Role of Agriculture Techniques in Eradication of World Hunger And Achieving Food Security
1. Role of Advance Agriculture Techniques in Eradication of
World Hunger And Achieving Food Security
Presented By- Naveen Kumar Bind
2. Introduction
A spike in global food prices has increased hunger. A
prolonged period of higher prices threatens to stall or
reverse progress in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) of the 862 million poor
people around the world who are chronically hungry,
75 percent live in rural areas and depend on agriculture
for their earnings. Increasing agricultural productivity in
poor countries is critical to reducing hunger. It increases
food supply, which lowers food prices. Poor people
benefit the most because they spend a much greater
share of their income on food.
3. Continue..
Increasing the productivity of smallholder farmers also
raises their incomes, improving their ability to cope.
Over the last twenty years, donors have been partners
in a progressive decline in support for agriculture and
rural development. A substantial increase in funding for
agriculture is needed but aid by itself won’t be enough.
Reforming trade distorting policies in rich countries is
also necessary. In addition, developing countries
themselves have to provide supportive policies, along
with additional investments, for donor resources to be
effective.
5. Key Points of World Hunger
• Increasing agricultural productivity in developing
countries is necessary to reduce hunger and poverty,
especially in the face of rapidly rising food prices.
• Agricultural and rural development strongly determines
whether a developing country is likely to achieve broad-
based economic growth and the Millennium
Development Goals.
• Declining rates of poverty and hunger in Asia, where
agricultural growth helped raise incomes of poor people
in rural communities, provides valuable lessons for sub-
Saharan Africa.
6. Continue..
• In recent decades, rich and poor countries alike have
diverted resources away from promoting agricultural
growth in developing countries, disadvantaging
smallholder farmers.
• Disinvestments in agriculture have been
compounded by protectionist trade and agriculture
policies in rich countries. New investments would be
more effective if these policies were reformed.
7. New Agriculture Introduction
The only way to eliminate world hunger and poverty is
to make agriculture more environmentally sustainable.
That’s the conclusion of a new report released by the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. The
FAO found that climate change will increase the number
of people struggling with food insecurity by 2030 if
agriculture does not adapt to the new climate
conditions. In India were the words by former Union
food and public distribution minister, the late Ram Vilas
Paswan, when the Global Hunger Index (GHI), 2019
report was released.
8. Continue…
India ranked 102 among 117 countries. The number of
people living in poverty could increase by between 35
million and 122 million by 2030. The FAO said that’s
because population will grow fastest in developing
countries that are the most vulnerable to more
frequent droughts, floods and other extreme weather
events caused by climate change
9. Continue..
As EWG (Environmental Working Group) showed
recently in its Feeding the World report, agricultural
practices like biotechnology, chemical fertilizers and
pesticides, which are employed by U.S. farmers, are not
feeding those who suffer the most from
undernourishment. The FAO agrees that these
technologies will not end world hunger. To feed those
who are hungry now and prevent hunger from
spreading, farmers must adopt sustainable practices
that help them adapt to climate change.
10. Continue…
Conservation practices, such as crop diversification, drip or
sprinkler irrigation, zero-soil tillage and growing more crops
that rely less on nitrogen, are key to adapting to climate
change and solving hunger. According to the report,
adopting no-till alone could lift almost 9 percent of people
out of hunger by 2050.
Assisting small farmers to adopt sustainable practices is
crucial to reducing hunger. Combined with raising income
levels, providing education for women and the poor,
preventing wars and violent conflicts, and improving
infrastructure like access to markets, sustainable
conservation practices can help farmers adapt to climate
change, and eradicate hunger and poverty worldwide.
11. Nine Fields Of Study To Solve World
Hunger
When asked for the one thing they could change about
the world, people (not least beauty pageant
contestants) often answer: ―To end world hunger.‖
Given 796 million people across the globe do not have
enough to eat, it’s a very noble aspiration – and it does
not have to be an empty one. In fact, when you
consider the multi-factored nature of food insecurity
and hunger, many possible solutions emerge. Here’s a
closer look at nine fields of study with the potential to
eradicate world hunger.
