Expert Speak India Matters
Published on Apr 26, 2021
Given the rapidly growing population, resource constraints and climate change concerns, accompanied by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic — it is imperative for India to make food security a core policy priority.
A roadmap for sustainable food security

This article is part of the Global Policy-ORF publication — A 2030 Vision for India’s Economic Diplomacy.


The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the weakness of the global food system, with hunger becoming a critical issue in most countries. With slowing agricultural growth, expanding populations and resource constraints, achieving food and nutrition security will remain a major challenge long beyond the pandemic. India can take a leadership role in ensuring global food security through technology partnerships with developing countries in Asia and Africa, and by providing food aid. India must rethink its policy towards subsidies and its stand at the World Trade Organisation (WTO), which could help make it food secure and a net provider in the Indian Ocean region.

India’s position on agriculture and food security

In 2015, 193 countries adopted the ambitious aim of completely eradicating hunger by 2030, a target that seemed achievable on the back of significant progress in fighting hunger over previous decades<1>. The absolute number of undernourished persons declined from 1,010.6 million in 1990-92 to 794.6 million in 2014-16<2>. After a period of sustained decline, this number increased from 777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, and by 2017, parts of Nigeria, Somalia, Yemen and South Sudan began to experience crisis-level food insecurity<3>.

The pandemic could double the number of food insecure people. And it is now clear that the world is no longer on track to achieve the zero-hunger goal.

The onset of the pandemic exacerbated the situation. Border controls and lockdown measures to contain the spread of the virus adversely affected global food supply chains, damaged livelihoods, and led to an increase in the price of basic food items in many countries. According to a 2020 report by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, 840 million people will be undernourished in 2030, even without accounting for the impact of the pandemic (see Figure 1)<4>. The pandemic could double the number of food insecure people<5>. And it is now clear that the world is no longer on track to achieve the zero-hunger goal.

Figure 1: Number of Undernourished People Globally

Source: Graph generated using data from Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations<6>

As the net security provider in the Indian Ocean region<7> and a responsible global power, India took cognisance of the challenges posed by the pandemic to provide relief and assistance to several other countries. The country deployed the Indian Navy Ship (INS) Kesari in May 2020 on a special relief mission (Mission Sagar) to deliver essential medical and 580 tonnes of food supplies in addition to two medical assistance teams to the Maldives, Mauritius, Madagascar, Comoros Islands and Seychelles<8>. In October 2020, the INS Airavat was deployed with food aid to South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea<9>. India also provided medical support and food aid to Nepal and Afghanistan, and contributed US$10 million to the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation COVID-19 emergency fund<10>.

However, with nearly 195 million undernourished persons and a raging crisis in its farm sector, India’s own position is critical<11>. Over two decades of high economic growth has failed to make a dent in domestic undernutrition figures. India is home to nearly a third of all undernourished children globally<12>, and it ranks 94th among 107 countries in the Global Hunger Index 2020 report, behind its neighbours Nepal (73rd), Bangladesh (75th) and Pakistan (88th)<13>. The highest levels of stunting and underweight are found in Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and Maharashtra<14>. Starvation deaths are also common in some parts of Jharkhand and Bihar<15>.

With nearly 195 million undernourished persons and a raging crisis in its farm sector, India’s own position is critical.

Ironically, India’s undernutrition problem coexists with overflowing food stocks — 70 million tonnes of rice and wheat stocks were available as of September 2020, enough to ensure zero hunger in the country<16>. The reasons often attributed for India’s high levels of hunger are declining relative incomes, low produce of small and marginal farmers, which does not last year long, and the absence of a universal public distribution system (PDS)<17>. Additionally, the stocks are of foodgrains and there is a dearth of fruits, vegetables and other perishables, which constitute about 78 percent of total consumption<18>.

