COMBATING HUNGER AND ACHIEVING FOOD SECURITY
M S Swaminathan
Cambridge University Press
164 pages; Price not stated
At a time when agriculture in India is at a crossroads, eminent scientist M S Swaminathan sets out a blueprint for achieving a hunger-free and food-secure future in a new book. This book deals with issues as diverse as farm revival, monsoon management, conserving biodiversity, biofuels, food security and the role of women in agriculture.
The book begins by tracing India's tortuous journey towards achieving food sufficiency - from the infamous Bengal Famine to the historic Green Revolution that finally ended India's reliance on food imports. With humility, the father of India's Green Revolution gives credit for its fructification to the synergy between technology, public policy and farmers' efforts.
The author, who had a ringside view of the inner workings of the government during this tumultuous period, describes how then Minister of Food and Agriculture C Subramaniam overruled reservations within his ministry. This account emphasises how political support is critical for pushing groundbreaking ideas in the face of stiff opposition from an ossified bureaucracy. It is a pity that Dr Swaminathan chose not to examine this issue in greater detail.
To maintain stability and sustainability of agricultural production, Dr Swaminathan calls for action on six critical areas. First, he argues that "soil health is not only conserved but improved continuously." Second, he advocates ensuring water security through an integrated approach by harnessing rain water, river and other forms of surface water, ground water, treated wastewater and seawater. Third, he calls for tailoring technology and inputs to specific agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. Fourth, to ensure small landholders receive the benefits of economies of scale, he advocates cooperatives and group farming.
Though these are sensible suggestions, the implications of some others are problematic. He calls for appropriate credit to be extended to farmers at four per cent or even lower rates. No one will quibble with government intervention to ensure adequate and timely availability of credit, but this is difficult to justify. Agriculture already receives subsidised credit. Lowering it further is likely to have grave repercussions on already stretched bank balance sheets.
Dr Swaminathan, who vociferously defends the current food management system in the country, contends that assured and remunerative marketing is key for economically viable agriculture. He believes that procurement at minimum support prices (MSP) is the greatest incentive for farm families and argues that shifting to high-yielding varieties alone would not help accelerate production unless coupled with other essential inputs such as remunerative prices and assured marketing opportunities.
The more one reads his views on this subject the more troubling is the implication: that state intervention in its current form should continue in perpetuity. The eminent scientist disregards the manner in which intervention has distorted the sector.
On some critical issues, Dr Swaminathan's position is confusing. On the fundamental question of whether access to food is really an issue for the 70 per cent of Indians conferred the right by the National Food Security Act (NFSA), his response is far from satisfactory. Even though he acknowledges that in its present avatar the NFSA will only deal with access, not nutrition - a more pressing concern - he calls it the brightest jewel in the crown of Indian democracy.
Dr Swaminathan says we need to address three kinds of hunger to achieve food and nutrition security. These are (i) under-nutrition due to calorie deprivation, (ii) protein hunger, and (iii) hidden hunger, caused by a deficiency of micro nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and so on, in the diet. Despite acknowledging that the NFSA barely addresses these critical issues, it is perplexing that he still argues in favour of it.
The author also says that protein hunger is becoming serious due to inadequate consumption of pulses, milk and eggs, fish and meat. First, his argument is at odds with trends in National Sample Survey's consumption expenditure surveys that show that consumption of these items has actually been increasing steadily, even in rural areas. Second, he fails to explain how the state would meet its commitments under the NFSA if farmers are supposed to be weaned away from production of rice and wheat to pulses.
Dr Swaminathan also comes out heavily in favour of the Public Distribution System (PDS). He opposes cash transfers on grounds that cash is likely to be diverted according to the priorities of men in the household. This may lead to increased alcoholism. The solution, as the author himself points out, is simple: Give the cash to women. He also conveniently sidesteps the issue of "leakage" in the PDS system. Rather than shifting to an alternate platform such as Aadhar, his thinking seems to be to simply flush more money through leaky plumbing.
It is unfortunate that the book takes a political turn in some places. An entire chapter titled "Agriculture and humanism" is devoted to P Chidambaram's 2013-14 Budget, an ode to its humane approach. The author also wades into sensitive debates. In the current political milieu, it would have been better if a statement like "India has a long heritage of secularism and mutual respect for people in its different regions, a heritage which, unfortunately is now under threat" had been left out.
