture ......................44 4.4. Biological Diversity Act, 2002 .......................................................45 4.5. Right to Information Act, 2005 .......................................................46 4.6. Right to Food Campaign in India....................................................47 5. Legislation Relating to Food Accessibility .....................................................48 5.1. Public Distribution System 1960 ....................................................48 5.2. Revamped Public Distribution System 1992 ..................................49 5.3. Targeted Public Distribution System 1997 .....................................49 5.4. SC/ST/OBC Hostels 1994...............................................................50 5.5. National Family Benefit Scheme 1995 ...........................................51 5.6. Antyodaya Ann Yojana 2000..........................................................51
5.7. Annapurna Scheme 2000 .................................................................51 5.8. National Maternity Benefit Scheme 2001........................................52 5.9. Scheme for Supply of Food Grains to Welfare Institutions .............52 5.10. Food Stamps/ Food Coupons/ Food Credit Cards .........................52 5.11 Village Grain Bank Scheme 2004...................................................52 5.12. National Food Security Bill, 2011 .................................................53 6. Legislation Related to Food Utilization ..........................................................54 6.1. Integrated Child Development Services 1975 .................................55 6.2. Wheat Based Nutrition Programme 1986 ........................................58 6.3. Mid-Day Meal 1995 .........................................................................58 6.4. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls-‘SABLA’ 2010 .......................................................................60 7. Legislation Relating to Livelihood Generation...............................................60 7.1. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana 1999..................................61 7.2. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana 2001......................................62 7.3. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Act, 2005..................................................................................................62 8. What Holds India from Ensuring Food Security?...........................................63 8.1. Progress Made So Far ......................................................................63 8.2. Current Status...................................................................................65 8.3. What Holds India from Ensuring Food Security?............................66 9. Conclusion and Way Forward ........................................................................71 9.1. Strengthening the PDS ....................................................................71 9.2. Major Role for States in MGNERS .................................................72 9.3. Safeguarding Poor People from Food Price Rises ...........................72 9.4. Building Food Storage and other Infrastructure ..............................72
11. References .....................................................................................................73 10. Annex ............................................................................................................74
List of Figures Figure 1: Why human body needs food? Figure 2: Legislative Food Security Net in India Figure 3: Vicious cycle of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty Figure 4: Trend in per capita net availability of cereals and pulses (per day in grams) Figure 5: Factors responsible for food insecurity Figure 6: Distribution of person-days employment under MGNREGS in 2011-12 (in per cent) Figure 7: Achievements of MGNREGS in 2011-12 (in million) Figure 8: Growth Trend in Person-days and Expenditure Pattern in India (%) List of Tables Table 1: State-wise Trend in Demand-Supply Gaps in MGNREGS List of Boxes Box 1: In a democratic system like India everyone is important, including those who are unemployed. Box 2: Major provisions in the Essential Commodities Act 1955 Box 3: How the Essential Commodities Act 1955 evolved over the last five decades Box 4: Progress of Reforms in APMC Act (as on 31st October, 2011) Box 5: Major recommendations of the Advisory Committee on flow of Credit to Agriculture Box 6: Climate Risk Analysis Framework Box 7: Supreme Court on AAY Box 8: PM’s National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges Box 9: The ICDS Scheme reinforced by Supreme Court Verdicts Box 10: Mid-day Meal further reinforced by the Supreme Court Orders: some examples Box 11: Evidence of leakage in PDS and its impact
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Acronyms and abbreviations AVARD GHI CDI IFPRI NSSO MPCE MMRP WFC FAO CUTS SC APMC IWMP HSD PEQ RBI NABARD SACP NPA SAA MNAIS WBCIS SLDB KCC ICDP PACS NAFED NDC NADP RADP NFSM INM IPM FSS PFA MMPO NMSA NAPCC ICAR CRIDA IARI NICRA CBD UNCED NBA SBB BMC FPS
Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development Global Hunger Index Child Development Index International Food Policy Research Institute National Sample Survey Office Monthly Per capita Consumption Expenditure Modified Mixed Reference Period World Food Council Food and Agricultural Organization Consumer Unity and Trust Society Save the Children Agriculture Procedure Marketing Committee Integrated Watershed Management Programme High Speed Diesel Post-Entry Quarantine Reserve Bank of India National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Special Agricultural Credit Plan Non-performing Asset Service Area Approach Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme State Land Development Banks Kisan Credit Cards Integrated Cooperative Development Projects in Selected Districts Primary Agricultural Credit Societies National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India National Development Council National Agriculture Development Programme Rain fed Area Development Programme National Food Security Mission Integrated Nutrient Management Integrated Pest Management Food Safety and Standard Prevention of Food Adulteration Milk and Milk Product Order National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture National Action Plan on Climate Change Indian Council for Agriculture Research Central Research Institute for Dry land Agriculture Indian Agriculture Research Institute National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture Convention on Biological Diversity United Nations Conference on Environment and Development National Biodiversity Authority State Biodiversity Boards Biodiversity Management Committees Fair Price Shops ii
TPDS MSP NFBS NOAPS NMBS ICDS MWCD ICPS SHG WBNP EGS FCI NPAG KSY SGSY EAS JGSY MG NREGA CACP WDRA FNB
Targeted Public Distribution System Minimum Support Price National Family Benefit Scheme National Old Age Pension Scheme National Maternity Benefit Scheme Integrated Child Development Services Ministry of Women and Child Development Integrated Child Protection Scheme Self-help groups Wheat Based Nutrition Programme Education Guarantee Scheme Food Corporation of India Nutrition Programme and Adolescent Girls Kishori Shakti Yojana Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana Employment Assurance Scheme Jawahar Samridhi Yojana Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Act Commission for Agriculture Cost and Price Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority Food & Nutrition Board
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1. Introduction 1.1. Food and human lives Food produces energy, maintains life and stimulates growth. For these obvious reasons, human bodies need food and will neither survive nor sustain without it. Once taken, food provides energy for a range of physical and mental activities and is transformed into bodily tissues. This implies that food is needed not for the sake of taking it, but for the essential qualities – nutrition – which it might contain (Figure 1). According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, food is a material consisting essentially of protein, carbohydrate, and fat used in the body of an organism to sustain growth, repair, and vital processes and to furnish energy.1 Going by this definition, one can iterate that food is any substance people or animals eat or drink, or that plants absorb, which is consumed to provide nutritional support for the body. Food can be usually be of plant or animal origin, and containing essential nutrients – carbohydrates, fats, proteins, vitamins, or minerals.
Figure 1: Why human body needs food?
Food
Carbohydrates
Energy
Fat
Reservoir of Energy
Proteins
Growth & Repair
Fibre
Cleaning the toxic substances from the body
Vitamins
Keeping the body healthy
Mineral salts
Healthy teeth, bones, muscles etc.
Healthy Body
There is no universal official definition of food as of now. Wikipedia2 refers to some legal definitions of food included by some countries. Some countries list a legal definition of food. These countries list food as any item that is to be processed, partially processed, or 1 2
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/212568/food http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food#Legal_definition
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unprocessed for consumption. The listing of items included as foodstuffs include any substance intended to be, or reasonably expected to be, ingested by humans. In addition to these foodstuffs, drink, chewing gum, water, or other items processed into said food items are part of the legal definition of food. Items not included in the legal definition of food include animal feed, live animals (unless being prepared for sale in a market), plants prior to harvesting, medicinal products, cosmetics, tobacco and tobacco products, narcotic or psychotropic substances, and residues and contaminants.3
1.2. Need for and importance of food legislation in India The requirement for food legislation and regulation may be based on several factors such as a country’s adoption of international norms developed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the World Health Organization4; or alternatively to facilitate good agricultural and manufacturing practices; or to meet a country’s own suite of requirements for food regulations.
In developing countries like India, there are several compelling reasons for food related legislation and regulations. Some of the most visible reasons are summed up by a study conducted by the Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD)5:
“India is home to the largest number of hungry people in the world. The Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2010 ranks India at 67 out of 122 countries; whereas the ‘2012 Global Hunger Index’ (IFPRI) ranks it at 65 among 79 countries. Similarly, malnutrition in India, especially among children and women, is widespread, acute and even alarming. As per a Global Survey Report released by Save the Children on 19th July 2012, India is ranked 112th among 141 nations as regards the child development index (CDI). And there are disparities across various sections of the society and states.
3
This is linked to United Kingdom Office of Public Sector Information, as quoted by Wikipedia, available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food#Legal_definition. 4 It may be noted that in 1962, the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex Alimentarius or Codex) was formed under the joint sponsorship of two UN organizations: the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Codex contains two major food-related goals: (1) to protect the health of consumers and (2) to assure fair practices in food trade. Presently, it is comprised of 165 countries. For more details, see http://www.wto.org/english/thewto_e/coher_e/wto_codex_e.htm. 5 Hunger and Malnutrition in India: Status, Causes and Cures, available at http://www.angoc.org/portal/wpcontent/uploads/2012/09/12/vietnam-food-and-nutrition-security-situationer/India.pdf
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… As of now, plenty of foodgrains and the large number of hungry and malnourished people coexist for want of purchasing power and distributive justice. As per ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World 2012’, India remains home to the largest number of undernourished people in the world: 217 million (17.5 per cent of its population) as of 2012.
… Nevertheless, 75 per cent Indians suffer from hunger to varying degrees, 50 per cent of them acutely.”
The above statement is further strengthened by a recent observation by the Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen in a public meeting in Delhi during the Right to Food Campaign. He noted ‘about half of all Indian children are, it appears, chronically undernourished, and more than half of all adult women suffer from anaemia. In maternal undernourishment, as well as the incidence of underweight babies, India’s record is among the very worst in the world’.
In addition to the reason cited above, there are two other compelling reasons: first, prevalence of poverty and inequality among a large section of populace and, secondly, need for ensuring food safety. If one is to combine and give a single most important reason for having food related legislation in countries like India, it is the need for ensuring FOOD SECURITY.
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Box 1: In a democratic system like India everyone is important, including those who are unemployed! Unemployed people in India, despite being unproductive, and not having their own source of income, do contribute in the growth of the Indian economy. This is through their sheer power of being consumers. A rough estimate (done under the present study) demonstrates that unemployed people create annual demand for goods and services worth about Rs. 6.22 trillion. This translates into about 0.8 per cent of India’s GDP. Out of this, while nearly 41 per cent (Rs. 253 billion) of the demand can be said to be for food items; the remaining 59 per cent (Rs. 368.96 billion) is for nonfood items. Even if one takes out the value of subsidised food items consumed by these people, the size is huge. Not only this, it has a multiplier effect, and thus, the real contribution could be much more than what is indicated. The estimate relies on key findings6 about the unemployed, emerging from the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) data generated from the 66th round of survey conducted during July 2009June 2010, and the key indicators of household consumption expenditure in India. According to a report emerging from the key findings7, in absolute terms, about 40 million persons were unemployed in the States and UTs which were surveyed. Assuming that the share of rural unemployed is in proportion to their share in India’s population, which is at 74 per cent according to the survey, the total number of unemployed in rural India could be put at 29.6 million, and in urban India at 10.4 million. The data also shows monthly per capita consumption expenditure (MPCE), based on Modified Mixed Reference Period (MMRP)8, at Rs.1053.64 in rural and Rs.1986.46 in urban India. Multiplying the total number of unemployed in both rural and urban India, by the respective MPCEs, one gets the total demand created by the unemployed in the economy per month. Further, multiplying the total by 12 (number of months); we get the total demand generated by the unemployed in India in a year. Source: Adapted from State of Indian Consumer 2012, available at http://cuts-international.org/cart/consumersup/pdf/Report_State_of_the_Indian_Consumer-2012.pdf
The present description and analysis of food related legislations in India can, therefore, be premised on important components of food security vis-à-vis initiatives taken by the government of India in the form of legislation and other measures.
1.3. Food security and its components A recent report by CUTS (2011) presents a comprehensive and focused review of the concept of food security9 and its evolution. The origin of the operative term ‘food security’ may be traced back to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, under the aegis of the United Nations, which recognised the right to food as a core element of standard of living. However, the literature on food security exploded since the publication 6
Report on Employment & Unemployment Survey (2009-10), Government of India, Ministry of Labour & Employment, Labour Bureau, October 2010, available at: http://labourbureau.nic.in/Final_Report_Emp_Unemp_2009_10.pdf 7 Key Indicators of Household Consumer Expenditure in India, 2009-10, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, National Sample Survey Office, Government of India, July 2011, available at: http://mospi.nic.in/mospi_new/upload/Press%20Release%20KI-HCE-66th_8july11.pdf 8 For further information on MMRP, see Key indicators of household consumer expenditure in India, 200910, available at: http://pibmumbai.gov.in/scripts/detail.asp?releaseId=E2011PR1102 9 Chatterjee, B and Khadka, M (2011), Climate Change and Food Security in South Asia, available at http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/file/Climate_Change_and_Food_Security_in_South_Asia.pd f
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of the report of the World Food Conference held in 1974 in response to the global food crisis of 1972-74. Theoretical and empirical examination of the issue gathered momentum further in the early ’80s, with the publication of Sen’s entitlement approach to famine as well as a series of studies commissioned by the World Food Council (WFC), the FAO and the World Bank. Many different definitions of food security emerged from this body of literature, the most widely used at present being that adopted by the FAO during the World Food Summit held in 1996. The differences between various approaches which evolved over time stem from different priorities concerning food security during various time periods in history and different levels of understanding about the way of determining whether the population in question is food insecure.
The World Food Conference of 1974 defined food security solely in terms of food supply – to assure the availability and price stability of basic food at the international and national levels. The conference declared that food security is the ‘availability at all times of adequate world food supplies of basic foodstuffs to sustain a steady expansion of food consumption and to offset fluctuations in production and prices’.
FAO, in 1983, introduced the concept of access to food, leading to a more refined definition based on the balance between the demand and supply sides of the food security equation. It stated the objective of food security initiatives as measures aimed towards ‘ensuring that all people at all times have both physical and economic access to the basic food that they need’ (FAO 1983).
The World Bank Report on Poverty and Hunger (World Bank, 1986) further modified the prevailing definitions by distinguishing between chronic and sustained food insecurity, associated with problems of structural mismatches, and transitory food insecurity which involves periods of intensified food insecurity caused by natural disasters, economic collapses, conflicts and others (Clay 2002).
The World Food Summit of 1996, held under the auspices of the FAO, adopted an integrated definition, taking cues from previously developed approaches, which recognises the multidimensional nature of food security and includes food access, availability, quality, usage and stability as key components of food security. Accordingly, 5
‘food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life’ (FAO 1996).
As per this generally used working definition, there are four dimensions of food security, viz., food availability, stability of food supply, access to food and food utilisation. The first dimension relates to the availability of sufficient food, i.e. to the overall ability of the agricultural system to meet food demand. The second dimension, stability, refers to temporal aspect of food supply and accounts for the assertion that food must be available at all times. The third dimension, access, covers access by individuals to adequate resources to acquire appropriate foods for a nutritious diet. Finally, utilisation encompasses all food safety and quality aspects of nutrition; its sub-dimensions are, therefore, related to health, including the sanitary conditions across the entire food chain.
Expressed in general terms, there are two basic pillars of food security to which all these aspects may be related: •
Availability – Physical availability of sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and thus represents both quantity and quality necessary for food security.
•
Accessibility – Economic access or entitlement to sufficient, safe and nutritious food through purchase, exchange and claims.
All variants of definitions of food security used today rest on these two pillars, the theoretical foundations of which were developed through the entitlement approach (Young et al, 2001). Sen argued that shortage of food available need not be the only cause of famine, as denial of access to food because of what he calls ‘failure of entitlement’ could lead to hunger casualties despite physical availability of food (Sen 1981).
Thus this approach is a significant departure from the earlier understanding that the availability of food is the overriding determinant of famine. It also puts the aspect of accessibility above availability as the former covers both aspects, in the sense that access will be automatically curtailed in case of non-availability (Devereux 2001).
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The entitlement approach is based on three conceptual constructs, namely, (i) the endowment set, (ii) the entitlement set, and (iii) entitlement mapping. Endowment set is the combination of all those legally owned resources by a person including both tangible assets, such as land, equipment, animals and intangibles such as knowledge and skill, labour power or membership of a particular community. Entitlement set is defined as the set of all possible combinations of goods and services (not just the one actually being enjoyed) that a person can legally obtain by using the resources of his endowment set. The use of the resources to get the final goods and services may be either in the form of production, exchange or transfer.
Entitlement mapping is the rate at which the resources of the endowment set can be converted into goods and services included in the entitlement set. A person suffers from failure of food entitlement when his/her entitlement set does not contain enough food to enable him/her to avoid starvation in the absence of non-entitlement transfers, such as charity.
In other words, the entitlement mapping process fails for a person if his/her endowment set is unable to fetch sufficient food for that person. Since the entitlement set is derived using the endowment set, an entitlement failure, and thus famine, can occur through some adverse change, either in endowment set (affecting economic access) or in the entitlement set (affecting physical availability) or both [Osmani (1993), Nayak (2000)]. Lack of food experienced by population groups irrespective of food availability at the national level is a classic case of entitlement failure.