The pandemic exacerbated the vulnerabilities of certain sections of the Indian population. Restrictions on transportation led to disruptions in the food supply chain, with farmers reported to have dumped their produce on the roads as a result<19>, heightening the food accessibility problem. Further, 92 percent of India’s workforce is in the informal sector, including construction workers, domestic help and street-side vendors<20>. Additionally, approximately 450 million internal migrants work in the informal sector and micro, small and medium enterprises. During the nationwide lockdown, informal workers experienced loss of livelihoods, uncertainty and disrupted income flow, which directly affected their food security. Many walked on foot to their hometowns with no access to proper food and nutrition<21>. A study estimated that the incomes lost by vulnerable sections of India’s workforce during the first two months of lockdown would amount to about INR 4 trillion, or nearly 2 percent of the country’s annual GDP<22>. The most deprived sections of the population depend on flagship government programmes such as Mid-Day Meal (MDM) and Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) to meet their food and nutrition needs. Although the government initiated a ‘take home ration’ programme, there was a shortage of manufacturing units to produce these rations<23>. Similarly, although schoolchildren were to get grains or allowance in lieu of the MDM, there were many slips in implementation, leaving large numbers deprived<24>. Even the work under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), a rural work guarantee programme, was suspended in the early weeks of the lockdown<25>.

92 percent of India’s workforce is in the informal sector, including construction workers, domestic help and street-side vendors.

A deep agrarian crisis is another feature of India's growth story. In 2003, 40 percent of India's farmers wanted to abandon agriculture because it was an unviable occupation<26>. By 2014, the situation had worsened; expenditure was higher than the net income received by about 70 percent of the households<27>, and although production volumes have increased, rising labour and input costs and outdated technology have made agriculture an unsustainable occupation<28>. About 10,281 persons involved in the farm sector ended their lives in 2019, accounting for roughly 7.4 percent of all suicides in India<29>.

In September 2020, parliament passed three bills on agriculture — the Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, the Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, and the Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act<30>. The laws are meant to open sale of agricultural produce outside the mandis, remove barriers to inter-state trade of crops, and facilitate electronic trading of farm produce<31>. The farmers claim these laws would end the mandi system and free-market players would dictate their terms to them. Protests by farmers at the Delhi borders against the laws have exposed the vulnerability of Indian farmers and their livelihood concerns and brought disrepute to India<32>. Though the largest protest by farmers so far, farmer protests have rocked India in the last decade – Nashik to Mumbai in 2018 and 2019 for loan waiver and compensation against natural vagaries<33>. For a country that aspires to double farmer income by 2022<34>, agrarian distress and continued agitation by farmers are challenges that need to be resolved urgently.

Farmers are directly affected by floods, droughts, soil salinisation, rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, crop diseases and pests such as locusts.

At the same time, an ecological crisis is fast emerging in India and will cause irreversible damage to natural resources and a loss in productivity, if left unchecked. Farmers are directly affected by floods, droughts, soil salinisation, rising temperatures, unpredictable rainfall, crop diseases and pests such as locusts<35>. Subsidies for electricity and fertiliser along with a lucrative minimum support price (MSP) have led to the lopsided growing of water-intensive crops such as paddy and wheat in northwestern India (Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh), leading to groundwater depletion and stubble burning in the winter months, which in turn causes a deterioration in air quality in northern cities like New Delhi<36>. Wheat, rice and sugarcane are grown in 40 percent of India’s gross sown area but consume 80 percent of the irrigation water<37>. Large tracts of farmlands across the country have become barren due to imbalanced fertiliser use and excessive use of a single fertiliser, urea<38>. Of India’s total land area of 329 million hectares (Mha), 147 Mha has degraded soil or has water-related issues such as dwindling surface water and unregulated groundwater extraction (see Figure 2).

Figure 2: Land Degradation Map of India (2015-16)

Source: ISRO<39>

The frequency of extreme weather events such as floods and droughts has increased exponentially. The impact of climate change on water availability will be severe for India because large parts of the country already suffer from water scarcity (see Figure 3)<40>.

Figure 3: Groundwater Level in India (Meters Below the Ground Level)

Source: Water Resources Institute<41>

Despite facing challenges like rising costs of labour and other inputs, a depleting water table, soil salinisation and climate vagaries, agriculture contributes 18 percent to India’s GDP, almost three times the world average<42>, and provides a livelihood to about 58 percent of the Indian population<43>. Agriculture and allied activities are the most important source of food and employment but its contribution to food security and nutrition is not prioritised<44>. Additionally, agriculture is also a means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), directly or indirectly (Table 1), and its revival should therefore be a top policy priority.

