The higher purchase price announced by the government has finally driven farmers to set aside more land for pulses this kharif, but experts doubt the approach can fill the increasing gap between demand and supply of this increasingly important source of protein for Indians. In the short-term though it could help reduce imports of pulses, running into thousands of crore every year. This year the acreage for pulses is pegged...
More »SEARCH RESULT
NAC close to finalising Food Security Bill by Smita Gupta
At August 30 meet, it was felt there should be a system of two prices, differential entitlements Since then, NAC Working Group on Food Security has had detailed discussions The Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council (NAC) may be close to finalising the contentious Food Security Bill when it meets here on September 24. Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia and officials from Ministries concerned, including Women and Child Development Secretary, will be...
More »Price Spikes Raise Spectre of Another Food Crisis by Matthew O Berger
While global food prices declined for the first half of this year, they have spiked in recent months, according to a new World Bank publication, and this volatility could in turn push up the local food prices of the world's poorest and most malnourished countries. The Bank's grain price index had declined by 16 percent over the first six months of 2010 before rising that same amount between mid-June and August....
More »Keynes-Hayek dilemma by KP Prabhakaran Nair
With more than 400 million Indians going to bed hungry each day, food security has become a crucial issue. On June 4 last year, the president made an announcement: “My government proposes to enact a new law — the National Food Security Act — that will provide statutory basis for a framework which assures food security for all. Every family below the poverty line in rural as well as urban...
More »Rotting Foodgrains in Asia: The Case Of India And The Philippines by Arpita Mathur
A common incidence of rotting food grains has been reported in India and the Philippines even as millions are starving. The problem has to be tackled with dexterity at both the domestic and regional levels to curb this alarming wastage of food that contributes to food insecurity at large. RECENT NEWS reports from the Philippines and India interestingly surfaced with one common problem -- rotting food grains in both countries, even...
More »