Food Security in India Economics Class 9 Lesson 4 Solution

     Food Security in India

Exercises

1. How is food security ensured in India ?

  Answers:

        Since the advent of the Green Revolution in the early-1970s, the country has avoided famine even during adverse weather conditions. India has become self-sufficient in food grains during the last 30 years because of a variety of crops grown all over the country. The availability of foodgrains (even in adverse weather conditions or otherwise) at the country level has further been ensured with a carefully designed food security system by components: a) buffer stock, and b) public distribution system.

2. Which are the people more prone to food insecurity ?

    Answers:

        Although a large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity in India, the worst affected groups are landless people with little or no land to depend upon, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutes including beggars. In the urban areas, the food insecure families are those whose working member are generally employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labour market. These workers are largely engaged in seasonal activities and are paid very low wages that just ensure bare survival.

3. Which states are more food insecure in India ?

    Answers:

        The states that more insecure to food in India are : Maharashtra, parts of Madhya pradesh, Jharkhand, Orissa, West Bengal, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh(eastern and south-eastern parts).

4. Do you believe that green revolution has made India self-sufficient in food grains ? How ?

    Answers:

        After Independence, Indian policy makers adopted all measures to achieve self-sufficiency in food grains. India adopted a new strategy in agriculture, which resulted in 'Green Revolution', especially in the production of wheat and rice. Indira Gandhi, the then Prime Minister of India, officially recorded the impressive strides of green Revolution in agriculture by releasing a special stamp entitled  'Wheat Revolution' in July 1968. The success of wheat of later replicated in rice. The increase in foodgrains was, however disproportionate. The highest rate of growth was achieved in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, which was 44.04 and 30.21 million tonnes in 2015-16. The total foodgrain production was 252.22 million tonnes in 2015-16 and it has changed to 275.68 million tonnes in 2016-17.

        

5. A section of people in India are still without food. Explain ?

    Answers:

         Although a large section of people suffer from food and nutrition insecurity in India, the worst affected groups are landless people with little or no land to depend upon, traditional artisans, providers of traditional services, petty self-employed workers and destitutes including beggars. In the urban areas, the food insecure families are those whose working member are generally employed in ill-paid occupations and casual labour market. These workers are largely engaged in seasonal activities and are paid very low wages that just ensure bare survival.

6. What happens to the supply of food when there is a disaster or a calamity ?

    Answers:

        Due to a natural calamity, say drought, total production of foodgrains decreases. It creates a shortage of food in the affected areas. Due to shortage of food, the prices goes up. At the high prices, some people cannot afford to buy food. If such calamity happens in a very wide spread area or is stretched over a longer time period, it may cause a situation of starvation. A massive starvation might take  a turn of famine. A famine is characterised by wide spread deaths due to starvation and epidemics caused by forced use of contaminated water or decaying food and loss of body resistance due to weakening from starvation. The most devastating famine that occurred in India was the FAMINE OF BENGAL in 1934. This famine Killed thirty lakh people in the province of Bengal

7. Differentiate between seasonal hunger and chronic hunger ?

    Answers:

        Seasonal Hunger:

            i. Seasonal hunger is related to cycles of food growing and harvesting. 

            ii. This is prevalent in rural areas because of the seasonal nature of agriculture activities and in urban areas because of labourers, e.g., there is less work for casual construction labourers during the rainy seasons. This type of hunger exists when a person is unable to get work for the entire year.

        Chronic Hunger:

            i. Chronic hunger is a consequence of diets persistently inadequate in terms of quantity and /or quality. 

            ii. Poor people suffer from chronic hunger because of their very low income and in turn inability to buy food even for survival.

8. What has our government done to provide food security to the poor ? Discuss any two schemes launched by the government ?

9. Why buffer stock is created by the government ?

    Answers:

        The buffer stock is created by the government to distribute foodgrains in the deficit areas and among the poorer strata of the society at a price lower than the market price also know as Issue Price. The also helps resolve the problem of shortage of food during adverse weather conditions or during the periods of calamity.

10. Write notes on:

    a. Minimum Support Price

        Answer:

            The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the farmers in states where there is surplus production. The farmers are paid a pre-announced price for their crops. This price is called Minimum Support Price (MSP). The MSP is declared by the government every year before the sowing seasons to provide incentives to farmers for raising the production of these crops.

    b. Buffer stock

        Answer:

            Buffer Stock is the stock of foodgrains, namely wheat and rice, procured by the government through the Food Corporation of India(FCI). The FCI purchases wheat and rice from the framers in states where there is surplus production.

    c.Issue Price

        Answers:

            To distribute foodgrains in the deficit areas and among the poorer strata of society at a price lower than the market price is called Issue Price. 

    d. Fair Price shops

        Answers:

            The food procured by the FCI is distributed through government regulated ration shops among the poorer section of the society. Ration shops are also known as Fair Price Shops. There shops keep stock of foodgrains, sugar, and kerosene for cooking. These items are sold to people at at price lower than the market price. Any family with a ration card can buy a stipulated amount of these items every month from nearby ration shop.

11. What are the problems of the functioning of ration shops ?

12. Write a note on the role of  cooperatives in providing food and related items. 

Answer:

    i. The cooperatives are also playing an important role in food security in India especially in the southern and western parts of the country. 

    ii. The cooperatives societies set up shops to sell low priced goods to poor people. For example, out of all fair price shops running in Tamil Nadu, around 94 percent are being run by the cooperatives. 

    iii. In Delhi, Mother Dairy is making strides in provision of milk and vegetables to the consumers at controlled rate decided by Government of Delhi. 

    iv. Amul is another success story of cooperative in milk and milk products from Gujarat. It has brought about the White Revolution in the country. 

    v. There are few examples of many more cooperatives running different parts of the country ensuring food security of different sections of society.