hunger and food supply-local solutions to global problems

7/30/2019 Hunger and Food Supply-Local Solutions to Global Problems.

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Local Solutions to Global Problems. 2012

Hunger & Food Supply in

Developing Countries: Case

Study-India. 2012

orld over millions go hungry

every day, where food prices are

soaring. Unfortunately, thats

not the case. Over 900 million people in the

worldthe majority of them in the

developing worlddont have enough food

to eat, even though there is enough food in

the world for everyone (Canadian Food

Grains Bank). An estimated 231 million

people in India go hungry every day. Every

minute 5 Indians die of hunger i.e 2.5 million

people every year1. Why dont have enough

to eat and stay alive? There are many factors

that affect hunger. It can be poverty,

inflation, monsoon failure, lack of

agriculture promotion, poor grain stocks,

and severe debt, unemployment etc.

However India has a unique problem. It is

surplus of food production and high rate of

hunger deaths in the world.

Union Food Ministry estimated the wastage

around 70,000 tons in 2011-12 when the

national food grain production was recorded

all time high at 250 million tons (TOI). The

alarming rise of food grain wastage is also

noted by the Consumer Affairs Ministry in a

reply to Parliament of India (IBN) and the

Food Corporation of India that manages

stocks and supplies admits that many timesthe stocks are received in damaged

condition. Though the estimates are very

conservative, the reality is shocking. Transit

damages, thefts and malpractices if included

the wastage could well be estimated at 30%

1INDIA 2011.

of production. It is often the political will

and apathy of administration (rather I say

tardy pace of work) that is perpetuating

wastage year after year.

The issue is not lack of storage ortechnology. Its of management. For

example, according to the Food Minister, FCI

is having a storage capacity of 60 million

tons across the country and as per

Agriculture Minister the stocks were 27.88

million tons.(Business Line). That is 32.18

million tons for buffer stock. Though there is

need for further storage say about 70 milliontons, it is not the question of storage alone.

It is managing the supplies reach needy.

Hence it is a matter of management and

political will to ensure that the grain is not

wasted.(India Microfinance) Post

liberalization very little has been done in this

area. Right from harvest till it reaches to the

consumer the food supply chain has

witnessed little technology up gradation.

When capitalistic ideologies overwhelm

democracy, the weakest subject gets ignored.

On the same lines when productive venture

is managed by bureaucracy it gets paralyzed

and remains inefficient. Even if we set aside

storage and wastage issues, how much food

W
http://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspxhttp://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspxhttp://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspxhttp://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspxhttp://www.timesnow.tv/Criminal-waste-of-food-grain-in-Punjab/articleshow/4401414.cmshttp://www.timesnow.tv/Criminal-waste-of-food-grain-in-Punjab/articleshow/4401414.cmshttp://www.timesnow.tv/Criminal-waste-of-food-grain-in-Punjab/articleshow/4401414.cmshttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/10fold-increase-in-food-grains-wastage-in-fci-godowns/290539-60-116.htmlhttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/10fold-increase-in-food-grains-wastage-in-fci-godowns/290539-60-116.htmlhttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/10fold-increase-in-food-grains-wastage-in-fci-godowns/290539-60-116.htmlhttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/article3344899.ecehttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/article3344899.ecehttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/article3344899.ecehttp://indiamicrofinance.com/agriculture-warehousing-india.htmlhttp://indiamicrofinance.com/agriculture-warehousing-india.htmlhttp://indiamicrofinance.com/agriculture-warehousing-india.htmlhttp://indiamicrofinance.com/agriculture-warehousing-india.htmlhttp://www.thehindubusinessline.com/industry-and-economy/agri-biz/article3344899.ecehttp://ibnlive.in.com/news/10fold-increase-in-food-grains-wastage-in-fci-godowns/290539-60-116.htmlhttp://www.timesnow.tv/Criminal-waste-of-food-grain-in-Punjab/articleshow/4401414.cmshttp://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspxhttp://www.foodgrainsbank.ca/what_is_food_justice.aspx


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grain a person needs to survive and stay

alive. If 460 grams is what required for a

person to stay alive on a given day, we need

0.42 million tons of food grains needed to let

these 2.5 million stay alive. Hence there is

need for initiatives more at micro levelbefore the country settles with its own

economic owes. Can there be local

alternatives to curb hunger? Yes indeed.

An experimental project underGEF(2006)

funded biodiversity initiative a local

organization has started grain bankat

community level. Small farmers and landless

deposit grains in the bank when there is

surplus. When a household needs grain they

can collect back the grains as per their

requirement. The grain bank deducts some

percentage grain as service cost. This model

has worked so well that even in lean periods

no family stayed without food even for a day.