The key to analysis of food security under this conceptual framework is identifying shifts in entitlement mapping, owing to changes in the composition of endowment and entitlement sets, which lead to entitlement failure. The rationale of the entitlement approach is neither to suggest nor deny any particular hypothesis about the causes of famines, but to direct the search for causes by identifying and assessing the changes in endowments and entitlements and, hence, this approach is essentially a framework of analysis (Nayak, 2000). This framework inspires us to think beyond the popular notion that famines are caused by mere reduction in the availability of food, while not denying that famines can be caused by food availability decline.
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Alternatively, the broad
contestable hypotheses that come to the fore through the entitlement approach may be stated as follows: Decline in food availability plays a role in causing famine mainly by worsening the entitlement mapping of a person through rise in price of food and not necessarily through non-availability.
A host of similar analytical methods have been used by international agencies which consider economic issues as the cause of food insecurity as much as or even more important than non-availability. Oxfam’s livelihood approach and Save the Children (SC)UK’s food economy approach to food security are two such notable examples. For Oxfam, the main aim is to assess risks to livelihoods and its approach seeks to identify a variety of interventions that protect livelihoods that guarantee long-term food security.
Such interventions, which are different from methods to meet food aid needs, may include food aid, but other measures range from de-stocking and fodder distribution to cash-for work and seeds and tools distributions (Boudreau 1998).
Livelihood approaches, enabling policy responses focused on the promotion and recovery of livelihood options, are now popular among international organisations’ development programmes. They are increasingly applied in emergency contexts and include the concepts of vulnerability, risk-coping and risk management. This approach has mainstreamed the analysis of food insecurity as a social and political construct (Devereux 2000).
To estimate the severity of food insecurity, the livelihood approach takes into account shifts in food entitlements and nutritional status. The food economy approach, by contrast, judges severity by the size of the food deficit (Young et al 2001). An important aspect of the food economy approach is the attention given to explaining, context by context, the relationship between poverty and vulnerability, wherein there is a clear distinction between these two terms (Boudreau 1998). Vulnerable groups also include those who are not poor at a given point of time but face high risk of food insecurity even with a slight change in their endowments or entitlements.
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More recently, the ethical and human rights dimension of food security has come into focus. Adding on the relevant provisions of the UN Declaration of Human Rights in 1948, the formal adoption of the Right to Adequate Food marked a milestone achievement by the World Food Summit of 1996.
Article 11 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights states that ‘whenever an individual or group is unable, for reasons beyond their control, to enjoy the right to adequate food by the means at their disposal, States have the obligation to fulfil that directly’. This point towards the possibility of a rights-based approach to food security (Schutter 2009). Currently, and importantly, over 40 countries have the right to food enshrined in their constitution and FAO estimates that the right to food could be judicial in some 54 countries.
From the above analysis, it is clear that there are four dimensions of food security. These include food availability, stability of food supply, access to food and food utilisation. As indicated above, there are two basic pillars of food security to which all the four aspects may be related: physical availability of sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets dietary needs and thus represents both quantity and quality necessary for food security; and economic access or entitlement to sufficient, safe and nutritious food through purchase, exchange and claims.
The paper broadly follows the outlined food security description to analyse and present food related legislation in India. In addition, legislation relating to livelihood generation that influence accessibility are also covered.
2. Distribution of food related legislations By superimposing the components/pillars of food security over the types of food related initiatives, in the form of Acts, Policies, regulations, etc., taken by the Indian government over the last several decades; one can distribute food related legislations in two broad segments, with each segment comprising of two sub-segments. These are: •
Legislations to improve supply side factors o Availability, and o Stability
•
Legislations to improve demand side factors 9
o Accessibility, and o Utilisation
In addition to legislation which strengthens the two demand side forces and works as an enabler, one can also include livelihood generation as a third sub-segment. Though this sub-segment could also be treated as part of accessibility, it is distinct from others in the sense that its influence is not direct, as in the case of other sub- segments as delineated below (Figure 2). The present analysis, for all its analytical purposes, uses Figure 2 for describing food related legislation in India. This explicitly implies that the analysis of food related legislations is based on the following five components, as indicated below, and summed up in Figure 2: •
Availability;
•
Stability;
•
Accessibility;
•
Utilisation; and
•
Livelihood generation.
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Figure 2: Legislative Food Security Net in India
Supply Side
Availability
Agriculture Production, Supply and Distribution Control • Essential Commodities Act 1955 Agriculture inputs • Land Reforms • Seeds Act 1966 • National Seed policy 2002 • Seeds Bill 2004 • Protection of Plant varieties and farmers’ Rights act 2001 • The Fertilizer (control) order 1985 • Fertilizer (movement control) order 2001 • Insecticides Act 1968 • Pesticides Management Bill 2008 Agriculture Finance and Infrastructure development: • National Co-operative Development Corporation Act 1962 • Multistate co-operative societies Act 2002 • Agriculture produce (development and
•
• •
• •
warehousing) corporation Act 1956 Agriculture Refinance and Development Corporation Act 1963 Agriculture Credit Policy 2004-05 The warehousing (development and Regulation) Act 2007 Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, 2007 National Food Security Mission, 2007
Demand Side
Stability
• Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 • National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture • National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture • Biological diversity Act 2002 • Right to Information Act 2005 • Right to food campaign
Direct Food Related
Accessibility • Public Distribution System • SC/ST/OBC Hostels • National Family Benefit Scheme • Anntodaya Ann Yojana • Annapurna Scheme • National Maternity Benefit Scheme • Scheme for Supply of Foodgrains to Welfare Institutions • Food/Stamps/ Food Coupons/ Food Credit Cards • Village Grain Bank Scheme. Utilization • Integrated Child development Scheme • Wheat Based Nutrition Programme • Emergency Feeding Programme • Mid-Day Meal • Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls‘SABLA’
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Through Livelihood generation
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act 2005 • Indira Gandhi National Old age Pension Scheme • Swarnjayant i Gram Swarojgar Yojana • Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana
3. Legislations relating to food availability Food availability is one of the necessary conditions for ensuring food security. It comes at the very start in the discussion of the food security dimensions. This usually stems from sufficient food production at the local level and/ or food management (through trade) at the national level. It is also to be noted that there could be virtually no food security in the absence of food, locally and/or in the international market, at the point of requirements. It is also to be noted that the concept of food availability cannot be confined only to the productivity aspects of agriculture, instead it is a multi-dimensional concept that takes into account the quality, standardization, and productivity of foodgrains in the country. These aspects must be addressed to ensure food security.
Contrastingly, in India, it is observed that the most food insecure population in the country inhabits the rural areas and this section of people are themselves involved in agriculture in one way or another. This is true for other countries as well. According to a report by the World Food Program10, most of the hungry and food insecure people of the world reside in rural areas where they are directly or indirectly involved in agricultural activities. This makes it vital for the government to address the challenges of food security and livelihood generation at the policy level.
Being a welfare state, Government of India has been quite active in putting in programs to address the issue of food availability. Food availability related initiatives, in the form of legislations/ programmes/ schemes, taken by the government over the last six decades can be grouped under three broad categories: 1.
Legislation that helps increase agricultural productivity and maintain the quality of the products.
2.
Legislation that helps prevent the harmful substances from entering the system of food production and consumption.
3.
Legislation that facilitates trade in agriculture products has its impact on food supply in the country.
Initiatives under each of these categories are delineated hereunder.
3.1. Agricultural production, supply and distribution control 3.1.1. Essential Commodities Act, 1955 10
World Hunger Series: Hunger and Markets, The World Food Program 2009.
12
This is an act to provide, in the interest of the general public, for the control of the production, supply and distribution of, and trade and commerce, in certain commodities, as and when explicitly mentioned in the essential commodities list. Administered by the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, the paramount objective of this Act is to secure equitable distribution and availability of the essential commodities as listed in the Act at fair price shops.11 It was enacted in 1955, at a time when the country was struggling with the lack of food self-sufficiency in the country. This was a time when the government was controlling and regulating the sector and private participation was heavily controlled by government interventions in the market. The laws under the Essential Commodities Laws are termed Socio-Economic Penal Legislations for the control over production, supply, distribution and trade and commerce therein.12 The Act has been successful in addressing a number of issues relating to food availability. According to a study,13 the Essential Commodities Act 1955, has been successful in attaining its objective of self-sufficiency in foodgrains production in the country.
Box 2: Major provisions in the Essential Commodities Act 1955 Section 2: List of essential commodities under the purview of this act. Section 3: Regulation through control orders Section 5: Delegation of Powers Section 7: Penalties and Prosecution for offences. Source: Government of India, various sources
This Act has been constantly modified and amended from time to time in keeping with the changes in market conditions and the increasing role for both the private and public sectors in the whole process of production, distribution and supply of essential commodities. More specifically, this Act has seen major changes from the time of the New Industrial Policy in 1991, when, for the first time, GOI began allowing a bigger role for the private sector in areas that had remained out of their reach ever since the country’s 11
According to PDS (control Order 1960, Passed under ECA 1955), Fair price shops means: A shop, which has been licensed to distribute essential commodities by an order issued under section 3 of the ECA, 1955, to the ration card holders under the Public Distribution System; It is available at : http://changlang.nic.in/pds/pds-Control-Order2001.pdf 12 R. Mohanty, The Essential Commodities law and Its Enforcement in India, Orissa Review, Sept-Oct 2011, available at : http://orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissareview/2011/sep-oct/engpdf/96-101.pdf 13 S. Jha, P.V. Srinivasan, and A. Ganesh-Kumar , Chapter 3 ‘Achieveing Food Security in a Cost-effective Way: Implications of Domestic Deregulation and Liberalized trade in India’, Book: Liberalizing Foodgrains Markets, Experiences, Impact, and Lessons from South Asia, edited by A. Ganesh Kumar, Devesh Roy, and Ashok Gulati; Oxford University press 2010
13
independence. By facilitating private sector participation, the government paved way for the market economy to foster in the country.
Box 3: How the Essential Commodities Act 1955 evolved over the last five decades •
The Prevention of Black Marketing and Maintenance of Supplies of Essential Commodities
Act,
1980:
Implemented
by
the
State
Governments/UT
Administrations for the prevention of unethical trade practices like hoarding and black-marketing. The Act empowers the Central and State Governments to detain persons whose activities are found to be prejudicial to the maintenance of supplies of commodities essential to the community.14 • Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act 2006: Section 3 Essential Commodities Act, 1955, as amended in 2006 makes it explicit that the central government is empowered to include any item in the list of necessities whenever it feels so in the interest of the general public. • Essential Commodities (amendment and validation) Act, 2009 • Essential Commodities (Amendment) Bill, 2010 Source: Government of India, various sources
3.1.2. APMC Act Marketing of agricultural produce in India is regulated and managed by the Agricultural Produce Market Committees constituted under the APMC Acts. Over the years, most of the state governments and union territories have enacted Agricultural Produce Marketing (Regulation) Act (or APMC Act) to regulate the markets of agricultural produce. The establishment of regulated markets has helped in creating orderly and transparent marketing conditions in primary assembling markets. Following the enactment of the legislation in various states, some very important events have taken place. These include development and linking of primary markets with secondary wholesale and terminal markets. The process of price discovery has improved at the primary market level where most of the small farmers dispose of their produce. An increase in farmers’ access to the market has helped small farmers with low-marketed surplus, apart from reducing their transaction costs. Data show that expansion of physical infrastructure in rural areas has helped small and marginal farmers more by increasing their access to the markets. There were, however, various issues that continued to hamper
14
http://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/3798/13/13_chapter%207.pdf
14
market efficiencies and prevented the APMC legislations from achieving their intended objectives. The APMC Act, in each state of India, required all agricultural products to be sold only in government regulated markets. These markets often imposed substantial taxes on buyers, in addition to fees taken by middlemen. These markets failed to provide services in areas such as price discovery, grading or inspection. A key issue with the APMC system was the inability of private sector processors and retailers to integrate their enterprises directly with farmers or other sellers to eliminate middlemen from the process. Farmers are unable to legally enter into contracts with buyers.15 This left no incentives for farmers to upgrade, thus inhibiting private and foreign investments in the food processing sector.
In a bid to reform the agriculture sector by providing farmers post-harvest marketing infrastructure, the Agriculture Ministry prepared a model APMC Act and circulated to various states and Union Territories in 2003 for implementation. So far, the model has been adopted by 16 states either partially or fully. It might be recalled that agriculture marketing is a state subject and most of the states have their own Agriculture Procedure Marketing Committee (APMC) Act to regulate agriculture marketing.
15 Regulation of Markets - Agricultural Produce Market Committees (APMC Act), Ministry of Food Processing Industries, Government of India
15
Box 4: Progress of Reforms in APMC Act (as on 31st October, 2011) Stage of Reforms
Name of States/ Union Territories
States/ UTs where APMC Act reforms have been done for Direct Marketing; Contract Farming and Markets in Private/ Coop Sectors
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Mizoram, Nagaland, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttrakhand and Tripura.
States/ UTs where APMC Act reforms have been done partially
Direct Marketing: NCT of Delhi, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh Contract Farming: Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab and Chandigarh
States/ UTs where there is no APMC Act and hence not requiring reforms
Bihar (APMC Act repealed w.e.f. September 2006), Kerala, Manipur, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Lakshadweep
States/ UTs where APMC Act already provides for the reforms
Tamil Nadu
States/ UTs where administrative action is initiated for the reforms
Meghalaya, Haryana, J&K, West Bengal, Puducherry, NCT of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh
Source: Public Information Bureau, Government of India, http://pib.nic.in/archieve/others/2012/mar/d2012031306.pdf
The model APMC Act has been made specifically responsible for: •
ensuring complete transparency in the pricing system and transactions taking place in the market area;
•
providing market-led extension services to farmers;
•
ensuring payment for agricultural produce sold by farmers on the same day;
•
promoting agricultural processing, including activities aimed at value addition in agricultural produce; and
•
publicising data on arrivals and rates of agricultural produce brought into the market area for sale; and
•
setting up and promoting public-private partnership in the management of agricultural markets.
3.2. Land reforms and agriculture Inputs 3.2.1. Land reforms 16
The most obvious argument in favour of land reform is equity. In a land –scarce country with a significant section of the rural population living below the poverty line, the case for ensuring that everyone has access to some minimum amount of land seems compelling’.16 More importantly, the Constitution of India embodies the need for land reform in the Directive Principles of State Policy. Article 39(b) explicitly highlights the need for the state to ensure ‘that the ownership and control of material resources of the community are so distributed as best to sub serve the common good’. Land reforms legislations have been placed in the Ninth Schedule to guarantee their speedy implementation. Also, Entry 18 of List II of the Constitution brings land, and rights over land, under the domain of State Legislatures.
The Land Reforms Policy adopted since Independence aims at restructuring agrarian relations to achieve an egalitarian social structure; elimination of exploitation in land relations; realizing the age-old goal of providing land to the tiller; increasing agricultural productivity and production and infusing equality in local institutions.17 Land reforms in the country have sought to serve the following objectives at various points in time: a) Redistribution of surplus land coming from holdings ceiling to the landless b) Security of Tenancy c) Abolition of intermediaries.
In order to achieve the objectives of land reforms in the country the Department of Land Resources in the Union Ministry of Rural Development has been playing a crucial role, by garnering a national consensus for initiating effective land reforms which include abolition of the Zamindari system and all intermediaries since the beginning of the fifties, introduction of family land-holding ceiling in the mid-fifties, reduction of the ceiling, consolidation of land holdings and monitoring the progress of the distribution of ceiling surplus land as part of the 20-point programme of the Central Government.18 The Department also initiated amendments of the Constitution 13 times for incorporation of 277 land laws in the Ninth Schedule of the Constitution. The last such amendment was the 78th Amendment of the Constitution to incorporate 27 land laws in that Schedule.
16
Kaushik Basu (ed.), Land Reform in India, available at: econ.lse.ac.uk/staff/mghatak/landref.pdf http://js2012.wordpress.com/why-jansatyagraha-2012/land-reforms-in-india/ 18 http://www.clraindia.org/include/LandReformsekta.pdf 17
17
The Ministry of Rural Development being the node in the Union Government to administer the Land Acquisition Act, 1894, processes the proposals for amendment of various provisions of the said Act from time to time. The aforesaid Act was last amended in 1984. Recently, the Land Acquisition Bill finalised by the Ministry of Rural Development was cleared (December 2012) by the Union Cabinet. The Bill makes it mandatory to obtain the consent of 80 per cent of the people whose land is taken for private projects. In the case of Public-Private Partnership projects, the bill makes mandatory obtaining of consent of 70 per cent of the people whose land is to be acquired. The Bill, rechristened as Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Bill, has become effective. Some other important legislations relating to land reform programmes as implemented by the Ministry of Rural development are as follows:
3.2.2. Ceiling and distribution of surplus land The land ceiling legislation was introduced in 1972 and, with this, ceiling on land holdings was introduced in 19 States and three Union Territories. The 1972 national guidelines recommended ceilings ranging from 10-18 acres for irrigated land that gave two crops annually, 27 acres for irrigated land that gave only one crop and 54 acres for dry land. The state governments and UT Administration are also distributing wastelands and Bhoodan Lands to the rural poor.