Table 1: Sustainable Development Goals and Links with Agriculture

SDG Link with Agriculture
SDG-1: End poverty in all its forms everywhere. As most of the poor in the developing world are dependent on agriculture, ending poverty is linked to increasing returns from agriculture. Major indicators are ownership and control over land and natural resources, both of which are essential endowments for practicing agriculture.
SDG-2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. Directly related to sustainable agriculture.
SDG-3: Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages. Can only be achieved through nutritious food produced via agriculture and allied sectors.
SDG-5: Achieve Gender Equality and empower all women and girls. Women play an important but largely unrecognised role in agriculture; their empowerment, decision-making and time for care work are pathways in leveraging agriculture for nutrition.
SDG-6: Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. Increasing water use efficiency across sectors, integrated water resource management, and protection and restoration of water related ecosystems — all have a bearing on agriculture.
SDG-7: Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all. Reduction in agriculture’s dependence on fossil fuels and consequent pollution.
SDG-8: Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. Agriculture engages a large segment of the working population and consequently has a bearing on the realisation of decent work and economic growth.
SDG-10: Reduce inequality within and among countries. Disparity in asset ownership and wages in agriculture activities.
SDG-12: Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns. Sustainable management of all-natural resources, sustainable production patterns, and reducing food loss and waste.
SDG-13: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. Strengthening resilience and adaptive capacity of agriculture to the impacts of climate change, and lowering green-house gas emissions without affecting food production.
SDG-14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. Conservation and sustainable use of marine and coastal ecosystems, reduction of pollution, and sustainable fish harvest.
SDG-15: Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. All these are the feedstock for agriculture activities; indiscriminate agriculture expansion has led to decline of forest area and biodiversity loss and overexploitation of land, resulting in degradation.

Source: Bhavani and Rampal (2020)<45>

India’s success and position at WTO

Despite the current challenges, India has made some advances in food security that can provide lessons for other developing countries. Unlike most African countries, which are critically dependent on imported food grains or food aid, India was one of the first developing countries to prioritise food security as a policy goal and become self-sufficient in the production of food grains in the 1970s. The stimulus for the Green Revolution came from harvest failures and famine conditions in the mid-1960s<46>. Most African leaders are inspired with India's green revolution and want to replicate it in their countries<47>. Food security featured prominently in each of the India-Africa summits.

India was one of the first developing countries to prioritise food security as a policy goal and become self-sufficient in the production of food grains in the 1970s.

The framework for strategic cooperation between India and Africa mentions food security as a key pillar of India-Africa partnership<48>. India, as a ‘rising power,’ is committed to helping African countries escape poverty and underdevelopment, build the policy and institutional foundations necessary for reversing the productivity decline in agriculture, generate jobs, reduce poverty and ensure food security on the continent<49>. India plays a key role in supplementing Africa's food output by providing low-cost technology solutions, improved seeds and agricultural machinery<50>. India's interest in African agriculture is in line with its commitment to South-South cooperation. Africa is a huge market for India's growing food and agriculture sector, and it depends on imports for food security<51>. Among the many successful Indian investments in Africa is the Kirloskar Brothers Limited irrigation project in Senegal (2010) that helped the country’s rice production capacity increase by six times to over 660,000 tonnes<52>. In 2006, India provided a US$640 million line of credit to Ethiopia for development of its sugar industry; as of 2016, Ethiopia had become a net exporter of sugar<53>. Production of quality seeds is another major challenge for African nations. The ‘India-Africa Seeds Bridge’ project targets to provide quality seeds to African farmers by creating a space for Indian seed companies in African markets. The main beneficiaries under this project are Liberia, Kenya, Malawi and Senegal<54>.

