FOOD SECURITY-INDIAN AGRICULTURAL

MANAGEMENT
BY

Sruthi peddada

(RA1552001020066)

Sanjana R

(RA1552001020078)

Shruthi Kannan

(RA1552001020079)

Malavika Pillai

(RA1552001020081)

Pramodh kiran varma

(RA15520010200 85)

Ananda Raj A J

(RA1552001020070)

Introduction:
It is well-known that civilization arose in the major river deltas of the world, such as the
Indus-Saraswati in Northwestern India, the Euphrates-Tigris in Mesopotamia, the Nile in Egypt, and the
Yellow River in China .once nomadic humans established permanent settlements and turned from huntergatherers into farmers, the river valleys provided two of the critical elements for agriculture dependable
water supply and the rich deposits of silt borne by the rivers.
The British destroyed the existing water-management systems that had evolved over many
years , expropriating it and diverting it towards cash crops and away from food crops this was to lead
directly to famine .Indian manufacturing declined precipitously in the wake of the British invasion, and in
dramatic synchronicity with the rise of British manufacturing.
1750

1800

1830

1860

1880

1900

Britain

1.9

4.3

9.5

19.9

22.9

18.5

India

24.5

19.7

17.6

8.6

2.8

1.7

Percentage of World Manufacturing Output

Drought is thus a fact of life for the Indian farmer, and India is one of the
countries whose water table is under high stress. If the water issue can be managed, Indian
agriculture has great strengths. India has tremendous climatic variety, anything ranging from
Alpine highlands to semi-arid plateau to tropical rainforests to coastal plains, and so it is
possibly to grow practically anything in India.
Finally, India has great genetic diversity. Major crops enjoy variety: for instance,
some fifty different types of rice were grown in Kerala in the 19th century CE. Some of this is
natural variation based on the different climatic and soil conditions. But a great deal of it must be
carefully tended variation based on observation, experimentation, and cross-breeding over
millennia.
There are risks in this approach ,the subsidies offered to farmers in developed
countries, and possible water shortages, as well as the effects of global warming .Still, India has
the potential to be the worlds largest and most diverse food producer. There is no good reason
why India cannot use its comparative advantage in agriculture and increase its trading and
strategic clout. All that is needed is vision, leadership and management.

OBJECTIVE

The Food Corporation of India was setup under the Food Corporation Act 1964, in order
to fulfill following objectives of the Food Policy:

Effective price support operations for safeguarding the interests of the farmers.
Distribution of foodgrains throughout the country for public distribution system
Maintaining satisfactory level of operational and buffer stocks of foodgrains to
ensure National Food Security
In its 50 years of service to the nation, FCI has played a significant role in India's success in
transforming the crisis management oriented food security into a stable security system.
FCI's Objectives are:

To provide farmers remunerative prices

To make food grains available at reasonable prices, particularly to vulnerable
section of the society
To maintain buffer stocks as measure of Food Security
To intervene in market for price stabilization.
The overall objective was to identify the key factors having potential to provide
food security and to suggest suitable technical and policy measures to improve the food
production and buying capacity of the poor. The specific objectives were to study the factors
which have contributed to the success of Green Revolution, reasons for stagnation in the growth
of agricultural production and to develop a strategy to boost agricultural production, while
helping the rural poor to earn their livelihood.

REQUIREMENTS
WATER RESOURCES MANAGEMENT: Water is the most critical input to boost
agricultural production but excessive use of water has not only reduced the irrigation
efficiency but has also turned fertile lands into sodic wastelands. Efficient storage of
surface water, metered supply of irrigation water with realistic pricing and promotion of
micro-irrigation systems, can increase water use efficiency to 70 - 75% while increasing
the area under irrigation and reducing pollution of ground water. Therefore, it is
necessary to introduce efficient irrigation systems, while covering rain-fed areas under an
efficient watershed development programme.
IMPROVING AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION: Development of degraded and
wastelands for crop production and introduction of eco-friendly practices to improve the
production in rain-fed areas should be the priority. Reclamation of 9 million ha sodic
wastelands, 2 million ha ravine lands and 30 - 40 million ha of denuded wastelands for
agricultural production, involving committed voluntary organisations for backward and
forward integration, can easily increase the food production by 90 - 100 million tons per
annum while generating year-round employment for millions.
PROMOTION OF AGRI-HORTI-FORESTRY: There are various systems of
agroforestry to suit different agro-climatic conditions. While the shallow soils under
moisture stress are suited for silvipasture, denuded lands located in areas receiving 800
mm rainfall, can be brought under agri-horti-forestry. With the objective of rehabilitating
the tribals on such lands in their own environs, BAIF Development Research Foundation,
a civil society organisation, has promoted an unique agri-horti-forestry programme,
where 0.4 ha land owned by each family was developed as orchard, by establishing
drought tolerant fruit crops, while the inter-space was used for growing food crops. This
programme enabled the participant families to earn Rs. 35,000 50,000 per annum after
4 - 6 years. Additional income generation from cultivation of food and cash crops in the
inter-space, fruit nurseries, collection of minor forest products and medicinal herbs could
be generated right from the first year to sustain their livelihood. Presently, over 1.5 lakh
families spread over 9 states, have benefitted from this programme, which can be
expanded across the country. This is a unique programme where employment generation,
food security and environmental conservation can be achieved simultaneously.

