Food crisis in India serious threat to Pakistan

[BATMAN]

Food crisis in India serious threat to Pakistan
Amanullah Khan

Karachi—The mounting food crisis in the region especially in India will have a serious impact of food inflation in Pakistan if border loopholes were not plugged effectively, well placed sources told Pakistan Observer today.

‘The rapid rise in global food and energy prices has created political and economic stress all over South Asia with serious strategic implications for India, Pakistan, and the region at large.

The rising food grains prices will cost badly to the popularity of the newly elected government as the people attaching high hopes with the bumper kharif crops to bring down the basic food prices. However if the leakage through illegal border trade was not stopped effectively the hopes will remain hopes merely, hence the situation calls for encouragement of legal trade to support the economy already under stress due to oil and food crisis.

The food crisis, on the other hand, is more systemic. While rising energy costs have exacerbated inflation and commodity prices, the shortage of food in India and Pakistan reflects a more endemic need to deal with a lagging agricultural sector.

The construction of high dams is the key to address the double pronged problem of ever increasing cost of electricity and shortage of food, therefore a political consensus on construction of high dams is also equally important to strengthen the economy in general and agriculture base in particular, sources said.

 

[Zaheerkhan]

Wow..is there a food crisis in India???..... .....Inspite of being in India..this is news to me......

 

[Imran Khan]

sir its not a joke check some news there is realy crisis

if you forget remember before 3 months pakistan send 50000tons rice to india

 

[Imran Khan]

Indian Food Crisis?

By Mukesh Ray

28 April, 2008
Countercurrents.org

Most parts of developing world are reeling under severe stress of feeding its population. In last weeks we have experienced riots over food in various parts of the world; Bangladesh, Argentina, Egypt, Mozambique, Indonesia, Mexico, Dubai, Haiti, Nepal, Philippines etc, riot like situation continues in India, Pakistan, Jamaica, Yemen, Burkina Faso and Sub-Saharan Africa. Record world prices for most staple foods have led to 18% food price inflation in China, 13% in Indonesia and Pakistan, and 10% or more in Latin America, Russia and India, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). Wheat has doubled in price, maize is nearly 50% higher than a year ago and rice is 20% more expensive, says the UN. Next week the FAO is expected to say that global food reserves are at their lowest in 25 years and that price will remain high for years.

According to FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation), the present crisis has three major reasons behind it. Firstly the increased use of Bio-fuels, which means tonnes of cereals diverted to produce ethanol and millions of hectare of land diverted under Jatropha Plantation. Secondly the increased consumption of meat, which need millions of tonnes of feed based on cereals. Thus cereals which could have fed humans are used for feeding cattle and poultry to produce meat. Thirdly the impact of climate change on the crops, severe droughts, floods and untimely rains have destroyed crops in huge quantities.

Government of India is using the same logic to explain the present price rise and reduced food stocks. But reality of course is just opposite to it. Our production has not declined till now (we might experience low production in the khariff, due to untimely rain), we hardly produce any biofuel and our per capita meat consumption is below one kg, which is one of the lowest in the world (it is 50 kg for US). So the question remains intact; why is the price of cereals rising?

The answer lies in the intentions and policies of the government. Allowing MNCs to enter into the food market, and freezing the minimum support price of cereals have forced the farmers to sell their products to these large corporations. In the mean while the Essential Commodities Act was systemically weakened so that government control over food loosens. Now the situation is so that there is enough food in the nation but millions are starving and the price rise has forced many more millions to cut on their food consumption. At the same time we are importing wheat from US which is almost double the price we have given to our farmers. All this is leading to an upward surge in future commodities market further leading to the price rise.

If the problem is created, there will be manufactured solutions as well. There are raids conducted on small hoarders which hardly will have any impact on the price rise. But the man behind the green revolution comes again with an answer, and obviously it is an "Evergreen Revolution" (ER).