As a result of these laws, between 1972 and March, 2006, a total of 6.838 million acres was declared surplus land in the country. About 5.98 million acres of that have been taken possession of and 4.94 million acres distributed to 5.35 million beneficiaries. Among the beneficiaries, 39 per cent belong to Scheduled Castes and 16 per cent to Scheduled Tribes. Under the 20-point programme of the Government of India, the Land Reforms Division fixes annual targets each year for distribution of ceiling surplus land in consultation with States on the basis of availability.
3.2.3. Government wastelands and Bhoodan lands Distribution of Government’ Wasteland has been one of the key strategies of land reforms in the country. The Central government policy is to distribute wastelands at the disposal of State Governments s amongst the eligible rural poor. The criteria governing the 18
distribution of the ceiling surplus land should also apply to the distribution of Bhoodan. So far, 14.747 million acres of Government Wastelands has been distributed amongst the landless rural poor. Out of a total area of 3.916 million acres of Bhoodan land, 2.175 million acres have been distributed.
3.2.4. Confirmation of ownership rights to tenants Legislative provisions have been made in many areas for conferment of ownership rights on tenants or to allow cultivating tenants to acquire ownership rights on payment of compensation to the owner. Some States have acquired ownership of land from landowners and transferred it to tenants. Sub-tenancies are generally prohibited all over the country except in certain cases, viz., widows, members of Armed Forces, minors, unmarried women, persons suffering from disabilities etc. As per information received from States, 12.586 million tenants have their rights protected over an area of 16.714 million acres.
3.2.5. Consolidation of land holding Consolidation of fragmented agricultural land holdings forms an integral part of the land reform policy. Mainly because of growing pressure of population on land and limited opportunities for work in the non-agricultural sector, there is increasing trend towards subdivision and fragmentation of land holdings in the country. The average size of holding is already very low and there are no economies of scale to justify that. Fragmentation leads to additional diseconomies due to wastage of time and money on the movement of physical and human inputs from one farmstead to another. Besides, it makes the task of irrigation management, land improvement and personal supervision of different plots very difficult. Many States have enacted legislations to address this though not much progress has been realised by them, especially U.P, Haryana and Punjab.
3.2.6. Prevention of alienation and restoration of alienated tribal land Article 46 of the Constitution places an obligation upon States to protect Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes from social injustice and all forms of exploitation. It might be noted that there is a major concentration of tribal population in Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan and West Bengal, apart from the northeastern States.
19
State government in such states have a policy of prohibiting transfer of land from tribal to non-tribal ownership and restoration of alienated land to tribal ownership. States with large tribal populations have enacted laws prohibiting alienation of tribal lands and promoting restoration of alienated land. Though results have been forthcoming from efforts undertaken by different states for restoration of tribal lands, the task is yet to be completed.
In addition, the Centre has devised many such policies and schemes for effective land reforms in the country. Some of these include: •
National Land Records Modernization Programme: The programme aims to usher in a system of updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records, inter-connectivity between revenue and registration, to replace the present deeds registration and presumptive title system with that of conclusive titling with title guarantee. The NLRMP has 3 major components o Computerization of land record o Survey/re-survey o Computerization of Registration (The District has been taken as the unit of implementation, where all programme activities are to converge. It is hoped that all districts in the country would be covered by the end of the 12th Plan period except where cadastral surveys are being done for the first time)
•
Strengthening of revenue administration and updating of land records: The objective of the scheme, being implemented by state governments through their Revenue/Land Reforms Departments, is to strengthen the survey and settlement organizations for an early completion and preparation of land records, to strengthen training, infrastructure etc.)
In addition, there are several other input-related initiatives and schemes implemented by the Department of Land Resources, Ministry of Rural Development, Government of India that directly or indirectly influence availability of food. Some important ones are: •
Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP): The programme has the objective of restoration of the ecological balance by harnessing, conserving and 20
developing degraded natural resources such as soil, vegetative cover and water. The anticipated outcomes are prevention of soil erosion, regeneration of natural vegetation, rainwater harvesting and recharging of the groundwater table. •
Technology development, extension and training: The objectives of the scheme include a. development of database for planning sustainable development of wastelands, b. operationalization of cost effective and proven technologies for development of various categories of wastelands, especially problem lands affected by soil erosion , land degradation, salinity, alkalinity, water logging etc., c. implementation of location-specific pilot projects/ demonstration models including pisciculture, duckery, bee keeping, domesticated animals and birds etc., d. dissemination of research findings and appropriate technologies for promoting wastelands development, e. evaluation of impact and replication of these models in larger areas, f. organizing of publicity, awareness campaign, seminars/ conferences, circulation of hand-outs/ extension materials.
• Initiative on bio-diesel: This emerged from the Planning Commission’s initiative to set up a Committee on Development of Bio-fuels in July, 2002. In its report of April 2003, the Committee recommended launching of the National Commission on Bio-diesel. The initiative focused on utilisation of wasteland, and tends to ensure that no agricultural land is used for this. The objectives of the programmes is to generate a renewable source of bio-fuel, by promoting Jatropha and related plantation, to produce a 20 per cent blend with high speed diesel (HSD). This seeks to reduce the country’s dependence on imported petroleum diesel.
3.2.7. Seed related legislations Seventy per cent of the farmers in India are marginal and small farmers with small land holdings. This often results in low returns making this section of people vulnerable to food insecurity. Realising the importance of the supply side of food security, the 21
Government of India has taken multiple initiatives. These are done to enhance agriculture productivity and quality of the produce. One of the initiatives is increasing the supply and distribution of quality seed and chemical inputs at subsidized rates to the marginal farmers. Some of the legislations enable these farmers to access high priced agri-inputs at affordable rates. The Seeds Act of 1966 and Fertiliser Movement Order 2001 are two such. These orders were passed with the objective of controlling the quality of inputs in the system, thus enabling the marginal farmers to make use of good quality inputs at reasonable costs, thus ensuring a good quality produce which can get them good returns in the market.
Agriculture being a state subject, most of the initiatives have come from the state level. Therefore, in order to understand the exact features of inputs-related regulations in India, it is important to study state policies on the subject.
Overall, the impact and contribution of seed related legislations is noted by the Seeds Policy 2002, document,19 ‘the area under certified seeds has increased from less than 500 hectares in 1962-63 to over 5 lakh [500,000] hectares in 1999-2000. And the quantum of quality seeds has crossed 100 lakh [10 million] quintals’. After the green revolution in the 1960s the importance of seed in determining the quality and the quantity of the farm produce was very well recognised and appreciated. The Seeds Act 196620 was the first seed-related legislation in the country. The Act, among others, focused on establishing the Central Seed Committee21, and Seed Certification Agency at the national as well as at state levels. This pioneer policy, for the seed industry in India, started the process of formalisation of seed production, supply and distribution, apart from setting the minimum standards for seeds at the same time.
The Seeds Act 1966 covers the following focus areas: •
Establishment of the Central Seeds Committee to monitor all seeds related activities in the country and suggest the direction;
•
To set up a seed certification agency, entrusted with the task of certifying all the varieties of seeds produced and used in the country;
19
National seeds policy 2002, available at http://agricoop.nic.in/seedpolicy.htm http://agricoop.nic.in/seedsact.htm 21 Annexure 1: List of all the Food Security related implementing agencies and authorities. 20
22
•
Marketing and labelling of the seeds offered for sale in the market;
•
Section 6 of this Act lists the requirements for selling of the seed in the market by private businesses;
•
Section 7 of the Seeds Act 1966 deals with the procedure for certification of the seeds;
•
Section 9 of the Seeds Act 1966 lists the qualifications and the duties of the assigned seed analyst and seed inspector;
•
Section 10 of the Act states the procedure, requirements and methods for sealing, fastening, dispatch and analysis of seed samples.
Government of India notified the Seeds (Control) Order 198322 in 1983, in order to regulate the production, distribution, sale and marketing of the seeds in the country. This power was conferred to it by Section 3 of Essential Commodities Act 1955. The New Policy on Seed Development, 198823 was introduced to facilitate greater private sector participation in the Indian seeds industry. Besides, the policy encouraged seed production in the country along commercial lines to promote the spirit of competition and optimise its employment generation capacity. The policy clearly stated that providing access to the best available seed and planting material available anywhere in the world24 would be a top priority. The policy placed special emphasis on the following: a) Import of high quality seeds; b) A time-bound-programme to strengthen/ modernise plant quarantine25 facilities; c) Effective observance of procedures for quarantine/post-entry quarantine (PEQ); and d) Incentives to encourage the domestic seed industry.
The practice of using seeds saved by farmers is prevalent in the country and there are evidences showing that more than four-fifths of farmers rely on farm saved seeds. Such
22
Published in the Gazette of India(Extra.), Part II, Section 3(i), dated 30.12.1983 http://seednet.gov.in/Material/NEW_POLICY_NPSD.pdf 24 http://seednet.gov.in/Material/NEW_POLICY_NPSD.pdf 25 ‘Plant Quarantine is a Government endeavour enforced through legislative measures to regulate the introduction of planting materials, plant products, soil, living organisms etc. in order to prevent inadvertent introduction of pests and pathogens harmful to the agriculture of a region and if introduced, prevent their establishment and further spread’. Plant Quarantine( Regulation of Import into India) Order 2003, available at http://dbtbiosafety.nic.in/act/Plant%20Quarantine%20_order_2003.pdf 23
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practices often lead to a low seed replacement rate.26 This is also influenced by factors such as marginal land ownership among a majority of farmers. Such issues were kept in mind while launching schemes like seeds exchange programmes in a number of states. The scheme facilitated exchange of high quality seeds with farm saved seeds. As a result, some very encouraging results have been seen. There has been an increase in the yield which has further encouraged farmers to adapt and make use of the scientific techniques in farming. These techniques are provided by the government at subsidised rates.
The point, of making seeds available to needy farmers, is reemphasized in the National Seed Policy 200227 document. The document places due importance to the development of new verities of plants and availability of such varieties to farmers for a sustained increase in agriculture productivity. The main objective of this policy is to utilize available and prospective opportunities and, at the same time, safeguard the interests of farmers and conserve agro-biodiversity. More specifically, the National seed Policy 2002 was evolved with focus on: •
The creation of a facilitative climate for growth of a competitive and localised seed industry, encouragement of import of useful germplasm, and boosting of exports are the core elements of the agricultural strategy of the new millennium;
•
Promotion of biotechnology, which will be a key factor in agricultural development in the coming decades;
•
Providing a conducive atmosphere for varietal development and facilitating enhanced investments in research and development.
The development of new improved varieties of seeds and their availability is vital for a sustained increase in agriculture productivity. The National Seed Policy 2002 has made provisions for varietal development and plant variety protection by establishing a Plant Varieties & Farmers’ Rights Protection Authority28. Its objective is to establish an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders.29 The policy recognises and encourages the development of new varieties. It was 26
The quality of the yield declines with every increasing use of the farm saved seeds and this being the prevalent practices there were multiple attempts have been made in order to increase the seed replacement rate in the farming practices. 27 http://agricoop.nic.in/seedpolicy.htm 28 http://www.plantauthority.gov.in/about-authority.htm 29 It is to be noted that the agreement on TRIPS, Article 27(3) requires, WTO members to introduce an ‘effective system’ for the protection of plant varieties. And India is among the first countries in the world to
24
also recognised that it is necessary to protect plants breeders' rights to accelerate agricultural development, by stimulating investment in research and development of new plant varieties. The act further strengthened and equipped the DUS30 test centres for conducting the tests by formulating the DUS Test guidelines regarding field crops, trees, horticultural, plantation, medicinal and aromatic plants and other associate crops.
In 2004, the Government of India tabled a Bill on seeds, known as Seed Bill 2004, at the parliament with the primary objective to replace the Seeds Act 1966 and Seeds Control Order 1983. The first draft of the Bill was introduced in 2004. After suggestions from various groups and parliamentary committees were taken into account, a new draft was released in 2010. The Bill focuses on regulating the sale, import and export of quality seeds. In it are provisions regarding registration of all varieties of seeds and prescriptions of certain compulsory minimum standards.
It is, however, important to note that the Bill is yet to be presented in the Indian Parliament. Other than the seed legislation, Government of India has come up with multiple policies and schemes on seeds, in order to boost quality seed usage and scientific techniques by farmers in the country. The primary objective of most of the schemes is to provide the right quality of seeds, at the right time and at the right price. Some of the major schemes introduced include: o Assistance for Boosting Seed Production in the Private Sector: Credit linked backended capital subsidy is provided at the rate of 25 per cent of the project cost, subject to a maximum limit of Rs. 2.5 million per unit, on seed infrastructure development. National Seeds Corporation is the nodal agency for implementation and monitoring of this component;
have passed legislation granting Farmers’ Rights in the form of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act 2001 (PPVFR). The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights Act 2001 was enacted, with the objective to provide for the establishment of an effective system for protection of plant varieties, the rights of farmers and plant breeders and to encourage the development of new varieties of plants. 30 Distinct, Uniform and Stable, or "DUS" examination, or "DUS Test," is based mainly on growing tests, carried out by the authority competent for granting plant breeders’ rights or by separate institutions, such as public research institutes, acting on behalf of that authority or, in some cases, on the basis of growing tests carried out by the breeder. http://www.upov.int/en/publications/tg_rom/introduction.html
25
o Seed Village Scheme31 to upgrade the quality of farmer-saved seed. Under the scheme, financial assistance is provided for distribution of foundation/certified seeds at 50 per cent cost; o Transport Subsidy on Movement of Seeds: The scheme provides 100 per cent reimbursement of the difference between rail and road transportation costs for the movement of seeds, produced outside the State. It also provides the actual cost, not exceeding Rs. 60 per quintal, for the movement of seeds within the State-- from State capital / district Headquarters to sale outlets /sale counters. If the actual cost is less than 60 rupees, the smaller figure is reimbursed; o Establishment and Maintenance of Seed Bank. This is to ensure that seeds are available to farmers during natural calamities. The Bank maintains stocks of foundation and certified seeds of different crops/varieties to be utilized for contingencies; o Quality Control Arrangements on Seeds: This is to regulate the quality of seeds under the Seeds Act,1966; to strengthen quality control organizations; and for enforcing the seed law in order to ensure the production and distribution of quality seeds to protect the interest of the farmers; o Assistance for Creation/Strengthening of Infrastructure Facilities for production and distribution of quality seeds; and o Assistance for creating facilities for seed cleaning, grading, processing, packing and seed storage. o Promoting Hybrid Rice Seeds: Under this scheme, assistance is provided for production as well as distribution of hybrid rice.
In addition, there are also initiatives for human resource development. The objective is to upgrade the quality of farm-saved seeds and train farmers on basic seed production technology and extension machinery. The scheme also provides training for those involved in seed production, seed storage, seed testing and seed certification.
3.2.8. Fertilizers and pesticides related legislations The other agriculture inputs having a decisive impact on agriculture productivity, other than quality seeds, are fertilizers and pesticides. Considering its potential impact on crop yields, the supply and distribution of fertilizers has been listed under the essential
31
http://agricoop.nic.in/SeedBankScheme.pdf
26
commodities of the ECA 1955. ‘The Fertilizer (Control) Order 198532’ was notified in 1985 with the objective of protecting the interest of the farmers as well as that of the traders/manufacturers from exploitation by unscrupulous elements. The order ensures the availability of fertilizers of the right quality and at the right time by regulating their quality, price, distribution, sale etc. Government of India issued the Fertilizer (Movement Control) Order, 2001 in order to ensure equitable distribution of fertilizers in different states. Its enforcement is entrusted to state governments.
There is a provision for registration of pesticides at the central government level and licensing for manufacturing and sale of pesticides at the states/UT level. Insecticide is crucial for farm productivity. Traditionally, many natural and biological insecticides were used in the farms. While chemicals can protect crops from harmful pests and insects, an overdose can be harmful for not only crops and consumers but also the environment. In 2008, the Government of India stepped towards promoting safe use of pesticides, in the form of the Pesticides Management Bill33 2008 which replaced the Insecticides Act 1968.34 This bill seeks to regulate manufacture, inspection, testing and distribution of pesticides. The bill seeks to regulate pesticides use in the country. The salient features of the Bill are: •
Improving the quality of pesticides available to Indian farmers and introduce new, safe and efficacious pesticides;
•
Effective regulation of import, manufacture, export, sale, transport, distribution and use of pesticides, to prevent risk to human beings, animals, or environment;
•
Detailed categorization of offences and punishments for greater deterrence to violators;
•
De-licensing of retail sale of household insecticides; and
•
Timely disposal of time-barred pesticides in an environmentally safe manner.
3.3. Agriculture finance, infrastructure, and development 3.3.1. Agriculture Finance
32
Published in the Gazette of India(Extra.), Part II, Section 3(i), dated 25.9.1985 The Document of Pesticide Management Bill, 2008, as it is introduced in the Rajya Sabha can be found at: http://164.100.24.219/BillsTexts/RSBillTexts/asintroduced/PESTICIDES%2008.pdf 34 “An Act to regulate the import, manufactures, sale, transport, distribution and use of insecticides with a view to prevent risk to human beings or animals, and for matters connected therewith” 33
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Agriculture finance is crucial in developing agriculture. As observed by the Approach paper35 of the Twelfth Five Year Plan; with low levels of infrastructure and human development, and in a context replete with inequalities and uncertainty, rural India views its future transformation with both hope and trepidation. It goes on further to state that expansion of farm incomes is still the most potent weapon for reducing poverty. Non-farm income opportunities such as post-harvest operations, maintenance of farm equipment, etc. offer a virtuous cycle connecting expansion of farm activity to that of rural non-farm income opportunities. Easy finance in the rural sector helps in developing infrastructure for the development of agriculture productivity not only at the institutional level but also at the individual farmers’ level.