India has also initiated similar plans with neighbouring countries as well. India and Nepal formed the ‘New Partnership in Agriculture’ in 2018 to strengthen cooperation in the agriculture sector in the areas of farm research and education, supply of fertilisers, trade facilitation, strengthening livestock services, veterinary research and development, and promoting exchanges between the India Council for Agricultural Research and the Nepal Agricultural Research Council<55>.

India, as a ‘rising power,’ is committed to helping African countries escape poverty and underdevelopment, build the policy and institutional foundations necessary for reversing the productivity decline in agriculture, generate jobs, reduce poverty and ensure food security on the continent.

Domestically, India passed the National Food Security Act (2013) to tackle price volatility and food security. The Act relies on four existing programmes to provide food and nutritional security — the Targeted Public Distribution System, the ICDS, the MDM programme and the Indira Gandhi Matritva Sahyog Yojana, which was replaced by the Pradhan Mantri Matri Vandana Yojna programme in 2017, a conditional cash transfer scheme for pregnant and lactating women of 19 years of age or above for the first live birth. The National Food Security Act also has a special focus on women and children — in addition to providing meals to pregnant and lactating women (for six months after childbirth), they are entitled to receive a maternity benefit of INR 6,000<56>. The distribution system also hedges the poorest of the poor against price rises in food commodities. Food inflation is largely due to an inadequate supply response to increasing demand, aggravated by various other logistical, infrastructure and market-related constraints<57>. The Food Corporation of India (FCI), the nodal government agency that manages the procurement and distribution of foodgrains, has also incurred rising debt since the Act came into existence; the financing of subsidies to maintain buffer stocks and distribute foodgrains under the Act has led the FCI’s debt to rise to INR 3.3 lakh crore up to 2019-20<58>.

The rising debt due to agriculture subsidies is a sore point at WTO negotiations. India has been a champion of food security issues at the WTO and often pushes for the interests of other developing countries in discussions. WTO rules restrict India’s ability to build its food stock as there are strict limits to the procurement of food grains at MSP<59>. Under these limits, the amount of support on account of procurement of food grains at MSP cannot exceed 10 percent of the value of production of the procured product. India exceeded this level for rice during the pandemic. In negotiations on the WTO Agreement on Agriculture in 2001, India emerged as a leader for other developing countries and took a stand on food security and the provision of subsidies to key farm inputs<60>. The WTO’s aim has been to reduce the subsidies provided to the farmers and citizens for farming and food security to ensure free markets, and there have been some talks of the organisation taking actions, such as imposing trade sanctions, against countries where subsidies exceed this level<61>. There are benefits for food security from imports as countries that have a competitive advantage can provide the same good in an economical way. For instance, the sugar industry is heavily subsidised in India and India does not have a competitive advantage in it. India implements a price-support-backed public stockholding programme to safeguard the interests of both its consumers and farmers. WTO members adopted a decision at the Bali Ministerial Conference in 2013 on public stockholding for food security purposes<62>. As an interim solution, this decision allows developing members to invoke the peace clause, which protects their public stockholding programmes for food security purposes from legal challenge, even if they lead to a breach of commitments<63>. At the 2015 Nairobi Ministerial Conference, WTO members agreed to eliminate agricultural export subsidies, the most important reform of international trade rules in agriculture since the organisation was established<64>. By eliminating export subsidies, WTO members delivered a key target of SDG-2 (zero hunger) as it will help to level the playing field for farmers around the world.

India has been taking a flagship role in convincing the WTO about the importance and adequate flexibility for developing countries on maintaining public stocks for food security purposes.

If a consensus emerges against allegedly ‘trade-distorting’ subsidies at the WTO, India will have to decrease the quantity of agricultural products it procures from the farmers. Also, the government will not be able to increase the MSP in favour of farmers as this will increase the overall level of subsidies, which is not allowed by the WTO<65>. Agricultural imports are seen as in competition with the rural sector and are therefore restricted using tariffs, subsidies and other non-tariff barriers. However, more trade will increase choice and diversify supply, strengthening “access to sufficient, safe and nutritious foods<66>.” An unbiased and efficient WTO is required to conduct trade negotiations with a focus on food security<67>, with a recent World Bank report on achieving food security even concluding that “fixating on national self-sufficiency has been costly and counter-productive<68>.” Historically, food stocks were maintained to contain price volatility, to correct the basic market failure of aggregate food markets, to complement the private sector and to prepare for food emergencies<69>. There are arguments about the costs of maintaining the reserves; however, in India, the existing food stocks and their control and management in the pandemic were a boon for the country.