With the blatant failure of green revolution, the policy makers have nowhere to hide. Most of the agricultural regions which were the centres of green revolution have now become centres of farmer suicide. Most of the land quality has deteriorated beyond repair; water levels have reached danger marks, farmers are suffering from cancer and the input cost in farming has risen above output cost. The revolution has died and has killed thousands of farmers with it, and millions more are in a position to take their lives. The revolution, which lived short, was a technological patchwork to a social problem existing in Indian society since long. Both the problems of access to food and low productivity could have been structurally resolved by successful land redistribution. The option chosen was scientific and derailed the naxalbari movement, as it could provide food to the poor for a few more decades.

The era of green revolution is over but the policy makers are not ready to accept the fact that they cannot hide anymore behind the curtains of technological solutions for problems that need mass social changes and political will. The land movements in past few years have shown that the existing problem is going to get exacerbated in future and price rise is adding fuel to it. Any attempt to force Evergreen revolution to the eastern and central India will have severe outcome. The time has come when some serious structural changes are required to resolve the food crisis. Any trader, including MNCs must not be allowed to stock huge piles of grains, and the control should be taken back by FCI. As a long term solution land re-distribution and organic farming are the way forward towards a sustainable farming, as they are the only option available to provide gainful livelihood to millions and healthy food to the nation.



Mukesh Ray, After completing his masters in Scoial Work from TISS, Mumbai, in 2006, have been working as a researcher with an NGO named Navdanya. He has worked on the issues of SEZs, land acquisition, corporate entry in retail and food. He works on policy related issue by doing researches, advocacy and activism.

 

[Imran Khan]

major food crisis is awaiting India as the country's population has been increasing by 1.8 per cent while the food production rate was only 1.3 per cent, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader M Venkaiah Naidu said in Tirupati on Tuesday.

Addressing a press conference, Naidu stated that the country needed food security and that imports could not substitute food stocks. He alleged that during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance government, food products were exported to other countries and now due to wrong policies of the United Progressive Alliance government, India was importing 55 lakh tonnes of food.

National Commission on Agriculture M S Swaminadhan demanded the UPA government to review the agriculture policy and reduce taxes on agricultural products besides creating enough godowns for storage of food and instructing the banks to arrange credit up to 70 per cent on cheaper rates, to those who stored their foods in godowns.

Naidu demanded the UPA government to involve the farmers as stake holders in SEZs by giving 15-20 per cent development land to those whose land was acquired for the zone. He alleged that district collectors were issuing notices and taking over fertile lands from farmers.



The main aim of forming SEZs was to increase foreign export FDI, increasing manufacturing to add GDP and employment, he said, stressing upon the need to constitute a regulatory authority for SEZs.

 

[Spring Onion]

Food crisise is everywhere thanks to the IMF and WB.

The wise countries have started working to deal the crisise before it deepens badly in future, while countries are like us are in denial.

Wake up everyone

 

[Imran Khan]

Food crisis ravages India’s poorest children

© UNICEF video
Malnourished Indian children eat lunch at the nutritional rehabilitation centre in Shivpuri. For most it will be the only meal of the day.

By Sarah Crowe

GURAVAL VILLAGE, Madhya Pradesh, India, 9 June 2008 – In the pre-monsoon heat, the Akushwah family gathered under a Neem tree on their most important mission since a boy was born to the family a year ago.

As the group waited for an auto rickshaw at the side of the main road from Bhopal to Delhi, they talked excitedly about how they had saved for a full year to fill their large steel bucket with a feast of chapattis, lentil dahl and channa, or chick peas.

If not for the huge food price increases that have hit India’s poorest families the hardest, it would have taken them half that time. The Akushwahs live on around $1 a day, but that didn’t stop the family from taking a taxi to a bright blue temple, where they offered the feast to the gods in thanks for their baby boy.

Even in a crisis, centuries-old traditions and beliefs die hard.

Effects of high food prices

“After three girls, we are so thankful for this boy. We don’t buy medicines and we had to cut back on our food because things are so expensive,” said the father, Badarinath Akushwa. “But we know that if we feed the gods, that will be our medicine.”

Despite a robust economy with 9 per cent annual growth in recent years, inflation and the food crisis in India now threaten to erode many of the gains made here.