Central government policies began to be formulated much before Independence when the Government of India realised the importance of the agriculture sector in the country’s economy It established an agriculture- credit department in the Reserve bank of India under RBI Act 193436. It was established with the objective of maintaining expert staff and coordinating operations of the Bank in connection with agriculture credit and its relation with cooperative banks. At present, agriculture credit is included in the priority sector lending order (Annexure IV) of the RBI. This aspect has been further emphasised by orders passed by the Reserve Bank making it compulsory for commercial banks operating in the country to allocate certain specified amount for priority sector lending.
Thirteen years after independence, Government of India enacted the Agriculture Refinance and Development corporation Act37, 1963 with the primary objective of providing long-term finance for agriculture development activities through the cooperatives/central land development bank. For rural development, the Regional Rural Banks Act38 was enacted in 1976 with the objective of providing financial independence particularly to small and marginal farmers, agricultural labourers, artisans and small entrepreneurs, and for matters connected therewith. Taking the initiative further, and to further strengthen the overall objective of developing the rural economy of the country,
35
The Approach Paper to Twelfth Five Year Plan 2012-2017 can be found at: http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12appdrft/appraoch_12plan.pdf 36 The RBI Act 1934, goes through the regular modifications and changes keeping with change in the dynamic environment of world and domestic market, the RBI Act 1934, as modified up to Feb 28, 2009 is available at: http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/Publications/PDFs/RBIAM_230609.pdf 37 http://www.lawyerservices.in/Agricultural-Refinance-and-Development-Corporation-Act-1963 38 http://www.dif.mp.gov.in/RRB_Act1976.pdf
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‘National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) Act39 1981, was enacted. This established NABARD as an apex development bank with a mandate to facilitate credit flow for the promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has the mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas.
In its mid-term review of November, 2003, the RBI constituted an Advisory Committee under the Chairmanship of Prof. V S Vyas on the flow of Credit to Agriculture and Related Activities from the Banking System. The Advisory Committee submitted its interim report in April, 2004 and the final report in June, 2004 (Box 5). Based on the recommendations contained in the interim report40, the RBI announced a number of measures to improve credit delivery to agriculture. This had the capacity to influence food availability indirectly.
In order to give further emphasis and strengthen the legislative structure of the rural financing and agriculture credit system of India, RBI introduced the Agriculture Credit Policy in 2004-05. It had a target of tripling the agri-credit in three years from Rs. 8,600,000,000. In addition, a series of measures were taken to improve the flow of institutional credit through novel schemes like Kisan Credit Cards (KCC) and others.
39
http://www.nabard.org/pdf/nbact.pdf Report of the advisory committee on ‘Flow of Credit to Agriculture and Related Activities from the Banking System’ submitted to Reserve Bank Of India; is available at: http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/PublicationReport/Pdfs/55259.pdf 40
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Box 5: Major recommendations of the Advisory Committee on flow of Credit to Agriculture • A review of mandatory lending to agriculture by commercial banks to enlarge direct lending programmes. • Public and private sector banks to increase their direct agricultural lending to 12 per cent of net bank credit in the next two years and to 13.5 per cent two years hereafter, within the overall limit of 18.0 per cent of total agricultural lending. • Banks to increase their disbursements to small and marginal farmers under Special Agricultural Credit Plan (SACP) to 40 per cent by March 2007. • SACP to be restricted to direct lending and extended to private sector banks. • Reduction in cost of agricultural credit by enhancing the cost effectiveness of agricultural loans. • Non-performing Asset (NPA) norms for agricultural credit to be aligned with crop seasons. Loans for allied activities to be classified as NPA after 180 days of default. • Credit flow to small borrowers to be improved through reduction in cost of borrowing, revolving credit packages, procedural simplification, involvement of Panchayati Raj institutions and micro-finance. • The Service Area Approach (SAA) to be modified to remove rigidities. SAA to be mandatory only for Government sponsored programmes and the format of village surveys to be changed in view of current realities.
Some of the major agricultural credit programmes/schemes introduced by the government include the followings: •
Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). This was launched to provide insurance coverage and financial support to farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests and diseases and to encourage the farmers to adopt progressive farming practices, high value in-puts and better technology in agriculture. The main features of MNAIS include: (i) Actuarial premiums to be paid for insuring crops, hence the claims liability would be on the insurer; (ii) The unit area of insurance for major crops would be the village panchayat; (iii) Indemnity amount to be payable for prevented sowing/planting risk and for post-harvest losses due to cyclone; (iv) On payment of up to 25 per cent, likely claims would be released as advance for providing immediate relief to farmers; (v) Uniform seasonality discipline for loanee and nonloanee farmers; (vi) More proficient basis for calculation of threshold yield and minimum indemnity level of 70 per cent instead of 60 per cent;(vii) Modified NAIS with improved features to have two components i.e. compulsory and voluntary. Loanee farmers to be insured under ‘compulsory category’ and nonloanee farmers under ‘voluntary category’; (viii) Private sector insurers with 30
adequate infrastructure and experience also to be allowed in the implementation of MNAIS. o
Pilot Weather Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS): The scheme provides insurance protection to farmers against adverse weather incidence, such as rainfall deficits and excesses, high or low temperature, humidity etc. that adversely impact crop production.
o
Investment in Debentures of State Land Development Banks (SLDB): Since 196667 the SLDBs/SCARDBs have raised resources for long-term lending to cultivators by floating debentures which are trustee securities, as authorized by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) from time to time.
o
Coconut Palm Insurance Scheme (CPIS): This scheme assists coconut growers in insuring coconut palms against natural and other perils. It also provides timely relief to farmers, who suffer income loss due to sudden death of palms, minimise risk and encourage replanting and rejuvenation to make coconut farming remunerative.
o
Flow of Credit to Agriculture: The government also implemented a comprehensive Farm Credit Package in June, 2004.
o
Kisan Credit Cards (KCC): KCC aims to provide adequate and timely support through the banking system to farmers for their short-term credit needs for cultivation. This mainly helps farmers purchase inputs etc.
3.3.2. Agriculture Infrastructure Development Agricultural infrastructure development ranges from physical infrastructure facilities like roads, storage etc. to soft skills development in marketing of agriculture produce. Government of India enacted the Agricultural Produce (Development and Warehousing) Corporation Act41 1956 after recommendations from the all India Rural Credit Survey Committee of Reserve Bank of India to establish warehouses to strengthen rural credit and marketing. The objective was to incorporate and regulate corporations for the purpose of warehousing of agricultural produce and certain other commodities and for matters connected therewith.
41
http://www.theindianlawyer.in/statutesnbareacts/acts/a18.html
31
The legislative provision received a further boost with the enactment of the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act 2007.The objective is to make provisions for the development and regulation of warehouses and negotiability of warehouses receipts. Further, the Act seeks to establish a Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority for matters connected therewith.
The Government of India provides multiple channels of financial assistance through schemes for the development of agriculture infrastructure in the country. This includes Scheme for Development/ Strengthening of Agricultural Marketing Infrastructure and Grading and Standardization42 to develop marketing infrastructure in the country to cater to post-harvest requirements.
The main objectives of the scheme are: •
To provide additional agricultural marketing infrastructure to cope with the large marketable surpluses of agricultural and allied commodities including dairy, poultry, fishery, livestock and minor forest produce.
•
To promote a competitive alternative agricultural marketing infrastructure by inducing private and cooperative sector investments to sustain incentives for quality and enhanced productivity, thereby improving farmers’ income.
•
To strengthen existing agricultural marketing infrastructure to enhance efficiency.
•
To promote direct marketing so as to increase market efficiency through education in intermediaries and handling channels, thus enhancing farmers’ income.
•
To provide infrastructure facilities for grading, standardization and quality certification of agricultural produce so as to ensure price to the farmers commensurate with the quality of the produce.
•
To promote grading, standardization and quality certification system to give a major thrust for promotion of pledge financing and marketing ,credit, introduction of negotiable warehousing receipt system and promotion of forward and future markets so as to stabilize the market system and increase farmers’ income.
•
42
To promote direct integration of processing units with producers.
For more details, see http://www.nabard.org/pdf/Op.%20guidelines%20-%20AMI.pdf
32
In addition, there are many central government schemes which provide financial assistance for the development of agricultural market facilities. Some of these are: • Agriculture Infrastructure Development. The scheme provides assistance to exporters/ producers/ growers/ cooperative organizations and federations for horticulture and floriculture for setting up of integrated post-harvest handling system (pack houses/green houses with any two or more above facilities). It also assists in setting up environment control systems e.g. pollution control, effluent treatment etc. • Agriculture Market Development: The scheme provides assistance to exporters for packaging material-- as per standards and specifications developed or adopted by APEDA It also helps in development and dissemination of market information on products, infrastructure etc., supply of material, samples, product literature and development of websites, advertisements etc. • Agriculture Quality Development. Assistance is given for setting up/strengthening laboratories; installing quality management, quality assurance and quality control systems; up-gradation of technical and managerial skills through on-the-spot training in India/abroad; and assistance to APEDA recognized exporters’ associations to support relevant research and development for export enhancement through R & D organizations in co-operative/private sectors.
The Ministry of Food Processing Industries is assigned with the responsibility of acting as a catalyst for bringing in greater investment into the sector of food processing, helping the industry in a proper direction, encouraging exports and creating a conducive environment for the healthy growth of the food processing industry. With this overall objective, the Ministry aims at better utilization and value addition of agricultural produce to enhance farmers’ income. The ministry also seeks to minimize wastage at all stages in the food processing chain. This is done by developing infrastructure for storage, transportation and processing of agro-food produce. Additionally, it encourages R&D in food processing for product and process development and improved packaging. It also provides policy support, promotional initiatives and physical facilities to promote value added exports. The following are the policy initiatives of MOFPI to develop agricultural infrastructure in the country:
33
o
Mega food Park to provide a mechanism to bring together farmers, processors and retailers and link agricultural production to the market so as to ensure maximum value addition, minimize wastages, increase farmers’ income and create employment opportunities in rural areas. The primary objective of the scheme is to facilitate establishment of an integrated value chain, with processing at the core and supported by requisite forward and backward linkages.
o
Cold Chain, Value Addition and Preservation Infrastructure. The ministry aims to provide integrated and complete cold chain and preservation infrastructure facilities, without any break, from the farm gate to the consumer.
o
Setting up/ Up-gradation of Quality Control/ Food Testing Laboratory/R & D and Promotional Activity are visualised to ensure compliance of international standards on food, in case of exports as well as imports; to establish a surveillance system for monitoring the quality and composition of food;
to motivate the food
processing industries for adoption of food safety and quality assurance mechanisms; research &development in the food processing sector aimed at development of technologies and methods for preservation of food products, fortification of staple food items to improve nutritional quality.
3.3.3. Agriculture co-operatives The development of the agriculture co-operatives started off in India with the enactment of the National Co-operatives Development Corporation Act 1962. This was done to incorporate and regulate a corporation for the purpose of planning and promoting programmes for production, processing, marketing, storage, export and import of agricultural produce, foodstuffs and certain other commodities along co-operative principles. The Act saw amendment proposals in 2011, and it is now known as The National Co-operative Development Corporation (Amendment) Bill43, 2012 with the following proposed amendments:
o Empowering the NCDC to provide loans and grants to producer companies and cooperative societies engaged in notified services and trading in notified commodities; o Bringing producer companies within the definition of co-operative societies, as defined in Clause (c) of Section 2 of the NCDC Act, 1962, to provide an additional 43
http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/National%20cooperative%20development%20corporation/National%20Cooperative%20Development%20Corporation%20(Amendment)%20Bill,%202012.pdf
34
source of credit to producer companies, which mostly comprise of small and marginal farmers. The proposed amendment would enable the NCDC to plan, promote and finance programmes for the benefit of the producers through co-operative societies including producer companies; o Another amendment seeks changes in Clause (a) for advancing of loans and granting of subsidies. The Multi-state Co-operative Societies Act 200244 was enacted in order to further strengthen the functioning of the agricultural co-operatives in the country. This repealed the earlier Multi-state Co-operatives Act, 1984. The new Act has the objective of consolidating and amending the law relating to cooperative societies. This is needed to serve the interests of members in more than one state. The MSCS Act 2002 is in line with the government policy on co-operatives, as it gives co-operatives the much needed functional autonomy and curtails government interference. This should help them run as vibrant economic enterprises along democratic principles.
The MSCS bill again saw amendment proposals in 2010. It was to be rechristened the Multi-State Co-operatives Societies (Amendment) Bill 2010.45 The Bill, however, is yet to be enacted as the Parliamentary panel dealing with it sent the bill back to the agriculture ministry suggesting thorough consultations with the law ministry and see to it that it is in keeping with the constitution. The panel has suggested a new bill addressing concerns and interests of all stakeholders be introduced in Parliament.46
Other than the legislative framework provided by the government, in order to strengthen and develop the co-operatives movement in the country, there are many policies devised to further strengthen the co-operative structure in the country, some of which are:
44
http://agricoop.nic.in/coopact02/multistate2.htm The Document of the Multi-State Co-operatives (Amendment) Bill, 2010, states that “With the passage of time and developments in the co-operatives movement in the country, certain difficulties have been experienced by the Multi-State Co-operatives Societies in the implementation of the Multi-State Cooperatives Societies Act 2002. Conference of the State Co-operative Ministers was held on the 7th Dec, 2004 to, inter alia; ascertain the difficulties experienced by the Multi-State Co-operatives Societies. In pursuance of the resolution passed in the said conference, a high powered committee or Co-operatives was constituted under the chairman ship of Shri S.G. Patil.�. The Document is available at: http://www.prsindia.org/uploads/media/Multi%20party/Multi%20State%20co-operatives%20Bill.pdf 46 Indian Cooperatives, http://indiancooperative.com/tag/multi-state-cooperative-societies/ 45
35
o
Cooperative Education & Training. The scheme, among others, aims at improving managerial capabilities of professionals at various levels of management in the cooperative sector;
o
Assistance of National Cooperative Federations. Such assistance aims for, among others, promotion and development of research and survey of projects, technical and consultancy services, research and statistical activities and improvement of infrastructural facilities;
o
Development of Multi-State Cooperative Societies and Strengthening of the Cooperation Division. This is essentially a staff-oriented scheme with the objective of Development of Multi-State Cooperative Societies and Strengthening of the Cooperation Division;
o
Integrated Cooperative Development Projects in Selected Districts (ICDP). The aim here is to strengthen existing primary cooperative societies and other functional cooperatives. Further, it also seeks to improve the existing cooperative structure
including
modernization
and
upgradation
of
management
of
cooperatives; o
Cooperative Marketing, Processing, Storage etc. programmes in least developed States are devised to correct regional imbalances and to provide needed momentum to the pace of development of various programmes of cooperative agricultural marketing, processing, storage etc.;
o
Share Capital participation in Cooperative Sugar Factories aims at supplementing the resources of state governments to enable them to contribute to the share capital of cooperative sugar factories so as to expedite project implementation;
o
Development of Rural Growth Centres in Bihar aims at increasing agricultural production, storage and marketing by Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in Bihar by constructing rural godowns, improving agricultural credit and upgrading professional/managerial skills;
o
Assistance to National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India (NAFED) is expected to strengthen financial position of NAFED to increase its marketing activities regarding agricultural produce through state federations, primary cooperative marketing societies for providing better prices to growers.
36
3.3.4. Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, 2007 The Approach paper for Twelfth Five Year Plan noted that, in 2007, the National Development Council (NDC) held a special meeting exclusively on Agriculture, for the first time ever. In this meeting it discussed the Eleventh Plan strategy for the sector and adopted a resolution on the subject. These consultations established that, in addition to the stressed natural resources and very inadequate rural infrastructure, there was clear evidence of technology fatigue, run-down and credit-burdened delivery systems, extension and marketing services and insufficient agricultural planning at district and lower levels.47 Two major schemes namely RKVY and National Food Security Mission were introduced consequent to the NDC Resolution of 2007. The Ministry of Agriculture, in compliance with those objectives and in consultation with the Planning Commission, has prepared a set of guidelines for the RKVY48 scheme, to be known as National Agriculture Development Programme (RKVY/NADP). This Yojana sought to incentivise states to draw up plans for their agriculture sector more comprehensively-taking into account agro-climatic conditions, natural resource issues and technology- and to integrate livestock, poultry and fisheries more carefully.