India has been taking a flagship role in convincing the WTO about the importance and adequate flexibility for developing countries on maintaining public stocks for food security purposes<70>. During the pandemic, global agricultural supply chains tried to keep up with the changes in the patterns of consumption — first due to panic buying, then by the shift away from processed food, and finally due to decreasing incomes. Avoiding disruptions in the food supply chains has been a priority for governments across the globe, and strengthening international cooperation to ensure its smooth functioning should be a priority. India refrained from imposing any export restrictions on agricultural products during COVID-19<71>.

The question is whether India can become a net provider when its own people are suffering from high levels of hunger and malnutrition.

The prevalence of hunger and malnutrition in the vulnerable sections of the Indian population showcases that food insecurity at the household and individual level can coexist with surplus foodgrain production due to poor management and faulty distribution systems. The question then is whether India can become a net provider when its own people are suffering from high levels of hunger and malnutrition. The COVID-19 crisis has made it clear that food security depends on sufficient supplies, both domestic and foreign. The current situation could lead to increased calls for greater self-sufficiency, protectionist measures and lesser international trade. However, the path to recovery in the aftermath of the pandemic should focus on a world without borders, which India has already shown a proclivity for by providing food security to its neighbouring nations<72>.

The way forward

Given the rapidly growing population, resource constraints and climate change concerns, accompanied by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic; it is imperative for India to make food security a core policy priority. India must address this challenge and build on its successes. A few policy changes are essential to improve India's hunger situation:

Universal PDS and supplementary programmes for nutrition

The plight of migrant workers at the height of the pandemic showcased that the lack of a universal PDS is a major limitation in achieving food security<73>. The ‘one nation one ration card’ scheme should be operationalised through the proper issuance of ration cards to individuals seeking foodgrain so that the PDS can be accessed at any geographical location in the country.

The government should ensure continued home delivery of meals and cooking material to the beneficiaries of the supplementary nutrition programme under the ICDS and MDM for as long as anganwadis (childcare centres) and schools remain closed. Nutritious food should be provided to the vulnerable section of the population, especially during the pandemic and its aftermath, as this can help avoid heightening food insecurity. Highly subsidised cooked meals were distributed to the urban poor through community kitchens in Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Rajasthan, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Odisha<74>, which must continue for now.

Sustainable agricultural practices, resource use and rethinking subsidies

Sustainable agriculture practices — such as crop rotation, mixed cropping with pulses, using biofertilisers, limiting the use of pesticides or fertilisers, and integrated pest management — must be encouraged and promoted. Drip irrigation and solar panels for electricity generation will lead to the conservation of natural resources. This can be encouraged by redirecting the subsidy on electricity for drawing water for irrigation purposes to the adoption of drip irrigation techniques and installing solar panels. Investment is needed for the development and distribution of climate-resilient crops that can handle temperature variation and precipitation fluctuations<75>. The government should incentivise the production of water- and nutrient-efficient crops (such as millets and pulses) that replenish the soil and utilise less water (in comparison to water-intensive crops like sugarcane and paddy) by announcing a lucrative MSP and input subsidies for farmers. It is crucial to reconsider providing subsidies for certain crops as they are having an adverse impact on the natural resources. For instance, the current MSP regime encourages growing rice and wheat in northwestern India, leading to a declining water table and increased pollution from stubble burning in the winter months.

Enhance social security

Given the risks associated with farm incomes, the government must continue rendering support in the form of agricultural credit, subsidies on inputs and disaster relief along with micro-insurance for crop, weather and livestock. To counter the economic impacts of the pandemic, including job losses and reverse migration, the MGNREGA programme must be scaled up. In the past, MGNREGA has increased rural wages, reduced gender wage gaps, enabled better access to food and reduced distress migration from rural areas<76>. Post the pandemic, the programme has the potential to cater to the health, nutrition and livelihood needs of the migrants who have returned home. MGNREGA has also made an important contribution to child wellbeing, through the reduction of hunger and improvement of health and education<77>, and it must continue to be promoted.