© UNICEF video
Anxious mothers bring their malnourished children to the nutritional rehabilitation centre in Shivpuri, one of 100 in the state of Madhya Pradesh.

In order to address both the complex situation causing high rates of child malnutrition in India, the retail giant IKEA is supporting UNICEF India with an $80 million package of health, nutrition, and water and sanitation programmes over the next five years.

In the state of Madhya Pradesh, which has the highest child mortality and child malnutrition rates in the country, government supplementary programmes are under threat. Community workers have complained that they can no longer give severely malnourished children a healthy, balanced diet out of the 2 Rupees per day that they receive from government for each child.

UNICEF sets up nutrition centres

Even at the best of times, nearly half the children under the age of three in Madhya Pradesh are undernourished. Two years ago, in response to a severe drought, UNICEF helped the government set up a 100 nutrition rehabilitation centres throughout the state. The monsoon rains have continued to fail, and now with the food crisis that failure has created a 'perfect storm' affecting the most marginalized children – especially those from excluded castes and tribes.

At the Kalyani nutrition centre in Shivpuri, anxious mothers take turns weighing their babies, who are barely big enough to tip the scales. One three-month-old baby boy weighed in at exactly 2 kg. And whereas malnourished children used to be brought to the centre by government transport, now a steady stream of mothers are bringing in their babies on their own.

“Before, we used to have to go and find those babies and bring them here. Now the mothers are motivated to come, because their children are suffering more,” said health worker Dinesh Khanna.

Families cope with stark choices

For Sunita Adivasi’s family, wheat stocks are running out. With the price of other staples such as rice having almost doubled in six months, she is left to make stark choices.


“Only my husband is able to work and we’re seven in the family, so we cannot feed and clothe our children properly,” she said. “We’re really very worried about things, we don’t know how we are going to cope.”

Sunita’s son is two years old but cannot walk. At the community centre, he and his sisters relish their midday meal. It’s all they’ll get, and they’re not alone. This year, 72 per cent of children in the village of Guraval are malnourished, compared to 60 per cent last year.

“While there is no change in the families’ income, the food prices have gone up incredibly,” UNICEF Nutrition Officer for Madhya Pradesh Vandana Agurwal said, adding that in some villages the prevalence of child malnutrition is as high as 80 per cent.




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[Imran Khan]

Pakistan is likely to export around one million tonnes of wheat to India this year, according to a news report.

It said Islamabad has already allowed exporting up to 500,000 tonnes to India.

Pakistan's Food and Agriculture Secretary Muhammad Ismail Qureshi was quoted as saying in The Dawn daily that the government has already granted permission to private sector to export up to 5 lakh tonnes of wheat to India.

He said the total wheat export could reach up to a million tonnes this year.

India had floated tenders for import of a million tonnes of wheat. The official said Pakistan's private sector is capable to compete with international wheat prices because of the transportation charges. Besides, there is no tax or duties on export of wheat, an official said.

In addition, India could save time by importing wheat from Pakistan via Lahore and Karachi to Delhi and Mumbai by rail and ship.

Agricultural Development Commissioner Qadir Bakhsh Baloch said that this was the first time that Pakistan had allowed wheat export to India.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz had officially approved the export of 500,000 tonnes of wheat to neighboring countries like India and Afghanistan.

"We will announce a new plan for more wheat exports after finalisation of crop figures," Minister for Food Sikandar Hayat Bosan had said last week.

The Pakistan government is expecting wheat production to exceed 23 million tonnes, surpassing the current 22.5 million-tonnes target.

In the previous fiscal, Pakistan had produced 21.7 million tonnes of wheat.

Baloch claimed that Pakistan had a confirmed demand of one million tonnes of wheat from India.

 

[Imran Khan]

Pakistan clears 500,000 tonnes wheat export to India

Pakistan has cleared the export of an additional 500,000 tonnes of wheat to India, utilizing its excess this year to try and make 'inroads into the lucrative Indian market'.

'It was being done in the hope of making inroads into the lucrative Indian market,' Food and Agriculture Secretary Ismail Queshi said Thursday.