The RKVY aimed at achieving a four per cent annual growth rate in the agriculture sector, during the XI Plan period, by ensuring a holistic development of agriculture and allied sectors. The main objectives of the programme include the following:49 •
To incentivise the states to increase public investment in agriculture and allied sectors;
•
To provide flexibility and autonomy to states in the process of planning and executing agriculture and allied sector schemes;
•
To ensure the preparation of agriculture plans for the districts and the states based on agro-climatic conditions, availability of technology and natural resources;
•
To ensure that local needs/crops/priorities are better reflected in the agricultural plans of the states;
•
To achieve the goal of reducing the yield gaps, in important crops, through focussed interventions;
•
To maximize returns to farmers;
47
The Approach Paper for Twelfth Five Year Plan 2012-2017 is available at: http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12appdrft/appraoch_12plan.pdf 48 http://agricoop.nic.in/Rkvy/Rkvyfinal-1.pdf 49 Guideline for RKVY can be found at :http://www.agritripura.nic.in/links/rkvy.pdf
37
•
To bring about quantifiable changes in the production and productivity of various components of agriculture and allied sectors by addressing them in a holistic manner.
The RKVY is devised around the theme of integrated development of major food crops, such as wheat, paddy, coarse cereals, minor millets, pulses and oilseeds, in order to provide assistance for making certified/HYV seeds available to farmers; to produce breeder seed; to purchase of breeder seeds from institutions such as ICAR and public sector seed corporations, to produce foundation seed; to produce certified seeds; to provide seed treatment facilities. The programme further focuses on providing assistance for farm mechanization efforts, especially with improved and gender friendly tools, implements and machinery. Activities related to enhancement of soil health would include efficient quality control of inputs, including strengthening of laboratories.
Providing assistance for development of rain-fed farming systems, in and outside watershed areas also falls within the focus area, as well as integrated development of watershed areas, wastelands and river valleys. Similarly, development of land, assistance for horticulture and generation of livelihoods for farmers below the poverty line (BPL) are other areas. In addition, the programme aims to support state seed farms that are used for research and seed production purposes. The support covers aspects such as land development, creation of irrigation facilities, upgrading technology, etc. Assistance is provided to encourage non-farm activities to agri-entreprenuers / agri-graduates to set up agri-clinics / agri-business centres. This is expected to strengthen agriculture market infrastructure, such as cold storages, cold chains, godowns, formation of farmer’s SHGs, setting up collection centre etc. Furthermore, it incentivises new initiatives for skill development and training in the farming community and revamping of existing state agricultural extension systems. The following sub-schemes have been developed under RKVY50: • The Vegetable Initiative for Urban Clusters aims at enhancing vegetable production and productivity, improve nutritional security and income support to vegetable farmers. The initiative also encourages establishment of an efficient 50
For more details, visit http://rkvy.nic.in/
38
supply chain, thereby leading to employment opportunities and incomes for intermediate service providers, and safe, good quality, fresh as well as processed agriculture-produce at competitive prices for urban consumers; • Programme of Integrated Development of 60,000 Pulse Producing Villages in Rain-fed Areas calls for appropriate interventions for effectively utilizing the allocated money in a manner that supplements the ongoing works on development of pulses under National Food Security Mission and Rashtriya Krishi VikasYojana. The aim is to build institutions that provide market linkages to pulse growers for sustainable development of the crop; • Extending Green Revolution to Eastern India: This scheme prioritises eastern India as a key area in terms of technology promotion to address the main constraints that impede agriculture productivity; • Rain fed Area Development Programme (RADP) aims at improving the quality of life of farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, by offering a complete package of activities to maximize farm returns to enhance their food and livelihood security.
3.3.5. National Food Security Mission 2007 The National Development Council (NDC) adopted a resolution, at its 53rd meeting held on 29th May, 2007, to launch a Food Security Mission to increase the production of three staple crops. The Mission (NFSM) was launched in 2007-08 targeting rice, wheat and pulses. The production of rice was to be increased by 10 million tons, wheat by 8 million tons and pulses by 2 million tons by the end of the Eleventh Five Year Plan (2011-12). Besides, the NFSM also envisions the creation of employment opportunities and contribute to the farm economy.
The strategies adopted to achieve the enshrined objectives include: •
Active engagement of all the stakeholders at various levels in the implementation of the mission;
•
Promotion and extension of improved technologies, i.e. seed, Integrated Nutrient Management (INM) including micronutrients, soil amendments, and Integrated Pest Management (IPM) and resource conservation technologies, along with capacity building of the farmers; 39
•
Close monitoring the flow of funds to ensure that interventions reach the target beneficiaries on time;
•
Interventions proposed to be integrated with the district plan and targets for each identified district to be fixed;
•
Constant monitoring and concurrent evaluation, to assess the impact of the interventions for a results oriented approach, by the implementing agencies.
4. Legislations Relating to Stability in Food Supplies Stability in food production and supplies are two important determinants of food security. There are several natural and other factors which influence food stability. Some of these include adverse weather conditions, instability in the supply network and infrastructure, unemployment, rising food prices, etc. Loss of nutrition in foodgrains is also considered a barrier to stability in food security. It is, therefore, imperative for the government to have policies, programmes and initiatives towards addressing these issues. Government of India has taken the following steps that could be directly linked to stability.
4.1. Food Safety and Standard Act, 2006 Food Safety and Standard (FSS) Act 2006 consolidates laws relating to food. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India would be set up under this act to develop standards for food articles. The Authority regulates their manufacturing, storage, distribution, sale and import to ensure availability of safe and wholesome food for human consumption. Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the Administrative Ministry for the implementation of FSS.
The Act also aims to establish a single reference point for all matters relating to food safety and standards. The system of multi- level, multi- departmental control was to be brought to a single line of command of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. The FSSAI along with State Food Safety Authorities, enforces provisions of this Act by performing the following functions51: •
Framing of regulations to lay down the standards and guidelines, in relation to food articles, and specifying the appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus notified.
51
For more details, see http://fssai.gov.in/AboutFSSAI/introduction.aspx
40
•
Laying down mechanisms and guidelines for accreditation of certification bodies engaged in certification of the food safety management system for food businesses.
•
Laying down procedure and guidelines for accreditation of laboratories and notification of the accredited laboratories.
•
Providing scientific advice and technical support to Central Government and State Governments in matters of framing policy and rules in areas which have a direct or indirect bearing on food safety and nutrition.
•
Collection and collating data regarding food consumption, incidence and prevalence of biological risk, contaminants in food, residues of various contaminants in food products, identification of emerging risks and introduction of a rapid alert system.
•
Creating an information network across the country to enable the general public, consumers and Panchayats to receive reliable and objective information about food safety.
•
Training of persons involved, or likely to be involved, in food businesses.
•
Contributing to the development of international technical standards for food, sanitary and phyto-sanitary standards.
•
Promoting general awareness about food safety and food standards.
The FSS Act, 2006 consists of the following orders: •
Prevention of Food Adulteration (PFA) Act 1954. It was promulgated by the Parliament in 1954 to make provisions for the prevention of adulteration of food. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Rules, 1955 were incorporated as an extension to the Act. Broadly, the PFA Act covers food standards, general procedures for sampling and analysis of food, powers of authorized officers, nature of penalties and other parameters related to food. It deals with parameters relating to food additives, preservatives, colouring matters, packing and labelling, prohibition and regulations of sales etc.
•
Fruit Product Order 1955, was promulgated under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955, with an objective of manufacturing fruit and vegetable products in sanitary and hygienic conditions and complying with quality standards laid down in the Order. It is mandatory for all manufacturers of fruit and vegetable 41
products, including some non-fruit products like non-fruit vinegar, syrup and sweetened aerated water, to obtain a license under this Order. •
Solvent Extracted Oil, De-oiled Meal and Edible Flour (Control order 1967). This is basically a quality control order to ensure that solvent extracted oils in particular do not reach the consumers for consumption before they are refined conforming to the quality standards specified.
•
Vegetable Oil Products (Regulation) Order 1998. The vegetable oil products industry is regulated through this Order by the Directorate of Vanaspati, Vegetable Oils & Fats, Department of Food, Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, and Food & Public Distribution. The earlier two Orders – Vegetable Oil Products (Control) Order, 1947 and Vegetable Oil Products (Standards of Quality) Order, 1975 were replaced by this single Order for proper regulation of manufacture, distribution and sale of vegetable oil products.
•
Edible Oils Packaging (Regulation) Order 1998. This was issued to ensure availability of safe and quality edible oils in packed form at pre-determined prices. It was promulgated by the Central Government on 17th September, 1998, under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955. It made packaging of edible oils, sold in retail, compulsory unless specifically exempted by the concerned State Government.
•
Milk and Milk Product Amendment Regulation 2009. The Department of Animal Husbandry, Dairying & Fisheries promulgated the Milk and Milk Product Order (MMPO) 1992 under Section 3 of the Essential Commodities Act 1955. The objective of the order is to maintain and increase the supply of liquid milk of desired quality in the interest of the general public and also for regulating the production, processing and distribution of milk and milk products.
•
Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 covers food standards, general procedures for sampling, analysis of food, powers of authorized officers, nature of penalties and other parameters related to food. It deals with food additives, preservatives, colouring matters, packing & labelling of foods, prohibition & regulations of sales etc.
4.2. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) is one of the eight Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). It seeks to address issues 42
regarding ‘Sustainable Agriculture’ in the context of risks associated with climate change by devising appropriate adaptation and mitigation strategies to ensure food security, equitable access to food resources, enhancing livelihood opportunities and contributing to stability at the national level.52 .The box (Box 6) below summarises the possible impacts of climate change that require focused interventions.
Box 6: Climate Risk Analysis Framework Extremes (high intensity Exposure Climate variability Climate change (uncertain rainfall, (temperatures, rainfall, humidity) precipitation, droughts, floods, Scale droughts, floods) frost, hail storms, cyclones) Crop Variability in crop Reduced quantity and quality of Direct crop damages due to water yields, impacts on crop produced; crop and fodder logging/ nutrient loss, frost, hail acreage, crop growth, productivity, livestock health and storm, salinity ingress and water etc. fish catch; increased susceptibility stress, crop acreage affected to pests and diseases; shift in cropping patterns, etc. Farm system Water stress, impacts Reduced soil fertility including Aggravated land degradation and on livestock, milk soil erosion; damage to farm soil moisture holding capacities production, infrastructure; loss of agricultural and increased dependence on increased burden on fertilizers and pesticides; soil land, labour and livestock due to smallholder and quality, soil moisture, land injury or mortality from extreme subsistence farmers; conditions; acreage, water for events; inundation of land due to utilization of rising sea levels irrigation, crop, fodder, forest, landholdings, milk and fish production and including lease in / associated products, incomes and lease out livelihoods; poverty leading to arrangements adverse impacts on farmer health;, migration and displacement, water scarcity, land and energy concerns, etc. Food Production impacts, Food security, agro-processing Temporary/ permanent system etc. units/ cottage industries, selfdisplacement leading to water and sufficiency; Changes in food insecurity, aggravated import/exports of agricultural malnutrition, food riots, food produce; impacts on emergency pricing reserves of staple food supplies; aggravated social inequalities and conflicts. Source: Presentation by Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, on the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), also available at: http://moef.nic.in/downloads/others/Mission-SAPCC-NMA.pdf
52
http://agricoop.nic.in/Climatechange/ccr/National%20Mission%20For%20Sustainable%20AgricultureDRAFT-Sept-2010.pdf
43
Implementation of the mission has just started. The Indian Council for Agriculture Research (ICAR) is in-charge and is working with Central Research Institute for Dry land Agriculture (CRIDA) in Hyderabad. A network of institutions has been developed across the country with ICAR as a coordinating body. There are various ICAR affiliated institutions, such as the 50 odd universities of agriculture across the country and institutions such as the Indian Agriculture Research Institute (IARI). All these institutions have been brought together in a network to focus on shaping a sustainable agricultural landscape in the country’.
4.3. National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture The National Initiative on Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) is another major initiative to ensure stability by reducing/ neutralising adverse impacts of climate change on food production. The NICRA is a network project of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) launched in February, 2011. The project aims to enhance resilience of Indian agriculture to climate change and climate vulnerability through strategic research and technology demonstration. The research on adaptation and mitigation covers crops, livestock, fisheries and natural resource management. The project consists of four components viz. Strategic Research, Technology Demonstration, Capacity Building and Sponsored/Competitive Grants. It was formally launched in early 2011. Key objectives of the NICRA53 are: •
Critical assessment of different crops/zones in the country for vulnerability to climatic stresses, extreme events and, in particular, intra seasonal variability of rainfall;
•
Installation of state-of-the-art equipment like flux towers for measurement of greenhouse gases in large field areas to understand the impact of management practices and contribute data on emissions as a national responsibility;
•
Rapid and large scale screening of crop germplasm, including their wild relatives for drought and heat tolerance, through phenomics platforms for quick identification of promising lines and early development and release of heat/drought tolerant varieties;
•
Comprehensive field evaluation of new and emerging approaches of paddy cultivation like aerobic rice and SRI for their contribution in reducing GHG emissions and saving water;
•
Special attention to livestock and fishery sectors including aquaculture which have not received enough attention in past climate change research;
53
http://www.nicra-icar.in/nicrarevised/index.php/key-features
44
•
Thorough understanding of the crop-pest/pathogen relationship and emergence of new biotypes due to climate change;
•
Simultaneous up-scaling of outputs, through KVKs and National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture, for wider adoption by the farmers.
4.4. Diversity Act 2002 This Act has its own importance in ensuring food stability in the light of challenges emerging from climate change. This is because the linkage of bio-diversity with human survival is well understood. The Act covers conservation and use of biological resources and associated knowledge for commercial and/or research purposes or for the purposes of bio-survey and bio-utilisation. It provides a framework for access to biological resources and sharing the benefits. The Act also includes provisions for intellectual property rights (IPRs) to research results and application relating to Indian biological resources. The Act is duly linked to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The Convention was negotiated and signed by nations at the UNCED Earth Summit at Rio de Janeiro in Brazil in June 1992. It came into force on December 29, 1993. The main objectives of the Convention are: •
Conservation of biological diversity;
•
Sustainable use of the components of biodiversity;
•
Fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilisation of genetic resources.
The Convention, recognizing the sovereign rights of States to use their own biological resources, expects the Parties to facilitate access to genetic resources by other Parties subject to national legislation and on mutually agreed upon terms.54 It also recognizes contributions of local and indigenous communities to the conservation and sustainable utilization of biological resources through traditional knowledge, practices and innovations and provides for equitable sharing of benefits with such people arising from the utilization of their knowledge, practices and innovations.
India’s Biological Diversity Act 2002, well connected to the international CBD, has the following salient features:
54
http://nbaindia.org/uploaded/docs/biological-diversityact-ii.pdf
45
• Seeks to protect India’s rich biodiversity and associated knowledge against their use by foreign individuals and organizations, without sharing the benefits arising out of such use, and check bio-piracy. • The Act provides for setting up of a National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), State Biodiversity Boards (SBBs) and Biodiversity Management Committees (BMCs) in local bodies. NBA and SBB are required to consult BMCs in decisions relating to use of biological resources/related knowledge within their jurisdiction. BMCs are to promote conservation, sustainable use and documentation of biodiversity. • All foreign nationals/organizations require prior approval of NBA for obtaining biological resources and/or associated knowledge for any use. Indian individuals/entities require approval of NBA for transferring results of research with respect to any biological resources to foreign nationals/ organizations. Collaborative research projects and exchange of knowledge and resources under these projects are exempted provided they are drawn as per the policy guidelines of the Central Government and have its approval. • Indian industry is required to give prior intimation to the concerned SBB about obtaining any biological resource for commercial use, and the SBB may restrict the activity if found to violate the objectives of conservation, sustainable use and
benefit
sharing. However,
Indian
citizens/entities/local
people
including vaids and hakims do have free access to biological resources within the country for their own use, medicinal purposes and research purposes.
4.5. Right to Information Act 2005 The Act, though quite important from several aspects, could only have indirect influence on ensuring stability in food supply, because it brings in information relating to food within its ambit. The RTI Act55 provides for securing access to information under the control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and accountability in their working. The Act applies to “Public Authorities” which means any authority or body or institution of selfgovernment established or constituted under the Constitution by any law made by the 55
For more details, see http://rti.gov.in/rti-act.pdf
46
appropriate government or any other body owned, controlled or substantially financed directly or indirectly by the appropriate government. It also includes non-government organizations, substantially financed by the government.
The Act lays down the machinery for the grant of access to information. The Public Authorities are required to designate Public Information Officers and Assistant Public Information Officers within 100 days of the enactment and whose responsibility is to deal with requests for information and also to assist persons seeking information.
The RTI Act has proved to be an extremely innovative and bold step on the part of the government towards making the whole system of governance more accountable and people- friendly. It has been efficient in assisting civil service organizations and individuals to keep an eye on the functioning of administrative system. This has certainly ensured greater transparency and made the whole system answerable to the common man.
4.6. Right to Food Campaign in India The Right to Food Campaign56 is, in fact, an outgrowth of public interest litigation on the right to food. This litigation began with a writ petition submitted to the Supreme Court by PUCL in April 2001. The petition focuses on the general need to uphold the right to food, which follows from the fundamental right to life, enshrined in Article 21 of the Indian Constitution. This makes right to food important not only as a welfare aspect of the union government but an obligation under the Constitution of India.