India's position at WTO and development cooperation initiatives

India must take a key role in designing new trade disciplines in the WTO that take advantage of imports and new market access opportunities for its agriculture sector in the developed world to increase its food security and the welfare of its farmers. India needs to continually provide support to other developing countries in Africa and Asia through technology partnerships, joint research in promoting drought resistant crops, promoting climate smart agriculture, and increasing resource efficiency in the usage of water, land, fertiliser and electricity.

Increased budget, technology, and research and development

In the 2021-22 Union Budget, funding allocations for the health sector have been nearly doubled due to the pandemic<78>. The Budget also allocated more funds towards agricultural credit, and for the promotion of animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries sector<79>. But merely allocating funds will not be enough for a nation that is home to about a third of the world’s malnourished children. The agrarian sector, which provides livelihoods to about 65 percent of the Indian population, is also in distress. With supply-side constraints, the role of research and development is crucial as it can offer long-term solutions for Indian agriculture<80>. Farmers’ access to the latest research can help in improving seed quality, decreasing pest and disease problems, increasing crop sustainability, reducing irrigation problems, lessening incidents of soil erosion, and increasing productivity to feed a burgeoning population.

In the fight against food insecurity, the global community needs to understand country-specific food security policies instead of constraining developing countries with limits under the WTO rules. The pandemic is a wakeup call for the world to ensure food security for all.


Endnotes

<1> United Nation Development Programme, “World leaders adopt Sustainable Development Goals,” UNDP, 25 September 2015.

<2> Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme, The State of Food Insecurity in the World: Meeting the 2015 International Hunger Targets and Taking Stock of the Uneven Progress, 2015.

<3> Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme and World Health Organization, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2017: Building resilience for peace and food security, 2017.

<4> Food and Agriculture Organisation, International Fund for Agricultural Development and World Food Programme and World Health Organization, The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020: Transforming food systems for affordable healthy diets.

<5> “The Impact of COVID-19 on Food Security and Nutrition,” Policy Brief, United Nations, June 2020.

<6> “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World 2020”

<7> David Brewster, “India: Regional Net Security Provider,” 2013, Gateway House- Indian Council on Global Relations.

<8>INS Kesari returns after COVID-19 relief mission in Indian ocean,The Week, 2020.

<9>India provides food aid to Sudan, Djibouti, Eritrea amid COVID-19 pandemic,The Tribune India, 2020.

<10> Mandakini Surie, “India’s COVID diplomacy,Development Policy Center, 2020.

<11>Nutrition and Food Security,United Nations, 2021.

<12> Global Hunger Index, “India: Making Food a Right for All- Welthungerhilfe Case Study,” Global Hunger Index.

<13> Dibyendu Chaudhuri and Parijat Ghosh, “Global Hunger Index: Why is India trailing?Down to Earth, October 2020.

<14> Jyoti Shelar, “All you want to know about malnutrition in India,The Hindu, 30 June 2019.

<15> Mahtab Alam, “Starvation deaths resurface in Jharkhand,Down to Earth, 19 May 2020.

<16> Food Corporation of India, “Stock: Overview,” FCI.

<17> Neetu Abey George and Fiona H McKay, “The Public Distribution System and Food Security in India,Int J Environ Res Public Health, 16(17) (September 2019): 3221.

<18>Opinion: Impact of COVID19 pandemic on food security of India,Economic Times, 19 July 2020.

<19> RV Bhavani and Priya Rampal, “The lockdown and its aftermath,Observer Research Foundation, June 2020.

<20> Shiney Chakraborty, “Women Informal Workers: Falling through the cracks in the pandemic,The Wire, February 2021.

<21> Vidhu Gupta, “COVID 19 and food insecurity: How social schemes will help migrant workers?The Energy and Resources Institute, July 2020.