'The decision was taken especially in view of the tender floated by the State Trading Corporation of India. The export will be undertaken by the private sector by sea and land route, that is the railways,' he added.

Pakistani traders fear that a delay in releasing additional quantity may prevent them from participating in an Indian import tender, which will close May 10, the Daily Times reported.

India-Pakistan trade is burgeoning amidst confidence building measures being undertaken by both the governments in the past two years.

An expected bumper harvest of 23 million tonnes this crop year (2006-07) allowed Pakistan in January to lift a two-and-a-half year export ban intended to protect domestic supplies.

Pakistan has already allowed the export of 800,000 tonnes of wheat by private traders and removed a 15-percent duty on exports. The government has set a June deadline to ship the 800,000 tonnes. So far, deals for up to 400,000 tonnes have been finalised, while a large quantity has also been sold to local flourmills.

Agriculture Ministry officials said the government was holding over 2 million tonnes of wheat stocks in excess of buffer norms and more arrivals had created a storage problem.

India, meanwhile, is making a serious bid to enter Pakistan's tea market

India eNews - Pakistan clears 500,000 tonnes wheat export to India

 

[Goodperson]

There is no food crisis in India, If there is Indian media is notorious in posting such news.
Import is no means to show there is a crisis.

 

[Contrarian]

Tbh it is news to me too that there is a food crisis in India. And this news considering that India had a bumper crop last year and a bumper crop is expected this year as well!!

 

[AgNoStiC MuSliM]

I think by 'food crisis' both inflationary pressures and shortages are being referred to - in isolation or in conjunction.

Pakistan for example is primarily dealing with an inflationary crisis, and shortages due to hoarding and smuggling (which continue pushing inflationary trends up), especially to Afghanistan.

Given the crop yields in Pakistan however, there shouldn't be a 'food crisis'.

 

[Cheetah786]

Wow..is there a food crisis in India???..... .....Inspite of being in India..this is news to me......

Wow thats a pretty broad statement i take it you provide food to every body in India that you can make that statement.i take it you don't read much either.........................


India headed for food shortages?-India-The Times of India<-------------------This is indian newspaper.

NEW DELHI: Surging foodgrain prices and worsening global supplies are now bringing the domestic food crisis to the boil. The crisis has been building up for some time - Indian farmers seem to have hit a dead end as their foodgrain yields are no longer going up. Grain output has been stagnating for over a decade and now there's a growing gap between supply and demand.

"Yes, we have a problem,'' admits Abhijit Sen, economist and Planning Commission member, "and it can be starkly put in the following way: roughly around 2004-05, our per capita foodgrain production was back to the 1970s level."

The figures tell a stark story. In 1979, at the height of the Green Revolution euphoria, per capita availability of cereals and pulses had gone up to 476.5 grams per day. The corresponding figure in 2006 was 444.5 grams per day, according to provisional government statistics.

In 2005, it was still lower at 422 grams. In the case of pulses, per capita net availability today is almost half of what it was five decades ago - 32.5 grams per day in 2006 compared with 60.7 grams per day in 1951.

The reason for this fall in the availability of food is that our farm output is just not growing. Since the mid-1990s, the output has hovered around 415 million tonne. "In the eight years between 1996 and 2004, when agriculture was growing at a low 2%, there was, in fact, zero growth in foodgrains," says Sen.

This stagnation is hitting us all now. For one, food prices are rising and the rise is likely to continue. For another, despite nudging up wheat production in the last two years, the government still needs to import wheat.

The problem is, it's not easy to import. "Last year, India wanted to import around five million tonnes of wheat but couldn't get more than three million tonnes because there isn't any surplus wheat going around in the world market," says food analyst Devender Sharma.

 

[Cheetah786]

There is no food crisis in India, If there is Indian media is notorious in posting such news.
Import is no means to show there is a crisis.

The math is clear: Hunger has nothing to do with any deficit of food production; it has to do with a shortage of purchasing power

 

[Goodperson]

Do not do the math with figures of March 2008.