It ensured supply of food grain to every

member throughout the year. The grain

bank is totally run by women and the annual

general body meeting discloses the

transactions they made through out and the

surplus/loss they made. Entire mechanism

was simplified to such an extent that it was

chiefly based on local technologies, small

scale of operation and easily accessible to

people.

Local technologies were engaged because it

is managed by local people and they are well

versed with micro climate and ecology. The

traditional storage systems were capable to

store grain for 3 years.

Operations were decentralized and kept at

small scale to accommodate available human

resource at local level which made it cost

effective. In small scale operations the level

of understanding among members remains

high and mutual trust levels also remain

high. A family fails to participate still

accepted when they need some grain from

common stock. This may not be possible in

large scale operations where

impersonalization leaves people to die.

The third aspect is easy access of the system

to people. The trust levels increase and also

levels of commitment if it is locally managed

by known members of community. You will

not notice grain wastage or damage in such

systems. Easy accessibility of food grain to

poor is possible. More over there will be less

transit losses, thefts or other issues. Its a

closely monitored venture that chiefly aims

to mitigate hunger in crisis.

While establishing such grain banks women

members asked what if a year fails as the

farming is rain fed. So they decided to

accumulate 1 year stocks. In absence of

other productive means household anyway

migrates to industrial hubs in search of

employment. They carry the grains along so

that they need not stay hungry in case they

do not get employed. More over their

dependence on local trader who alwayslooked for profit making has reduced. This

leveraged them from debts (at a rate of 120-

160%). You will be surprised to know that all

this is done by illiterate women from tribal

communities who have not seen a

commercial bank in their life. For past 7
http://www.thegef.org/gef/biodiversityhttp://www.thegef.org/gef/biodiversityhttp://www.thegef.org/gef/biodiversityhttp://www.flickr.com/photos/jravishanker/6470507383/lightbox/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jravishanker/6470507383/lightbox/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jravishanker/6470507383/lightbox/http://www.flickr.com/photos/jravishanker/6470507383/lightbox/http://www.thegef.org/gef/biodiversity


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years not even a single hunger death noted

in this area.

Other Parts of India:

Patna:About 150 Grain banks being run in Patna,

Bhojpur, Gaya, Jamui and Saharsa districts

by Dalit women. "Exploitation led to

establishment of these Grain banks as

Musahars and other landless agricultural

laborers were exploited by landlords and not

given their due wages, " said Pradeep

Priyadarshi of Pragati Gramin Vikas Samiti,

who was the man behind this initiative of

Grain banks. "For a day's labor, we used to

get one kg of grain, which sometimes went

down to half-a-kg on the excuse of having

been adjusted against pending loans. This

encouraged us to set up the Grain banks,"

said a village woman. The family borrowing

wheat and rice has to pay one kg grain as

interest for every five kilogram of grain, said

Sudami Devi, the bank's secretary at Maner

Telpa village. The banks do not charge

interest from extremely poor women.

Besides, they also donate foodgrains to

families free of cost in the event of any death

or physical disability(TOI-Patna2011).

Uttarakhand:

In another part of India Uttarakahnd food

would be hard to come particularly during

heavy rainfall, snow and landslides that

damage the roads and curtails access to

markets for months together. WFP provided

technical assistance and arranged initial seed

money to set up 55 grain banks. The grain

banks are managed by Self Help Groups of

women. A borrower returns 50 kg grain with

additional 6 kg as interest for a period of 6

months. Our borrowers have the option of

returning the loan with a grain other than

the one they borrowed, explained Devi a

leader of one of the SHG. I cannot express

what a difference this grain bank has made

to our village. The assurance of having food

when one is in need is a blessing, she

said(WFP-India2011)

Many voluntary organizations across the

world are promoting such local initiatives.

However they are at micro level. A wide scale

strategy backed by international bodies or

inter government initiatives can mitigate

hunger from this globe. Though

governments derive programs to mitigate

hunger, its reaches up to segments that have

already came out of such individuals or

families who have already out of such

condition. The real poor often left out. For

inclusive growth involvement of grassroots

voluntary efforts are necessary.

Lets commit that no one should die of

hunger.

RaviShanker.

India.
http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-15/patna/29661454_1_grain-banks-dalit-families-musaharshttp://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-15/patna/29661454_1_grain-banks-dalit-families-musaharshttp://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-15/patna/29661454_1_grain-banks-dalit-families-musaharshttp://www.wfp.org/stories/india-village-grain-banks-free-poor-seasonal-hungerhttp://www.wfp.org/stories/india-village-grain-banks-free-poor-seasonal-hungerhttp://www.wfp.org/stories/india-village-grain-banks-free-poor-seasonal-hungerhttp://jravishanker.wordpress.com/http://jravishanker.wordpress.com/http://jravishanker.wordpress.com/http://www.wfp.org/stories/india-village-grain-banks-free-poor-seasonal-hungerhttp://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2011-06-15/patna/29661454_1_grain-banks-dalit-families-musahars

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