India is also a part of this global non-governmental initiative. The initiative has the capacity to influence stability in food supplies. It is premised on the outrageous scandal observed by Jean Ziegler57 that almost 900 million people suffer from hunger and malnutrition and that every year over six million children die of starvation and related causes. The Right to Food Campaign in India is an informal network of organisations and individuals committed to the realisation of the right in India. The Campaign is working with the following vision and objectives: •
Everyone has a fundamental right to be free from hunger and undernourishment. Realising this right requires not only equitable and sustainable food systems, but
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http://www.righttofoodindia.org/ http://www.righttofood.org/
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also entitlements relating to livelihood security such as the right to work, land reform and social security. •
The primary responsibility for guaranteeing these entitlements rests with the state. Lack of financial resources cannot be accepted as an excuse for abdicating this responsibility.
5. Legislations Relating to Food Accessibility Ability to pay is the most important determinant of food accessibility. Accessibility aspects of food security is premised on the fact that adequate supply of food at the national or international level does not in itself guarantee food security at the household level. Concerns about insufficient food access have resulted in a greater policy focus on incomes, expenditure, markets and prices in achieving food security objectives.58
5.1. Public Distribution System, 1960 The Public Distribution System is the backbone of food security programmes in India. It was devised in 1960 as a reaction to the then famine and food insecurity in the country. The system was primarily directed towards providing food at low prices through fair price shops to the marginal section of the population in food-scarce areas. The PDS is the largest public distribution system in the world.
The system is facilitated by the Food Corporation of India (FCI) which procures foodgrains at a Minimum Support Price59 from farmers. Established by the Government of India under Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food, and Public Distribution and managed jointly with state governments in India, it distributes subsidised food and non-food items to the poor. The PDS had substantially contributed in containment of rises in foodgrains prices and ensured access to food for urban consumers. The PDS strives to meet the twin objectives of providing price support to farmers for their product and maintenance of stocks.
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Physical and Economic Access of food as defined by Food and Agriculture Organization. Available at: http://www.fao.org/docrep/013/al936e/al936e00.pdf 59 The Minimum Support Price were announced by GOI for the first time in 1966-67 for wheat in the wake of Green Revolution and extended harvest.MSP is the price at which government purchases crops from the farmers, whatever may be the price for the crops in open market. If there is a fall in the prices of the crops after a bumper harvest, the government purchases from the farmers at the MSP. To save the farmers from depleting profits, it serves as the lower sealing of the agriculture prices.
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Taking powers conferred by the Essential Commodities Act 1955, the Public Distribution System (Control) Order 2001 was notified in 2001 to maintain the supplies and securing availability and distribution of foodgrains. This order deals with issues such as distribution of commodities through fair price shops, licensing of the shops, and monitoring of the whole system. The order was further amended in 2004 into PDS (Control) (Amendment) Order 2004.
5.2. Revamped Public Distribution System (1992) In 1992, the PDS was expanded by the Revamped Public Distribution System in order to strengthen and streamline the PDS as well as to improve its reach in the far-flung, hilly, remote and inaccessible areas where a substantial section of the poor live. The RPDS included the area approach for ensuring effective reach of the PDS commodities. Their delivery was executed by State Governments to the doorstep of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) in the identified areas. Additional ration cards were distributed to left-out families and infrastructure requirements like additional Fair Price Shops, storage capacity, etc were fulfilled. Priority was given to the establishment of the PDS to reach out to people living in the most vulnerable areas (remote tribal and drought-prone regions).
5.3. Targeted Public Distribution System (1997) The Food Corporation of India of the Public Distribution System was widely criticised for its failure to serve the population below the poverty line, its urban bias, negligible coverage in the states with the highest concentration of the rural poor and lack of transport and accountable arrangements for delivery. To address some of the deficiencies, the Government of India launched the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in June 1997with focus on the poor. The system provides foodgrains only to people below the poverty line. It is expected to achieve better household food security for these families without substantially increasing the food subsidy cost.
Under the TPDS, states are required to formulate and implement full-proof arrangements for identification of the poor, for delivery of foodgrains, and a transparent and accountable distribution at the FPS level. This initiative implemented the PDS scheme more effectively and has reached out to the neediest population.
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With the objective of further strengthening the PDS in the country and also to achieve the objective of food security, Government of India has also some other schemes and programmes to ensure the effectiveness of the PDS. Three such schemes are: •
Decentralised Procurement of Foodgrains 1997-98 was introduced in 1997-98 with a view to encourage local procurement and thereby extend the benefits of Minimum Support Price (MSP) to local farmers, enhance efficiency of procurement and PDS and ensure savings in FCI’s transportation and handling costs ;
•
Area Officers’ Scheme 2000 An Area Officer is required to visit two districts of their allotted territories once every quarter and review the functioning of the TPDS. The officer has to submit his report within 10 days of the visit. The scheme also provides a mechanism to coordinate with the State Governments and UT Administrations for regular and effective review and monitoring of the Targeted Public Distribution System in the States/UTs;
•
Computerisation of TPDS (2011-12) is expected to cover key areas like supply chain management, develop an information portal for complete PDS information, digitalisation of the Ration Card database, automation of fair-price shop operations etc. In addition, it is to be taken up as a Mission Mode project under the egovernance plan. This would increase transparency, accountability and efficiency of the PDS Scheme, thereby improving social audit.
The TPDS received a further boost following several judgements made by the Supreme Court of India. These judgements have contributed in enhanced enforceability of the system and also enhanced the awareness of the people regarding their rights.
5.4. SC/ST/OBC Hostels 1994 This scheme was introduced in October, 1994. Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution is the nodal ministry for the scheme. Allocation of foodgrains was made to nineteen States during 2001-02, for the first time, on the recommendation of Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. Schools having two thirds of their hostels occupied by SC/ST/OBC students are eligible to receive 15 kg foodgrains per resident per month.
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5.5. National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) 1995 This scheme provides a one-time financial assistance to families living below the poverty line if they have lost their primary bread-earner aged between 18 to 65 years. In order to speedily sanction and disburse the due amount, the duty of sanctioning the cases was devolved to the Panchayat Samitis. Earlier, this was entrusted to the SDOs. The cash assistance amounts to Rs. 10,000.
5.6. Antyodaya Anna Yojana 2000 The “Antyodaya Anna Yojana” was launched in December 2000. Initially, each beneficiary was given 25 kg foodgrain per month at the rate of Rs.3 per kg. This has been increased to 35 kg of rice per card per month at the rate of Rs.2 per kg. From November 2006 onwards, the States are required to bear the distribution cost, including margin to dealers and retailers as well as the transportation cost through fair price shops. Thus the entire food subsidy is being passed on to the consumers under the scheme. Box 7: Supreme Court on AAY •
•
SC Order dated 02 May 2003: Every destitute household or an individual under the following social group is entitled to get an Antyodaya card: aged, infirm, disabled, destitute men and women, pregnant and lactating mothers; widows and single women with no regular support; old persons (60 year-old and above) with no regular support and means of subsistence; households with a disabled adult member of no assured means of subsistence; households with members, due to old age, lack physical or mental fitness and need care, or for other reasons no adult member is available to engage in gainful employment outside the house; and primitive tribes. Another Supreme Court verdict says that belonging to a below-the-povertyline (BPL) social category is not a basis for getting an Antyodaya card. A household or an individual under the aforementioned criteria cannot be denied an AAY card being mistakenly not included in the BPL list of the village or erroneously denied a BPL-PDS card earlier. Denial of an AAY card to said groups can be taken only after due investigation ascertaining the economic-social status of the household or an individual.
5.7. Annapurna Scheme 2000 This scheme was launched in 2000 by Ministry of Rural development to provide food to senior citizens who cannot take care of themselves and are not under the targeted public distribution system (TPDS), and who have no one to take care of them in their village. The scheme aims at providing food security to those senior citizens who have remained uncovered under the National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS)
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despite being eligible for the scheme. Under the Annapurna Scheme, 10 Kg of food-grains per month are to be provided free of cost to the beneficiaries.
5.8. National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS) 2001 It is a social assistance scheme meant for providing financial assistance to pregnant women of BPL households. The Scheme was launched with the objective of decreasing the maternal mortality rate and to improve the status of health of women, especially those living below the poverty line. The scheme entitles BPL pregnant women with Rs. 500 cash assistance as maternity benefits.
5.9. Scheme for supply of food grains to welfare institutions (2002-03) This scheme was initially introduced in 2002-03 to liquidate the stocks of foodgrains. The scheme continues even though stocks in the Central Pool have not remained comfortable in recent years. With a view to meet the requirement of hostels /welfare institutions which help the shelter-less/homeless poor, and other categories not covered under TPDS or under any other welfare schemes, an additional allocation of foodgrains (rice and wheat) not exceeding five per cent of the BPL allocation of each State/UT is made to States/UTs at BPL rates.
5.10. Food stamps/food coupons/ food credit cards Food stamps are an indirect financial support given to the needy and to the underprivileged by issuing coupons, vouchers, electronic card transfer etc. Through this, beneficiaries are entitled to purchase commodities at any shop or outlet, and not confined to a particular shop as in the case of the PDS system in India. This scheme reduces costs of price stabilization by reducing dependence on buffer stocks. It provides incentive to deregulate the domestic market and thus induce private entrepreneurship.
5.11. Village Grain Bank Scheme 2004 Grain banks are to be set up in food scarce areas like drought-prone areas, hot and cold desert areas, tribal areas and inaccessible hilly areas which remain cut off because of natural calamities like floods, etc. The scheme envisages inclusion of all willing BPL/AAY families in the villages to be identified by the State Government in food deficit areas. It provides safeguard against starvation during periods of natural calamity and lean
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seasons when the marginalized food insecure households do not have sufficient resources to purchase their rations.
5.12. National Food Security Bill 2011 The NFSB, prepared by the Department of Food & Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer affairs, Food and Public Distribution, is another important development, after NREGA, in the context of India’s attempt to ensure food security. If implemented, it will ensure public provisioning of food and related measures to enable assured economic and social access to adequate food for all persons in the country, at all times, in pursuance of their fundamental right to live with dignity. The NSFB60 is a pioneer in the direction of government efforts in dealing with food insecurity. It appears to have the potential to bring all aspects of food security under one roof, from where food security issues can tackled through a rights based approach. Once the Bill becomes an Act, it will entitle every family below the poverty line in rural as well as urban areas to 25 kilograms of rice or wheat per month at Rs. 3 per kilogram. This legislation will also be used to bring about a broader systemic reform in the public distribution system. The major highlights of the National Food Security Bill 2011 are as follows: o Provided that not less than 46 per cent of all rural households shall be designated as Rural Priority Households and entitled to subsidized grains under the act.(Section 22) o Provided, further, 90 per cent of all rural households are entitled to subsidized foodgrains.(section 22) o Provided that not less than 28 per cent of all urban households are categorised as Urban Priority Households.(Section 23) o Provided, further, 50 per cent of all urban households are entitled to subsidized foodgrains.(Section 23) o The NFSB does not only talk about food entitlements to the diverse section of the population, it also talks of a rights based approach where it creates an obligation under this Act to provide physical, economic and social access, for every person,
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at all times, either directly or by means of financial purchases61, to quantitatively and qualitatively adequate, sufficient and safe food, which ensures an active and healthy life. o The NFSB 2011 attempts to cover all the multiple schemes under one head, which is not only innovative but also effective in targeting the population. o The multiple schemes covered under the bill are Mid-day Meal to Children, Anganwadi programmes, ICDS, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre62, National Family Benefit Scheme, Indira Ghandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana etc. o Chapter IV of the NFB 2011 suggests major changes in every dimension of the public distribution system to make it more effective and efficient in order to meet the requirements. It encourages a decentralised procurement of foodgrains and pushes state governments to undertake a decentralised planning process to procure, store and distribute foodgrains at local levels, from the district to the Panchayat, with a view to minimize transportation costs and losses.
6. Legislations Relating to Food Utilisation Utilisation is commonly understood as the way the body makes use of most of the nutrients in food. Sufficient energy and nutrient intake by individuals is the result of good feeding practices, food preparation, a balanced diet and proper distribution of food among households. These together determine the nutritional status of individuals.
Economic growth does not always lead to reduction in hunger and increased utilisation of food. A report63 by the World Food Programme observers, “the relationship between hunger and income is not consistently strong. In many of the countries where market development has led to substantially increased incomes, malnutrition has not declined correspondingly, and targeted nutrition interventions have been needed�. The fact is further emphasised by K. Benkatasubramanian where he observes that even though selfsufficiency in food production has been achieved, the population still lacks access to
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Under NFSB 2011, The Direct cash transfer scheme is implemented at experimental basis in few selected areas of the country. Further on the schemes is available at: http://planningcommission.nic.in/sectors/index.php?sectors=dbt. A background note on the DCT is available at: http://planningcommission.nic.in/sectors/dbt/back_2611.pdf 62 According to the NFSB 2011, Nutrition Rehabilitation Centre shall mean a center in a hospital, Primary Health Centre or similar health facility set up or approved by the appropriate government that provides nutrition, treatment and rehabilitation of malnourished children. 63 World hunger series: Hunger and markets, The World food Program 2009.
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balanced food.64 The situation and the challenges relating to food utilisation is summed up below (Box 8).
Box 8: PM’s National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges In 2010, The Planning Commission of India held the Multi-Stakeholders Retreat on addressing ‘India’s Nutrition Challenges’. About 200 participants from the Central Ministries/Departments and State Governments/ UTs, field functionaries such as Anganwadi workers, supervisors, CDPOs, ANMs, health functionaries, PRI members and NGOs participated and provide suggestions for addressing the nutritional challenges. Following recommendations emerged from the event: • Strengthening and restructuring of ICDS with special focus on pregnant and lactating mothers and children under three. Convergence of ICDS with National Rural Health Mission and Total Sanitation Campaign particularly at the district and village level is also emphasized. • Multi-sectoral approach in consultation with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare to address maternal and child malnutrition in 200 selected districts. • A nationwide information, education and communication campaign, coordinated by the Ministry of Women & Child Development in consultation with the Planning Commission and Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, to be launched against malnutrition including those relating to hygiene and sanitation so as to address different issues of women and children under two . The active involvement of people’s representatives, civil society activists, media persons and celebrities to be ensured. • The Ministries that deal with health, drinking water supply and sanitation, school education, agriculture and food & public distribution to bring strong focus on nutrition in their programmes. Following the meeting of the Prime Minister’s National Council in November 2010, several meetings, consultations, discussions have been held and conceptual frameworks are in progress. Source: http://wcd.nic.in/fnb/fnbweb.pdf
In India, hunger is less prominent than cases of malnutrition. This is because the level of poverty in the household and the priority given to food purchases determine the nutrition level of that household. The problem facing the country today is not one of shortage of foodgrains but finding ways and means of managing the accumulated surplus into the dietary intake of the population so as to curb the incidences of malnutrition in the country.
Government of India has a number of schemes to assist individuals, particularly people from the marginal section of the population, to improve their food utilisation capabilities and thus achieve potential growth and development. Some of the schemes are.
6.1. Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, 1975 The Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme65 was launched in 1975 with the following objectives:
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Key factor in development, The Hindu, May 16, 2000.
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o to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the 0-6 year age-group; o to lay the foundation for proper psychological, physical and social development of the child; o to reduce incidences of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout; o to achieve effective co-ordination of policy and implementation amongst the various departments to promote child development; and o to enhance the capability of the mother to look after the normal health and nutritional needs of the child through proper nutrition and health education.
The Government of India sponsored ICDS programme is India's primary social welfare scheme to tackle malnutrition and health problems in children below 6 years of age and their mothers. Gender promotion of the girl child to bring her at par with the male child is a key component of the scheme. The main beneficiaries of the programme are girl children until their adolescence, all children below 6 years of age and pregnant and lactating mothers. Besides, the scheme also provides supplementary nutrition, health care, and pre-school education to children below 6 and through Anganwadi Centers.66 As an integrated package of service to children, it extends to girls until adolescence and pregnant and lactating mothers. This scheme aims to coordinate activities of policy formulation and implementation, among all departments of various ministries involved in the different government programmes and schemes, aimed at child development across India.
In 2006, the Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) proposed the adoption of the Integrated Child Protection Scheme (ICPS). The ICPS was introduced in 2009-10 with the aim of contributing to the well-being of children in difficult circumstances, as well as to the reduction of vulnerabilities to situations and actions that lead to abuse, neglect, exploitation, abandonment and separation of children from their families. The specific objectives of the scheme are: •
To institutionalize essential services and strengthen structures
•
To enhance capacities of all systems and persons involved in service delivery
65
Integrated Child development Scheme document, Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India. Available at: http://wcd.nic.in/icds.htm 66 Under ICDS aanganwadi centers have been established which is a government sponsored child-care and mother-care centre in India. It caters to children in the 0-6 age group. For more details, see: http://www.aanganwadi.org/
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•
To create a database and knowledge base for child protection services
•
To strengthen child protection at family and community level
•
To coordinate and network with government institutions and non-government institutions to ensure effective implementation of the scheme
•
To raise public awareness about child rights, child vulnerability and child protection services.