<22> Jayan Jose Thomas, "India’s poor may have lost Rs 4 lakh crore in the coronavirus lockdown,Scroll, 4 June 2020.

<23> Daya Krishan Mangal, “India’s fight against COVID 19 and malnutrition,Economics Times, 21 May 2020.

<24> Bhavani and Rampal, “The lockdown and its aftermath”

<25> Kabir Agarwal, “COVID 19 Lockdown: In April MGNREGA Work crashed to lowest in seven years,The Wire, 1 May 2020.

<26> National Sample Survey Organization, Key Indicators of Situation of Agricultural Households in India, NSS 59th Round, 2005.

<27> National Sample Survey Organization, Key Indicators of Situation of Agricultural Households in India, NSS 70th Round, 2014.

<28> Barendra Kumar Bhoi and C.L. Dadhich “Agrarian Distress in India: Possible Solutions,Working paper no. 2019-017, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (Mumbai, 2019).

<29> Rajit Sengupta, “Everyday 28 people dependent on farming die by suicide,Down to Earth, 3 September 2020.

<30> Vijay Jawandhia and Ajay Dandekar, “Three Farm Bills and India’s Rural Economy,The Wire, 1 October 2020.

<31> Prabhash K Dutta, “Farmers at Delhi borders: Why Protest over farm laws may end with mere assurance?India Today, 1 December 2020.

<32> Lauren Frayer and Sushmita Pathak, “Crowds of Indian Farmers gather for days to protest the new agriculture laws,NPR, 4 December 2020.

<33> Saurabh Gupta, “Thousands of farmers march from Nashik to Mumbai, demand loan waiver,NDTV, 12 March 2018.

<34> Ramesh Chand, “Doubling Farmers Income: Rationale, Strategy, Prospects and Action Plan,NITI Policy Paper no. 1 (2017).

<35> Joyce J. Chen and Valerie Mueller, “Climate change is making soils saltier, forcing many farmers to find new livelihoods,The Conversation, 2018.

<36> Neha Abraham, “Growing wheat in north west, rice in east can reduce water crisis,Business Standard, 27 June 2019.

<37> Bibhudatta Pradhan and Pratik Parija, “Rising water crisis forces Indian farmers to rethink their crop selection,Economic Times, 22 July 2020.

<38> United Nations, “Nutrition and Food Security,” UN, 2021.

<39> Indian Space Research Organisation, “Land degradation map of India,” ISRO.

<40> Malancha Chakrabarty, “Climate Change and Food Security in India,ORF Issue Brief no. 157 (2016).

<41> Betsy Otto and Andrew Maddocks, “NASA Satellite Data show where groundwater is -and where it isn’t,World Resources Institute, 23 June 2015.

<42>Sector wise GDP of India,Statista, 4 January 2021.

<43> India Brand Equity Foundation, Indian Agriculture and Allied Industries Industry, IBEF, November 2020.

<44> Shenggen Fan et al., “Seizing the Momentum to Reshape Agriculture for Nutrition,” in Agriculture for Improved Nutrition: Seizing the Momentum, eds S. Fan, S. Yosef and R. Pandya-Lorch (Wallingford, UK: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and CABI, 29 November 2018), pp. 1-15.

<45> RV Bhavani and Priya Rampal, “Harnessing Agriculture for Achieving the SDGs on Poverty and Zero Hunger and Zero Hunger,ORF Issue Brief no. 407 (October 2020).

<46> Marshal M Bouton, “The paradox of India’s Green Revolution,Hindu BusinessLine, 4 June 2019.

<47> Malancha Chakraborty, “India-Africa Agricultural Cooperation” in Global Policy ORF Series Securing the 21st Century: Mapping India-Africa engagement, eds Ritika Passi and Ihssane Guennoun (GP and ORF, 2017).

<48> HHS Viswanathan and Abhishek Mishra, “India-Africa Partnership for Food Security: Beyond Strategic Concerns,” ORF Occasional Paper no. 242, April 2020.