LIVESTOCK DEVELOPMENT: Livestock is a source of supplementary income for

over 70 - 80% rural households, who own different species of livestock. However, over
80% of the livestock particularly cattle and buffaloes are uneconomical due to low milk
yield. To address this problem, BAIF has demonstrated a unique approach of genetic
improvement for producing high yielding cattle and buffaloes at the doorsteps of small
farmers and 3 such milch animals can provide sustainable livelihood for a family.
Initially, the programme has a gestation period of 3.5 to 4 years. Subsequently, the

participant families are able to earn Rs. 35,000 - 40,000 per annum. They can earn
additional income by selling surplus animals, which fetch Rs. 30,000 to 50,000 per cow
or buffalo. BAIF is presently operating 3500 livestock development centers spread over
16 states covering 4 million families in 60,000 villages, contributing Rs. 3500 crores to
the national GDP every year through increase in milk production.
AGRI-BUSINESS ACTIVITIES: Rural employment can also be generated through
production of critical agricultural inputs such as vermicompost, bio-fertilisers, biopesticides, mushroom spawn, silkworm eggs, cattle feed, seeds of food and fodder crops,
etc. Series of agro service centres as well as livestock breeding centres can be
established, by training unemployed youth and supporting their business through banking
institutions. Such service centres can also take up the distribution of inputs and organise
collection and gradation of farm produce, for marketing or processing. Decentralised
agro-processing units can also generate additional employment.
OFF-FARM EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES: Promotion of various off-farm
activities like production of housing material, generation of alternate energy devices,
textile, handicrafts, farm equipment and tools, can open up new employment
opportunities for the youth. There is also scope for agro-engineering services, electrical
repairs and fittings, automobile servicing, trade and tourism.
CAPACITY BUILDING FOR GOVERNANCE: While focussing on capacity
building of the farmers in rain-fed areas, women empowerment should be given priority
as women manage 60 to 75% farming operations. This can be done through formation of
Self Help Groups of producers, creating awareness through exposure visits, hands-on
training on appropriate technologies and establishing linkages with development and
financial institutions for easy access to technologies and resources. Development of
physical infrastructure such as storage, grading and processing facilities as needed,
should be undertaken.
Resources for these activities can be mobilised by converging on-going schemes with various
Ministries of the Government of India. To ensure the success and sustainability of the
programme, good governance is a critical input. There is also a need for sensitising the members
of the local Gram Panchayats, Farmers Cooperatives and well reputed Civil Society
Organisations to take active part in supporting the programme. Such strong grassroot level
organisations can make best use of various development programmes while establishing efficient
value chains for different commodities.

SCOPE
The factors responsible for higher yield are high soil productivity, supply of balanced
crop nutrients, efficient water management, improved crops, better plant protection, postproduction management for value addition and marketing. Warm weather and intensive sunlight
are the other important inputs which are more favourable in India compared to most of the other
countries.
Soil productivity is based on the mineral composition and structure of the soil,
depth and drainage facilities, organic matter, intensity of earthworm and microbial activities.
Fairly well productive soils in combination with assured irrigation and optimum supply of
nutrients can enhance the crop yields by 200-300%, as compared to normal crops grown under
rainfed conditions. Selection of suitable crops, improved varieties and efficient plant protection
can also play a significant role in increasing the crop yields. Although the integration of these
inputs is critical this has often been overlooked by most of the small and marginal farmers. In
the absence of adequate extension education, even the large holders have been making grave
mistakes and ending up in losses. Introduction of high yielding varieties without adequate
investment on inputs and plant protection has been the major cause for maximise the production.
As the backward farmers generally follow the progressive and rich farmers, in this process of
capacity building, both rich and poor can contribute their best to increase the food production.