The ICPS brings together existing child protection schemes of the Ministry under one comprehensive umbrella and integrates additional interventions for protecting children and preventing harm. The scheme is further reinforced by several Supreme Court verdicts, as indicated in the Box 9:
Box 9: The ICDS Scheme reinforced by Supreme Court Verdicts o Supplementary nutrition shall be provided to every child under six, adolescent girl, and pregnant woman and nursing mother for 300 days in a year. (SC Order dated 29 April 2004) o The package of services under ICDS including immunization, health education, pre-school education, and supplementary nutrition must be provided to all children six years old and below, adolescent girls, and pregnant women and nursing mothers. (SC Order dated 13 December 2006) o Efforts must be made to ensure that all SC/ST habitations in the country shall, as early as possible, have operational AWCs. Similar efforts shall also be made to ascertain that all urban slums have AWCs. (SC Order dated 07 October 2004) o All State/UTs shall make earnest effort to ensure that slums are covered by ICDS program of services. (SC Order dated 07 October 2004) o The Central Government and States/UTs shall ensure that all amounts allocated for supplementary nutrition program are sanctioned in time to prevent disruption of the programme on the ground. (SC Order dated 7 October 2004) o All State Governments/UTs shall make available in their websites full data on ICDS including the location of operational AWCS, the number of beneficiaries category-wise, the funds allocated and used, and other related details. (SC Order dated 07 October 2004) o Private contractors shall be banned from supplying the supplementary nutrition. Instead, local women’s self-help groups (SHGs) and Mahila Mandals shall be encouraged to supply the supplementary food distributed in AWCs. (SC Order dated 07 October 2004) o The below the poverty line (BPL) status of a family shall not be a criterion for accessing the ICDS. (SC Order dated 07 October 2004) o Every community, in rural or in urban areas, where there are more than 40 children under the age of six, is entitled to have an ACW. (SC Order dated 13 December 2006) o Every settlement, in rural areas and urban slums, must be covered with AWCs. (SC Order dated 13 December 2006) o Nutrition and feeding norms shall be altered to ensure the following: children between 6 months and 3 years of age have to avail through SNP 500 calories and 12-15 grams of protein; severely malnourished children, 800 calories and 20-25 grams of protein; and pregnant women and lactating mothers, 600 calories and 18-20 grams of protein. (SC Order dated 22 April 2009)
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6.2. Wheat Based Nutrition Programme (WBNP) 1986 The ICDS is duly supported by the WBNP, a centrally sponsored programme that was introduced in 1986 but now transferred to the State sector. Central assistance for the programme consists of supply of free wheat and supportive costs for other ingredients, cooking, transport etc. As indicated above, the foodgrains allotted under this scheme are utilized by the States/UTs under the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS) for providing nutritious/ energy food to children below 6 years of age and expectant and/ or lactating women from disadvantaged sections.
6.3. Mid-day Meal 1995 The Mid Day Meal scheme was launched in 1995 and is the world’s largest school feeding programme reaching out to about 120 million children in over 1.65 million schools and Education Guarantee Scheme (EGS) centres across the country. At present, the scheme covers students of Class I-VIII in government primary schools and upper primary schools, and government aided schools run by local bodies. The objective is to protect children from classroom hunger, increase school enrolment and attendance, improve socialization among children belonging to all castes, address malnutrition, and bring about social empowerment through provision of employment to women.
Central assistance under the Mid-Day-Meal scheme consists of free supply of foodgrains wheat/rice by the nearest Food Corporation of India (FCI) godown on the basis of 100g per child per day for primary; 150g for upper primary classes. Total transport costs between godowns and schools are reimbursed by the government. The scheme has been successful in achieving its overall objectives, although the results differ from state to state. The rationale behind the Mid-Day Meal scheme is as follows: o Promoting school participation The scheme has had a positive impact on school participation, not just in terms of getting more children enrolled in the registers but also in terms of regular pupil attendance on a daily basis; o Preventing classroom hunger It has helped to overcome the problem of classroom hunger; o Facilitating the healthy growth of children by acting as a regular source of supplementary nutrition for children and facilitating their growth;
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o Intrinsic educational value. The scheme is potentially used as an opportunity to impart good habits among children and educate them about the importance of clean water, good hygiene; o Fostering social equality. Mid-day meals help to break the barriers of caste and class; o Enhancing gender equity. The gender gap in school participation tends to narrow, as the Mid-Day Meal scheme helps erode the barriers that prevent girls from going to school. o Source of employment to women. The scheme provides a useful source of employment for women and helps liberate working women from the burden of cooking.
The scheme is further enforced by the following Supreme Court orders, as indicated in Box 10. Box 10: Mid-day Meal further reinforced by the Supreme Court Orders: some examples o SC Order, 28 November 2001: The State Governments/Union Territories are to implement the MidDay-Meal Scheme by providing every child in every government and government assisted primary schools with a prepared mid-day-meal with a minimum content of 300 calories and 8-12 grams of protein each day of school for a minimum of 200 days. o SC Order, 20 April 2004: Mid-day-meal has to be provided to every school child throughout the summer vacation in all drought-affected areas. o SC Order, 20 April 2004: Mid-day-meal has to be free of cost to all school children under any circumstances. o SC Order, 20 April 2004: Preference shall be given to Dalits, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in appointing of cooks/helpers. o SC Order, 20 April 2004: The Central Government is directed to allot provisions for construction of kitchen sheds and also contribute to the cooking costs of the mid-day-meal. o SC Order, 20 April 2004: State Governments are directed to apportion provisions for quality infrastructure; facilities such as drinking water and toilets, monitoring and regular inspection; and build other safeguards to ensure nutritious meal to children at primary schools.
6.4. Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls (RGSEAG)– ‘SABLA’ 2010 The RGSEAG was launched in 2010 by merging two schemes, namely Nutrition Programme and Adolescent Girls (NPAG) and Kishori Shakti Yojana (KSY), into a single scheme and later on implemented in 200 select districts across the country. The requirement of foodgrains under the scheme is 100g of grains per beneficiary per day for
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300 days in a year. During 2011-12 2011 a provisional allocation of 273,000 tons of foodgrains comprising 157,000 tons of rice and 116,000 tons of wheat were made.
The scheme aims at empowering owering adolescent girls between 11-18 11 18 by improving their nutritional and health status and upgrading various home and life skills. It also aims at educating the girls on family welfare, health, hygiene etc. and providing information and guidance on existing ng public services along with mainstreaming school girls into formal or non-formal education.
7. Legislations Relating To Livelihood Generation Poverty which stems from the lack of purchasing power has been identified as a major factor for low dietary intake. It is also one of the primary causes of food insecurity and malnutrition. This is evident from incidences of the malnutrition in rural areas,, where there are not many livelihood opportunities, other than the agriculture and allied services. That seriously restricts the opportunities for the people. Because of rampant incidences of disguised unemployment in agriculture access to food and other basic necessities is more difficult. This makes government policies on livelihood generation critical for them, and also for people below the poverty line in urban areas.
Figure 3 :Vicious cycle of food insecurity, malnutrition and poverty Poverty
Food insecurity, hunger and malnutrition
Low productivity
Poor physical and cognitive development
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The figure show direct linkages between poverty and food insecurity. Therefore, in order to address food insecurity of the marginal population it is imperative for the government to create the environment and opportunities for people to break through the poverty cycle. This makes livelihood generation crucial for tackling food insecurity.
For that, Government of India has devised the following schemes:
7.1. Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY) The Swarnajayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana (SGSY), an integrated programme for selfemployment of the rural poor, came into effect on April 1, 1999. It is an initiative to provide sustainable income to poor people living in rural areas of the country. The SGSY aims at providing self-employment to villagers through the establishment of self-help groups. Activity clusters are established based on the aptitude and skill of the people and they are nurtured to their maximum potential. Funds are provided by NGOs, banks and financial institutions. Since its inception, over 2.25 million self-help groups have been established with an investment of Rs.144.03 billion, benefiting over 6.7 million people.
7.2. Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana Sampoorna Grameen Rozgar Yojana is a scheme launched by the Government of India in 2001 by merging the provisions of Employment Assurance Scheme67 (EAS) and Jawahar Samridhi Yojana68 (JGSY). The objective was to provide gainful employment to the rural poor. The programme was implemented through the Panchayati Raj institutions. The programme is self-targeting in nature and aims to provide employment and food to people in rural areas living below the poverty line.
7.3. Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Guarantee Employment Act (MG NREGA) 2005 The MG NREGA is one of the most ambitious Act ever introduced in India after independence. Its objective is to enhance livelihood security of rural area households. At least one hundred days of wage employment is guaranteed every financial year to every household whose adult members volunteer to do unskilled manual work.69
67
For details, visit http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/maker/mak_cht3b.pdf For details, visit http://planningcommission.nic.in/reports/sereport/ser/maker/mak_cht3a.pdf 69 For more details, see http://www.nrega.net/ 68
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This programme of employment generation is implemented in accordance with the parameters defined in the Act. For example, under Sec 3, states are responsible for providing work in accordance with the scheme; under Sec 4, every state government is required to make a scheme for providing not less than 100 days of guaranteed employment, in a financial year, to those who demand work.
Over the years, the programme has significantly and positively impacted both livelihood opportunities (providing employment to millions of people) and food security (enabling people to access food). This is mainly because the programme gives priority to activities related to sustainable development such as water harvesting, groundwater recharge, drought-proofing, and flood protection. As noted by the policy document, almost 80 per cent works relate to soil and water conservation. In addition, it has been emphasised that the MGNREGA works should lay stress on increasing land productivity, recharging ground water and increasing water availability.70
Some of the salient features of the Act include the following: •
Rights based framework
•
Time bound guarantee (15 days for provision of employment, or else unemployment allowance)
•
Up to 100 days per household in a financial year
•
Labour intensive work
•
Decentralized planning (Gram Sabhas to recommend work, at least 50 per cent of which is to be executed by Gram Panchayats, etc.)
•
Work site facilities (including crèche, drinking water, first aid and shade)
•
Women’s empowerment (at least one-third of beneficiaries are women)
•
Transparency and accountability (proactive disclosure through Social Audits, Grievance Redress Mechanism, etc.)
It is worthwhile to mention that with the recent amendment of the Act, MGNREGA works will be permitted on individual land of small and marginal farmers. This will positively impact agricultural productivity and household income.
70
For details, see http://www.nrega.nic.in/netnrega/forum/2-MGNREGA.pdf
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8. What holds India from ensuring food security? 8.1. Progress made so far Food security is broadly determined by two factors: availability and purchasing power. Of the two, availability is determined by production while purchasing power is directly related to income. Food insecurity in India has primarily been linked to the two. However, it is important to iterate that in the present global system, both are manageable. In the absence of adequate domestic production, food items can be imported and in the absence of adequate purchasing power, subsidised food can be distributed, as has happened in India for over six decades through the popularly known public distribution system (PDS). The system has consistently facilitated access to food to millions of people.
What seems apparent is that food insecurity reinforced by prevalence of hunger and malnutrition is intrinsically linked to poverty, i.e. the higher the level of poverty greater is the level of food insecurity. Any direct or indirect countermeasure against food insecurity, therefore, needs to be routed through poverty reduction and income increase.
The prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in India does not necessarily imply complete failure of government initiatives to ensure food security. An examination of historical data suggests that India has made significant progress71 with regards to various indicators of food security. The progress has continued, or is even better, in the new millennium (after 2000). Some of these indicators are increased foodgrain production (from 175 million metric tonnes in 2002-03 to over 255 million tonnes in 2012-13) ensuring availability, almost a constant per capita availability of food (463 grams/ capita/ day) and reduction in percentage of population below the poverty line (from 42 per cent in 2004-05 to about 25 per cent in 2009-10). More importantly, the distribution of foodgrains through the government system (PDS) has more than tripled since 2000 (increasing from 13 million metric tonnes in 2000 to over 44 million metric tonnes in 2012. This has translated into almost seven times increase in food subsidies (from Rs.120 billion in 2000 to an estimated Rs. 810 billion in 2012).
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The progress has significantly varied across states; while states like Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Puducherry, Lakshadweep, Goa, Chandigarh, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh have managed to reduce sub-poverty line population to below 10 per cent; others, especially Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and others have fared badly, with poverty above the national average.
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Figure 4: Trend in per capita net availability of cereals and pulses (per day in grams)
600 500 400 300
510.1
480.1
494.1
394.9
444 407
334.2
200 100
60.7
56.1
38.4
37 2008
2005
2002
1999
1996
1993
1990
1987
1984
1981
1978
1975
1972
1969
1966
1963
1960
1957
1954
1951
0 Cereals per capita net availability per day (gram) Pulses per capita net availability per day (gram) Total per capita net food grain availability (gram) Source: Adapted from the CUTS report 'State of the Indian Consumers 2012'
The situation has also improved with regard to many health indicators that indirectly influence food security (hunger and malnutrition). Data reflects that immunisation against measles among children below one year of age increased from 56 per cent in 2002 to 74 per cent in 2011; infant mortality rate (0-1 year) per 1,000 live births declined from 62 in 2002 to 44 in 2012; mortality rate of children under five (per 1,000 live births) has dropped from 85 in 2002 to 56 in 2012.
India’s achievements with regard to different aspects of food security have been made possible by the combined impact of existing food related legislations in India and further reinforced by Supreme Court orders relating to the right to food.72 These are no mean achievements, considering a continuously increasing population, rising inequality of income, growing impact of climate change on crop production and availability and increasing food prices.
8.2. Current status These data are proof that India has the necessary policies, programmes and initiatives covering all the five major aspects of food security, namely availability, stability, accessibility, utilisation and livelihood generation. However, notwithstanding a plethora 72
Till August 2008, over fifty “interim orders” were issued by the Supreme Court in the “right to food case” (PUCL vs. Union of India and others, Writ Petition [Civil] 196 of 2001).Many of these orders are of no consequence, e.g. adjournments or listings of dates for further hearings. Some of the major ones cover issues such as PDS/TPDS; AAY; homeless; maternity benefit schemes; ICDS. For details see, Right to Food Campaign, Legal Action: Supreme Court Orders. Source: http://www.righttofoodindia.org/orders/interimorders.html
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of policies and initiatives and also a sustained increase in foodgrains production, there are millions of people suffering from food insecurity as reflected by widespread hunger, malnutrition and abject poverty.
Reports put India in a dismal position with regard to food security, reinforced by widespread prevalence of hunger and malnutrition (AVARD 2012). India is home to the largest number of hungry people in the world, as it is home to about 25 per cent of the world’s hungry poor. The Global Hunger Index (GHI)73 2010 ranks India at 67 out of 122 countries; whereas the ‘2012 Global Hunger Index’ (IFPRI) ranks it at 65 among 79 countries. Similarly, malnutrition in India, especially among children and women, is widespread, acute and even alarming. As per a Global Survey Report released by Save the Children (2012), India is ranked 112th among 141 nations as regards the child development index (CDI).
According to a FAO report (FAO 2012), India remains home to the largest number of undernourished people in the world: 217 million (17.5 per cent of its population) as of 2012. However, the status of hunger and malnutrition in India varies according to different sources/estimates, and goes up to 67 per cent to 77 per cent. Nevertheless, 75 per cent Indians suffer from hunger to varying degrees, 50 per cent of them acutely.
Several reasons are indicated by different studies. These, inter alia, include an increasing population putting pressure on existing supplies, increasing food prices making food inaccessible, inadequate implementation of government food and other schemes.
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GHI = (PUN + CUW + CM)/3; where PUN is the proportion of the population that is undernourished; CUW is prevalence of underweight children under five and CM is proportion of children dying before the age of five. Source: adapted from Ruth Kattumuri (2011), Food Security and the Targeted Public Distribution System in India, LSE Asia Research Centre, Working Paper 38.
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Figure 5: Factors responsible for food insecurity
Source: Adapted from http://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu22we/uu22we03.htm
8.3. What holds India from ensuring food security? Several reasons, covering both the demand and supply sides of food, translate into the current food insecurity situation in India. These include both issues related to making food available (through adequate production and distribution) and accessible (through adequate purchasing power) to poor people. This implies lack of government success in making food available and accessible to poor people.
One of the most important reasons for this lack of success is lack of awareness among people about existing government food schemes. A recent survey reveals that only about 14 per cent of people are aware of the National Food Security Act. This lack of awareness is more serious in the eastern region (awareness at 10 per cent) compared to the northern region (22 per cent).
Another reason is failure of the public distribution system. There are two types of problems: a) issues arising due to the drawbacks of the system in terms of targeting, income transfer and reduced availability and b) structural problems in implementation.