<49> Sam Moyo, “Agrarian Transformation in Africa and Its Decolonisation” in Agricultural Development and Food Security in Africa 42, eds Fantu Cheru and Renu Modi, (London: Zed Books, 2013).

<50> Malancha Chakrabarty and Vidisha Mishra, “India-Africa Partnership for Food Security: Issues, Initiatives and Policy Directions,ORF Occasional Paper 95, 2016.

<51> Sam Moyo, “Agrarian Transformation in Africa and Its Decolonisation”

<52> Kirloskar Brothers Limited, 91st Annual Report 2010 – 2011, Kirloskar Brothers Limited, 2010.

<53> Sushil Kumar, “India's Development Cooperation with Ethiopia in Sugar Production: An Assessment,RIS Discussion Paper no. 198, 2015.

<54> Pramit Pal Chaudhuri, “The India Africa Story,” in Global Policy ORF Series Securing the 21st Century: Mapping India-Africa engagement, eds Ritika Passi and Ihssane Guennoun (GP and ORF, 2017).

<55>India assures support to Nepal in farm sector,Indian Express, 19 June 2018.

<56> Raghav Puri, “India’s National Food Security Act (NFSA): Early Experiences,LANSA Working Paper no. 14, 2017.

<57>Agriculture Prices and Markets,” in State of India Agriculture, Government of India, 2013.

<58> FCI, “Stocks”

<59> Sachin Kumar Sharma and Adeet Dhobal, “India’s Food Security discussed at WTO amidst Covid-19 pandemic,Hindu BusinessLine, 2 April 2020.

<60> Sachin Kumar Jain, “For India, the fight at WTO will be about food security,Down to Earth, 9 December 2017.

<61> World Trade Organisation, “Agriculture: Fairer Markets for Farmers,” WTO, 2021.

<62> Joshua P Meltzer, “Improving Indian Food Security: Why PM Modi should embrace the WTO,The Brookings Institution, 16 May 2014.

<63> World Trade Organisation, “Agriculture Negotiations: Factsheet,” WTO, 2014.

<64> World Trade Organisation, “Agriculture negotiations,” WTO, 2021.

<65> Jain “For India, the fight at WTO will be about food security”

<66> Meltzer “Improving Indian Food Security”

<67> IFPRI, “Agriculture, development and the global trading system,” India Environmental Portal, 2017.

<68> Hamid R. Alavi, “Trusting Trade and the Private Sector for food security in Southeast Asia,” World Bank, 2012.

<69> Sophia Murphy, “Strategic Grain Reserves in an era of volatility,Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, 2009.

<70>India Seeks Permanent Solution from WTO on Food Stockholding Issue amid Covid-19 Crisis,News18, 27 July 2020.

<71>India asks WTO members to constructively engage for permanent solution to food stockholding,Economic Times, 27 July 2020.

<72> Kerr W. A., “The COVID-19 Pandemic and Agriculture: Short and Long Run implications for international Trade relations,Canadian Journal of Agriculture Economics 68 (2020): 225-228.

<73> Kabir Agarwal, “Coronavirus Lockdown: As hunger grows, fear of starvation is real,The Wire, 16 April 2020.

<74>Impact of COVID-19 on Child Nutrition in India: What are the Budgetary Implications?” CBGA and CRY, 2021.

<75> Chakrabarty “Climate Change and Food Security in India”

<76> S. Mahendra Dev, “NREGS and Child Well Being,Working paper no. 2011-04, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai 2011.

<77> Dev, “NREGS and Child Well Being”

<78>Budget 2021: Allocation to Healthcare more than doubles after pandemic,Bloomberg Quint, February 2021.

<79> Ministry of Finance, Government of India, February 2021.

<80>R&D and Technology Advancing Indian Agriculture,” Rural Marketing, 2017.

The views expressed above belong to the author(s). ORF research and analyses now available on Telegram! Click here to access our curated content — blogs, longforms and interviews.

Contributor

Priya Rampal

Priya Rampal

PriyaRampal is the quantitative lead at the Oxford Policy Management office in Delhi working on the monitoring and evaluation of health and nutrition programmes in ...

Read More +