Food subsidies can help India achieve 2030 goals

In 2016, India, along with 192 United Nations (UN) member-States, signed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and as part of the plan, the country pledged to be poverty- and hunger-free by 2030. The late-December Cabinet decision to extend free food grain till the end of this year (Prime Minister Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana/PMGKAY) under the National Food Security Act 2013 (NFSA) is a bold step to achieve these two key SDG goals. In addition, thanks to several other ongoing schemes such as green (agriculture), white (milk), blue (fisheries) and rainbow revolutions (to promote resource development and environmental sustainability), India has been able to achieve household food security and reduce poverty to 16.4%, according to the United Nations multidimensional poverty data. Yet, India still has 5.7 million children (around 40%) below five years who are malnourished (Unicef, May 2022) due to economic inequality, poverty, low affordability of food, and lack of sanitation and clean drinking water. So, the proposed free distribution of 5 kg of food grain per month through the targeted public distribution system to 810 million citizens under PMGKAY is laudable. Additionally, the provision of 35 kg foodgrains (21 kg rice and 14 kg wheat) to very poor families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) will cost around ₹2 lakh crore annually. India is fortunate to have a comfortable buffer stock position (ranging between 50-70 million tonnes during the last decade), whereas, according to the UN World Food Programme, food availability is a major concern for many developing countries. During Covid-19, globally, around 150 million additional people, in addition to the earlier 800 million below the poverty line, became food insecure. Distress migration was at an unprecedented level. And a global food crisis fuelled by conflict, climate shocks, and the pandemic, gained ground. Today, millions are at risk of being driven to starvation unless developing countries take action. Fortunately, in addition to NFSA and AAY, India has the National Nutrition Mission (POSHAN Abhiyaan), which focuses on the nutritional status of adolescent girls, pregnant women, lactating mothers and children from 0-6 years. Also, the effective implementation of the midday meal scheme, with a strategy around increased use of milk, pulses and soybean (it has double the protein than all pulses), can help overcome the problem of malnourishment among children. The merging of the PMGKAY and NFSA and providing 5 kg grain free of cost is another step towards long-term sustainability, presuming that NFSA will continue till 2030 to achieve SDGs. At the same time, a critical review of whether all 810 million need free ration is warranted. In addition, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, with an outlay of ₹98,000 crore, has helped reduce poverty. The smallholders and marginal farmers (with less than two hectares of land) — accounting for nearly 86.2% of 146 million farm families, tilling around 47.4% of total cultivable land and accounting for more than 50% of the agricultural production — are vital not only for India’s rural economy (10th Agriculture Census 2015-16) but also for alleviating the current problems of hunger and poverty in the country. It must be recognised that the SDGs present a unique opportunity for the agricultural sector to help the country achieve a better tomorrow. So, attaining them will have to be accelerated through higher agricultural growth. But there is no room for complacency. It is imperative, therefore, that high priority is accorded to agricultural research for development (AR4D), with enhanced budgetary allocation to the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, which, unfortunately, has remained stagnant for almost the last decade.To meet the SDG targets, India needs a well-designed strategy with a well-monitored implementation plan. Such a plan must include the promotion of nutrient-rich high-yielding varieties and hybrids; the adoption of GM food crops; crop diversification and conservation agriculture for sustainable intensification; promoting secondary and speciality agriculture, and using local food systems ecoregion-wise, with an emphasis on farming systems around crops, horticulture, livestock, fishery, and agroforestry. In addition, it is important to provide an enabling policy environment and institutional infrastructure for improving the sustainable development index (SDI) in the regions bypassed by the Green Revolution, but which otherwise offer great potential being rich in natural resources. It is also important to revisit and strengthen the ongoing national programmes aiming to ensure rural credit, health insurance, crop and livestock insurance, housing for the poor, improved and efficient irrigation/micro-irrigation systems, the construction of village godowns, youth skill development and self-employment, need-based fertiliser use based on soil test analysis, and linking farmers to markets. Time is short, and India needs to act fast to achieve the SDGs for better food, nutrition and environmental security.RS Paroda is chairman, TAAS, former director-general, ICAR and secretary, DARE, and former president, Indian Science Congress. He is also a Padma Bhushan awardeeThe views expressed are personal