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The reasons for such problems are found within the socioeconomic and political structure of India. Box 11: Evidence of leakage in PDS and its impact Under the Public Distribution System, there is a common tendency among owners of fair price shops/distributors in some parts of the country to distribute the government subsidised food at an interval, often every alternate month. This implies, only half of the subsidised food is distributed amongst the poor, and the other half indirectly going to the open market. By this description, and considering that total food distribution through the PDS was 42.3 million tonnes, more than 21 million tonnes of foodgrains did not reach the intended beneficiaries. This is also reflected through a study by Khera (2011), which demonstrates that leakage constituted about 44 per cent of the total food allocated to the PDS in 2007-08. A report published by the World Bank also highlights the problem. “Though India’s social sector spending is higher than many other developing countries, one of its flagship welfare programs — the public distribution system (PDS) — is fraught with leakages. The PDS scheme, which consumes around one per cent of the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) and covers up to 25 per cent of the poor households, has had limited success, as only 41 per cent of the foodgrains released by the government reach their target.” While this creates inaccessibility to food amongst the poor households, these people, in turn, are forced to approach the market for buying the same food which was siphoned off. An unnecessary pressure is built on the food market. The intended beneficiaries of subsidised PDS food thus have almost equal dependence on PDS and the open market. Source: adapted from CUTS International, State of Indian Consumer 2012
Specific reasons that have led to inefficient functioning of the PDS are: •
Poor off-take from PDS: Even though off-take has improved over the years, it remains far below the desired levels. The off-take in 2010-11 is estimated to be about 53 per cent;
•
Market distortions, lack of information and poor networking etc;
•
Lack of effectiveness in targeting of the poor;
•
Inadequate buying capacity of the poor. Poor people, especially agricultural labourers often find it difficult to pay for even subsidised food. There are other reasons also, such as lack of coordination between the time of wage disbursement and the working hours of the fair price shops;
•
The pattern of grain distribution does not seem to be related to the extent of poverty;
•
Problems associated with migrant labourers. Due to the absence of a permanent address, they are unable to get a ration card, and thus do not have access to the PDS;
•
Over time changes in food habits also have their effect on access to food, especially in tribal areas; 67
•
Transportation bottlenecks resulting in poor availability, especially in rural areas;
•
Wastage due to lack of storage and transportation facilities;
•
Infrequent distribution by fair price shops; and
•
Poor profit margins for FPS owners have manifested into inherent corruption within the system.
However, recent developments indicate a significant improvement with regard to bringing in greater transparency in the PDS system. Governments in some states have introduced an initiative for e-tracking the movement of foodgrains under PDS. The system will monitor transport of commodities under PDS from godowns to the ration shops. The initiative, currently limited to some states of India, is expected to be extended to others. The prevalence of a higher percentage of people from backward class, mainly SC, ST, and OBC, with Orissa heading the graph, is another major reason. It is also observed that in most of the Indian states the ratio of food insecure people is higher in urban compared to rural areas.
The partial failure (success) of MGNREGA is considered to be an important reason for India’s unimpressive performance with respect to food security. As indicated above, the scheme provides a legal guarantee for one hundred days of employment in every financial year to adult members of any rural household willing to do public work-related unskilled manual work. The statutory minimum per day-wage (Rs.120 equivalent to USD2.39) is considered enough to shift the households from the level of absolute poverty. The total outlay for the scheme was Rs. 400 billion (US$7.98 billion) in 2010–11.
The scheme is technically more than what the term conveys as it seeks to improve the purchasing power of the rural people (access to food), creating rural assets, enhancing the livelihood security of people in rural areas and arresting rural migration.
The MGNREGS has undoubtedly fostered social and gender equality and led to consumer empowerment.74 The MGNREGS National Report of 2011-12 sums up the progress made by the scheme. According to this report, the employment provided to households person
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As per the data available, out of the total person days employment generated, more than 360 million (or 22.47 per cent) workers under the scheme are from scheduled castes and 282 million (17.57 per cent) scheduled tribes. Moreover, a major chunk of the beneficiaries are women.
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days is 43.9 million, total works taken up is 6.8 million, and out of these works completed during the year is over 0.8 million, while works in progress number 6 million.75
Figure 6: Distribution of person-days employment under MGNREGS in 2011-12 (in per cent)
Others 59.9
SCs: 22.5
STs: 17.6 Figure 7: Achievements of MGNREGS in 2011-12 (in million)
Works in progress 6.016
Total works taken up 6.827
Work Complete d 8.11
Source: National Report on NREGA, 2011-12
However, there remain several issues hampering progress of this scheme. Data on person days and government expenditure pattern show that lately there has been a deceleration in both number of person days as well as government expenditure. Some specific reasons identified for partial failure of MGNREGS are fake rolls; low wages; interference by political people; poor infrastructure leading to improper implementation; inadequate utilization of the fund provided; irregularities at worksites; recording of non-existent (ghost) workers; bribery in the issuance of job cards; and corruption in distribution of fund by Panchayat heads. Another major factor is the lack of consideration of local conditions in the preparation of schemes.
75
National Report on NREGA, 2011-12
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For many, a major reason for partial failure of the MGNREGS is that the scheme is designed at the national level and implemented at the state/local level. It is contended that such programmes need to take perspectives and preferences of local people into account rather than imposing them on the state. In a number of states, particularly in rural areas, instances of shortage of labour to carry out agricultural activities are reported.
Figure 8: Growth Trend in Person days and Expenditure Pattern in India (%) 100.00 80.00 60.00
79.73 58.75
71.84 50.56
40.00
39.11 31.09
20.00
3.87
0.00 -20.00
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
-9.32
2010-11
2011-12 -29.63
-40.00
-37.57
-60.00 Persondays
Expenditure Pattern
Source: NREGA Implementation Status Report 2007-12
There are also other areas of concern. It is observed that the demand-supply gap is widening in different states of India, and some of the major states with widespread poverty are infected by this malice. The gap between the number of households demanding employment and the number of households provided employment under the scheme is given in the table below. (Table 1)
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Table 1: State-wise Trend in Demand-Supply Gaps In MGNREGS States 2006-07 2011-12 States 2006-07 2011-12 Rajasthan 0 181797 Chhattisgarh 26057 3178 Himachal Pradesh 3673 58667 Sikkim 72 2486 Manipur 0 45104 Uttarakhand 51 2479 Uttar Pradesh 103016 34537 Meghalaya 2550 896 Tamil Nadu 227 32364 Haryana 0 765 West Bengal 151603 27466 Punjab 140 543 Kerala 5820 23966 Andaman And Nicobar 495 Nagaland 0 15176 Tripura 465 381 Madhya Pradesh -132587* 14719 Puducherry 54 Odisha 13082 13879 Lakshadweep 38 Gujarat 0 13447 Goa 38 Maharashtra -31920* 12459 Andhra Pradesh 99 0 Jharkhand 0 7264 Chandigarh 0 Arunachal Pradesh 0 6710 Dadra & Nagar Haveli 0 Mizoram 1480 6573 Daman & Diu 0 Karnataka 3347 6519 Bihar 19711 -71892* Jammu And Kashmir 0 6388 India 172795 452538 Assam 5909 6042 Note: Gap= Number of Households that have Demanded Employment - No. of Households Provided Employment; * : Surplus Source: National Reports on NREGA, 2006-07 and 2011-12
9. Conclusion and way forward The above analysis is ample proof that India has a number of policies, programmes and initiatives covering all the five major aspects of food security, namely availability, stability, accessibility, utilisation and livelihood generation. Notwithstanding a plethora of legislations and a sustained increase in foodgrains production, millions of people are still suffering from food insecurity. Even children have not escaped from this malice. In the wake existing and emerging challenges, there is need for a much focused approach to revitalise and strengthen implementation tools. Following initiatives could be contemplated for making India a food secure country.
9.1. Strengthening the PDS Existing leakages in PDS lead to siphoning off nearly 40 per cent of the foodgrains intended for poor people. This translates into a huge welfare loss as it deprives thousands of poor people from access to food. There is a need for making the system more efficient with regard to transparency and accountability. The recently introduced e-tracking system could be a useful tool to promote transparency in the system. This should be extended to cover all states and UTs in India. 71
A large number of poor people in rural areas are still found to remain non-beneficiaries of the PDS/TPDS system whereas people with better income and livelihood are included in it. There is also a need for identifying the actual needy.
9.2. Major role for states in MGNERS Initiatives like MGNREGS have helped the country tide over issues related to rural employment and promoted social equity. The initiative, however, suffers from a lack of local participation at several places. This is because the scheme is not designed after taking local issues into consideration. There is a need for giving states a major role in the design of work and activities supposed to be undertaken there.
9.3. Safeguarding poor people from food price rises A continuous rise in food prices erodes people’s purchasing power. A significant number of poor people are pushed below the poverty line with every increase in food prices. There should be some initiative to identify such people. This could help the government give greater focus on these people.
9.4. Building food storage and other infrastructure Inadequate infrastructure related to food storage and poor connectivity in remote areas is a major reason for price rises in food products. There is a need for significant improvement in these areas. The government should facilitate and create a conducive environment for private sector investment in such areas.
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References 1. Approach to the Twelfth Five Year Plan, Chapter 7: Farm sector. Available at: http://planningcommission.nic.in/plans/planrel/12appdrft/appraoch_12plan.pdf 2. FAO, The State of Food Insecurity in the World, 2012 3. Hunger And Malnutrition In India: Status, Causes And Cures, Association of Voluntary Agencies for Rural Development (AVARD), 2012 4. Indian council of Agriculture Research (ICRA), “Agriculture Legislations” can be found at : http://www.icar.org.in/files/Agril-Legislation.pdf 5. Note on Mid-Day Meal available at: http://www.poshan.nic.in/jspui/bitstream/DL/589/1/Introduction%20to%20MDM.pdf 6. R. Radhakrishna and K. Venkata Reddy “Food Security and Nutrition: Vision 2020” 7. Reetika Khera “India’s Public Distribution System: Utilisation And Impact” Centre For Development Economics, University Of Delhi, Delhi, India Journal of Development Studies, Vol. 47, No. 7, 1038–1060, July 2011 8. Reserve bank of India Document on the “ Banks and Farmers” Available at: http://rbidocs.rbi.org.in/rdocs/content/PDFs/90074.pdf 9. Subrata Nath, Director Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture "Country Report: India” Workshop on Climate Change and its Impact on Agriculture Seoul, Republic of Korea, 13-16 December 2011
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Annex 1: Food Security related authorities/agencies in India S. N. Name Thrust Areas 1 Food safety and standard Established under Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. To Frame Regulations to lay down the Standards and guidelines in relation to Authority of India articles of food and specifying appropriate system of enforcing various standards thus notified. http://fssai.gov.in To promote general awareness about food safety and food standards.
2
Food Corporation of India http://fciweb.nic.in/
3
National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau http://www.nnmbindia.org/
4
National Seed Corporation Ltd. http://www.indiaseeds.com/
5
Agriculture and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority www.apeda.gov.in/
6
Commission for Agriculture Cost and Price (CACP) http://cacp.dacnet.nic.in/
7
8
The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation Act 1964, in order to fulfil following objectives of the Food Policy: 1. Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers. 2. Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system 3. Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to ensure National Food Security To collect, on a continuous basis, on representative segments of population in each of the states, data on dietary pattern and nutritional status; adopting standardized and uniform procedures and techniques; periodically evaluate the ongoing National Nutrition Programmes; to identify their strengths and weaknesses, and to recommend appropriate corrective measures. It is assigned the lead role to develop the seed industry in the country on sound lines. NSC has also contributed in the establishment of various State Seed Corporation under the NSP during seventies. The seed bank maintained by the Corporation with the grant in aid of the Government of India holds larger quantity of seeds of different crops/varieties that are meant to meet the demand arising during natural calamities like flood, drought etc. APEDA was established by the Government of India under the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority Act passed by the Parliament in December, 1985. The Authority replaced the Processed Food Export Promotion Council (PFEPC). APEDA fixes standards and specifications for the scheduled products for the purpose of exports It recommends the MSP levels, taking into account the cost of cultivation (including a “fair� return to the land and family labour of the farmers), the overall availability of grains (as reflected by the trend in wholesale prices), and the need to check inflation.
http://fcamin.nic.in/ http://dfpd.nic.in/
It has the primary responsibility for the formulation and implementation of national food policies. These policies cover a range of operations: procurement, import, and export; movement, storage, and distribution of foodgrains; administration of subsidies, buffer stocking, provision of storage facilities, and promotion of scientific storage techniques; and quality control and specification of foodgrains.
Central Warehousing
Established in 1957 to provide logistics support to the agricultural
Department of Public Distribution, Ministry of Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution
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Corporation http://cewacor.nic.in/
9
Central Seed Committee www.seednet.gov.in
10
National Bank Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) http://www.nabard.org
11
Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority http://wdra.nic.in/
12
Agriculture Insurance Company of India LTD. http://www.aicofindia.com
13
Indian Council of Agriculture Research http://www.icar.org.in/
14
Food and Nutrition Board wcd.nic.in/fnb/fnbweb.pdf
sector. It has one of the biggest public warehouse operators in the country offering logistics services to a diverse group of clients. Apart from storage and handling, CWC also offer services in the area of clearing and forwarding, handling & transportation, procurement & distribution, disinfestation services, fumigation services and others. Under the Seeds Act 1966, there is a provision for the establishment of the Central Seed Committee, which will be entrusted with the task of monitoring all the seed related activities in the country. Set up by the Government of India as a development bank with the mandate of facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture and integrated rural development. The mandate also covers supporting all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promoting sustainable rural development /ushering in prosperity in the rural areas. Warehousing Development and Regulatory Authority (WDRA) is to regulate and ensure implementation of the provisions of the Warehousing (Development and Regulation) Act, 2007 for the development and regulation of warehouses, Regulations of Negotiability of Warehouse Receipts and promote orderly growth of the warehousing business. Incorporated under the Indian Companies Act 1956 on 20th December, 2002. AIC commenced business from 1st April, 2003.
The Council is the apex body for co-ordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. With 99 ICAR institutes and 53 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world. The Food & Nutrition Board (FNB) is a technical support wing under Child Development Bureau of the Ministry. It performs the following activities: • oversees implementation of various nutrition oriented sectoral interventions & issue policy guidelines on critical nutrition issues; • promotes and coordinate activities with regard to bringing nutrition issues to centre stage through advocacy and sensitization of policy planners and implementers. • undertakes awareness campaign on prevention and control of malnutrition at all levels including infant and young child nutrition issues; • focuses on reduction in micronutrient malnutrition; • seeks to improve content and delivery of existing nutrition related interventions enlisting cooperation of professional institution and social organizations in the area of nutrition and health.
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Annex 2: Chronology of Government Policies on Foodgrains Year Major Policy Initiatives 1942 Colonial government introduces food price controls and food rationing in selected cities. Department of Food established to 1) import, procure, and maintain foodgrain reserves; 2) regulate food prices and control interstate movement of foodgrains; and 3) construct and rent storage facilities 1952 Forward Contracts (Regulation) Act prohibits all types of future trading in most agricultural commodities, including foodgrains. 1952-54 Gradual relaxation of controls by independent government, reduction and eventual abolition of rationing, and abolition of procurement; full free trade in foodgrains. 1955 Reintroduction of food controls and PDS in urban areas in response to price rise. ECA governing domestic trade (including storage and internal movement) in several commodities, including foodgrains 1957 Foodgrains Enquiry Committee recommends establishment of a “foodgrains price stabilization organization” taking over the role of the Department of Food and operating as a food trader. 1965 Establishment of APC and FCI, APC (Later called the CACP) responsible for recommending procurement prices for Wheat and Paddy, and levy price for rice. FCI (and other state agencies) responsible for procurement, imports, storage and distribution of foodgrains. FCI operations supported by monopoly controls over international trade in grains, extensive controls over private storage and internal movement of grains, credit controls on private traders, and cheap credit and transport (railway) concessions for FCI Mid1960s Mid1980s 1991 1994/95 1995 1997 Late 1990s onward 2000
2001 2002/03
2007/08
Introduction of high yield variety seeds to expand domestic output (Green Revolution), supported by input subsidies (fertilizer, irrigation, and power) and public procurement at preannounced prices. Revamped PDS, extending coverage to all rural areas to remove “urban bias”; coverage becomes universal Broad-based economic reforms following macroeconomic crisis. Attempts to rationalize fertilizer subsidy Opening of export of common rice and subsequently wheat. India becomes a signatory to the WTO Agreements and announces high bound tariffs for agricultural commodities as a step toward tariffication of quantitative restrictions on imports. Introduction of TPDS to improve delivery of consumption subsidy to the poor. Frequent changes in trade policies; removal and reimposition of export controls, frequent changes in applied tariffs in response to domestic supply situation. National Policy on Handling, Storage, and Transportation of Foodgrains to minimize storage and transportation costs, improve grain storage practices, and develop infrastructure through public-private partnerships. India eliminates all quantitative restrictions on imports. Amendments of the ECA, removing licensing requirements for storage, transportation, and distribution by private traders; but controls can be imposed by the central government on specific commodities, including foodgrains, if the need arises. Amendments to forward contracts (Regulation) Act (1952) allowing futures trading in agricultural commodities, including foodgrains. Model Act on Agricultural marketing passed by central government as a model for reforming state-level APMC acts. Allows direct marketing of all agricultural products by farmers, including contract farming. By January 31, 2007, only 12 states have amended their APMCs per the model act. Future trading in grains banned. Export controls imposed on grains, including common-variety rice, in response to rise in global prices.
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Note: APC, Agriculture prices commission; APMC, Agricultural Product Marketing Committee; CACP commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices; ECA, Essential Commodities Act; FCI, Food Corporation of India; PDS, Public Distribution System; TPDS, targeted Distribution System. Source: Chapter 3 ‘Achieving Food Security in a Cost-effective Way: Implications of Domestic Deregulation and Liberalized trade in India’, Book: Liberalizing Foodgrains Markets, Experiences, Impact, and Lessons from South Asia, edited by A. Ganesh Kumar, Devesh Roy, and Ashok Gulati; Oxford University press 2010, Page 50.
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