M S Swaminathan
Cambridge University Press
164 pages; Price not stated
At a time when agriculture in India is at a crossroads, eminent scientist M S Swaminathan sets out a blueprint for achieving a hunger-free and food-secure future in a new book. This book deals with issues as diverse as farm revival, monsoon management, conserving biodiversity, biofuels, food security and the role of women in agriculture.
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The book begins by tracing India's tortuous journey towards achieving food sufficiency - from the infamous Bengal Famine to the historic Green Revolution that finally ended India's reliance on food imports. With humility, the father of India's Green Revolution gives credit for its fructification to the synergy between technology, public policy and farmers' efforts.
The author, who had a ringside view of the inner workings of the government during this tumultuous period, describes how then Minister of Food and Agriculture C Subramaniam overruled reservations within his ministry. This account emphasises how political support is critical for pushing groundbreaking ideas in the face of stiff opposition from an ossified bureaucracy. It is a pity that Dr Swaminathan chose not to examine this issue in greater detail.
To maintain stability and sustainability of agricultural production, Dr Swaminathan calls for action on six critical areas. First, he argues that "soil health is not only conserved but improved continuously." Second, he advocates ensuring water security through an integrated approach by harnessing rain water, river and other forms of surface water, ground water, treated wastewater and seawater. Third, he calls for tailoring technology and inputs to specific agro-ecological and socio-economic conditions. Fourth, to ensure small landholders receive the benefits of economies of scale, he advocates cooperatives and group farming.
Though these are sensible suggestions, the implications of some others are problematic. He calls for appropriate credit to be extended to farmers at four per cent or even lower rates. No one will quibble with government intervention to ensure adequate and timely availability of credit, but this is difficult to justify. Agriculture already receives subsidised credit. Lowering it further is likely to have grave repercussions on already stretched bank balance sheets.
Dr Swaminathan, who vociferously defends the current food management system in the country, contends that assured and remunerative marketing is key for economically viable agriculture. He believes that procurement at minimum support prices (MSP) is the greatest incentive for farm families and argues that shifting to high-yielding varieties alone would not help accelerate production unless coupled with other essential inputs such as remunerative prices and assured marketing opportunities.
The more one reads his views on this subject the more troubling is the implication: that state intervention in its current form should continue in perpetuity. The eminent scientist disregards the manner in which intervention has distorted the sector.
On some critical issues, Dr Swaminathan's position is confusing. On the fundamental question of whether access to food is really an issue for the 70 per cent of Indians conferred the right by the National Food Security Act (NFSA), his response is far from satisfactory. Even though he acknowledges that in its present avatar the NFSA will only deal with access, not nutrition - a more pressing concern - he calls it the brightest jewel in the crown of Indian democracy.
Dr Swaminathan says we need to address three kinds of hunger to achieve food and nutrition security. These are (i) under-nutrition due to calorie deprivation, (ii) protein hunger, and (iii) hidden hunger, caused by a deficiency of micro nutrients such as iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, vitamin B12, and so on, in the diet. Despite acknowledging that the NFSA barely addresses these critical issues, it is perplexing that he still argues in favour of it.
The author also says that protein hunger is becoming serious due to inadequate consumption of pulses, milk and eggs, fish and meat. First, his argument is at odds with trends in National Sample Survey's consumption expenditure surveys that show that consumption of these items has actually been increasing steadily, even in rural areas. Second, he fails to explain how the state would meet its commitments under the NFSA if farmers are supposed to be weaned away from production of rice and wheat to pulses.
Dr Swaminathan also comes out heavily in favour of the Public Distribution System (PDS). He opposes cash transfers on grounds that cash is likely to be diverted according to the priorities of men in the household. This may lead to increased alcoholism. The solution, as the author himself points out, is simple: Give the cash to women. He also conveniently sidesteps the issue of "leakage" in the PDS system. Rather than shifting to an alternate platform such as Aadhar, his thinking seems to be to simply flush more money through leaky plumbing.
It is unfortunate that the book takes a political turn in some places. An entire chapter titled "Agriculture and humanism" is devoted to P Chidambaram's 2013-14 Budget, an ode to its humane approach. The author also wades into sensitive debates. In the current political milieu, it would have been better if a statement like "India has a long heritage of secularism and mutual respect for people in its different regions, a heritage which, unfortunately is now under threat" had been left out.