MAJOR ISSUES
Decentralized, farmers participatory approach in variety development
One of the criticisms of the Green Revolution has been that it promoted only a few or
limited number of high yielding varieties evolved by the scientists at the research
institutes for commercial cultivation of farmers. This centralized system of variety
development and release does not give adequate weightage to the preferences of farmers.
Moreover, a variety which has performed well under the ideal, controlled conditions of
an experimental station may be a disaster in poor, varied situations prevalent in farmers
fields. Farmers participatory approach needs to be brought to focus in each and every
stage in the development and dissemination of varieties. Moreover, farmers varieties are
hardy, well adapted to specific agro-ecological conditions with preferred quality
characteristics and possess valuable genes for resistance/tolerance to many biotic
stresses. Hence local farmers should be encouraged to grow promising cultivars selected
by them with the technical support and assistance of the research and extension
personnel.
Judicious fertilizer use
Chemical fertilizers played a key role in the accomplishment of Indias green
revolution. Fertilizer production and consumption in India has increased manifold
during the past five decades. The country has attained self sufficiency in Nxxx and P
fertilizers whereas the entire K requirement is met through imports. Fertilizer
consumption during the past 50 years has increased manifold and reached a peak of
18.128 million tons in 2000-01.
The low efficiency of fertilizer in India is a concern. N use efficiency of rice is only 3035 per cent. Phosphatic fertilizers are the costliest on Rs/kg of nutrient basis, but their
efficiency is only 20-25 per cent; while the efficiency of K is around 70-80 per cent.
Efficient utilization of fertilizers, therefore, is key to the economics of fertilizer
application and environment-friendly sustainable agriculture.. Soil testing to determine
fertilizer need, suitable drills for placement of fertilizer, promotion of slow release
materials, improved agronomic practices will help increasing efficiency of fertilizer.
Promotion of short-duration green manure crops and bio-fertilizers
Indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers is a major concern that needs to be addressed
urgently. Continuous use of chemicals in the soil alters the physical, chemical and
biological properties of the soil, which, along with pollution and contamination, can
make the soil dead. A remedy to the problem is the use of different bio-fertilizers along
with a lot of organic matter.

 Promotion of hardy food security crops in a Mission mode

One of the mechanisms that may help improve food security is the provision of
alternative crops as food staples. Of course, this may require a significant marketing
campaign to convince the consuming public of the value of these alternatives. There is a
precedent: because of persistent rice shortages in the 1960's, wheat was promoted to
traditionally rice-consuming South Indian households. As a result, wheat consumption in
South India has soared.
Millets
o So far we have been giving undue importance for rice and wheat. Almost all
important food security strategies have been built around these crops which are
fussy and oversensitive to environmental and climatic changes. Today, deficient
rainfall in many parts of the country has started showing stress on the progress of
sowing of kharif crops.
o The country is blessed with an array of hardy grain crops like sorghum, bajra,
ragi, and minor millets grown in drier environments. They are important staple
food of the poorest of the poor in the semi-arid tropics of Asia and Africa and
main source of energy, protein, vitamins and minerals. Concerted efforts need to
be made for large scale cultivation of these neglected food security crops in
poverty stricken, drought-hit rural areas. These crops should be promoted and
included in the public distribution system.
Root and Tuber crops
o Tropical crops such as tapioca, sweet potato, yams and aroids should be cultivated
intensively in poverty prone rural areas. These crops have enormous food
production potential, are tolerant to adverse conditions and can be successfully
grown with minimum management practices. The greatest advantage is that food
is available right in the homestead and can save the poor from starvation and
hunger.
o A classic success story can be cited from the history of Kerala. Visakham
Thirunal Rama Varma was the Maharaja of the erstwhile Kingdom of Travancore
from 1880-1885 CE.. The king realized the potential of tapioca a tuber native to
South America, which was introduced into Kerala by the Portuguese to bring
about food security, and issued a proclamation which made it mandatory for
every household to grow as many tapioca plants as possible. In a span of a few
years hunger and starvation has become a thing of the past and tapioca continued
to be a secondary staple food in Kerala till recently.

This incident also illustrates what we described in the section above as the active
management of food security during the era of native kingdoms.
Storage, utilization and value addition of fruits and vegetables
The diverse climatic zones in India make it possible to grow almost all varieties of fruits
and green vegetables making India the second largest producer of fresh vegetables in the
world which accounts for about 15 per cent of the worlds production of vegetables. But
Indias wastage of fruits and vegetables are estimated to be nearly 35 per cent valued at
Rs 33,000 crores due to the non-availability of proper processing and storage facilities, as
well as of distribution channels. These may be conservative estimates; in any case the
wastage is appalling.
India has neglected to build an adequate infrastructure for agriculture. There are no
enough cold-storage facilities or secure grain elevators; there are no roads to get
produce to market; there is insufficient initiative to manufacture value-added products
on a competitive level so that utilization is utmost and wastage is negligible.

RECOMMENDATION
o Selected farmers organisations and civil society organisations engaged in
sustainable agricultural development with good track record, can be entrusted
to develop suitable agricultural development programmes with a holistic
approach.
o Village level producers groups can take active part in identifying their needs
and undertake suitable income generation activities to enhance agricultural
production.
o Public- private partnership may be promoted to develop value chains to improve
the profitability. With such an integrated programme, most of the small farmers
can come out of poverty and empower themselves to ensure food security.

REVIEW OF LECTURE
1. S.Rajeev (IIM Banglore, working paper no 303)
2. P.G.Rajendran, PhD (Indian Council of Agricultural Research (Retd.)
3. N.G. Hegde, Principal Adviser and Trustee, BAIF Development Research
Foundation,
4. Dr. Manibhai Desai Nagar, Warje, Pune .