12. 1. Agricultural science
While the planet currently produces enough food to
feed all of its inhabitants, one out of every nine people
goes hungry every day. Agriculture can play a crucial
role in bridging the gap, by both providing nutrient-rich
foods and supporting sustainable livelihoods.
13. 2. Public policy
A great deal of global hunger comes down to
something other than lack of food: inadequate policies
that would enable countries and communities to more
effectively fight hunger through economic security and
self-sufficiency. These include everything from
reforming and regulating commodities markets to
supporting and training small farmers. Public policy
students can help drive such policies, to make a
difference in the world.
14. 3. Nutrition
Infant malnutrition is one of the most widely known
effects of world hunger. As such, it receives significant
attention. ―Big improvements have already been
made. The solution lies in education on good feeding
techniques and getting the right nutrients to the
mother and child from the beginning of pregnancy.
Overall, malnutrition makes people poorer – it is
responsible for an 11 percent decline in GDP in affected
countries,‖ says The Guardian.
15. 4. Water management
As droughts become more and more common, both
water scarcity and poor water quality continue to
threaten people all over the world – especially in Africa.
The Water Project explains, ―Relieving hunger in Africa
has to begin with access to clean water. It may seem
simple, but we forget that without access to a reliable
source of water, food is hard to grow and even more
difficult to preserve and prepare.‖
16. 5. Reduce food waste
Currently, one-third of all food produced (over 1.3
billion tons) is wasted. Producing this wasted food also
wastes other natural resources —requiring an amount
of water equal to the annual flow of Russia’s Volga
River and creating 3.3 billion tons of greenhouse gases.
Ending food waste would be a radical shift, but it’s one
that you can be a part of by simply reducing your own
food waste.
17. 6. Climate change and sustainability
The UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
recently released a report identifying climate change –
including extreme weather events, land degradation
and desertification, water scarcity and rising sea levels
– as a leading driver of global hunger. A joint forward to
the report penned by a collective of experts insists. ―If
we are to achieve a world without hunger and
malnutrition in all its forms by 2030, it is imperative
that we accelerate and scale up actions to strengthen
the resilience and adaptive capacity of food systems
and people’s livelihoods in response to climate
variability and extremes.‖
18. 7. Microfinance
Microfinance is the provision of financial services to the
poor who might otherwise not have access to them.
These include loans, savings, and insurance to start and
grow businesses. In particular, The Hunger Project is
focusing its microfinance efforts on one especially
powerful initiative.
19. 8. Agricultural mechanization and
infrastructure
The FAO’s ninth Sustainable Development Goal is to
―build resilient infrastructure, promote sustainable
industrialization and foster innovation.‖ This is another
example where lack of food is not the problem, but
rather logistics related to the accessibility of food. In
certain areas of Asia, meanwhile, post-harvest losses
have been high in vital crops due to generally weak
infrastructure across handling, transportation,
packaging, and poor storage. The introduction of good
post-harvest management practices and improved
technologies offers hope for reduced losses.
20. 9. Biodiversity
“Biodiversity for food and agriculture is indispensable
to food security and sustainable development. It
supplies many vital ecosystem services, such as creating
and maintaining healthy soils, pollinating plants,
controlling pests, and providing habitat for wildlife,
including for fish and other species that are vital to
food production and agricultural livelihoods”,‖
according to FAO.
21. Benefit of New Agriculture
Techniques in World Hunger
• Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger: The majority
of poor people reside in rural areas and rely on
agriculture. Improvements in agriculture pave the
way for economic growth in poorer nations. Meeting
the first MDG will contribute to progress on all.
• Achieve universal primary education: By raising
incomes, agricultural growth enables parents to send
children to school rather than to work. Education
prepares children, particularly girls, to take
advantage of economic opportunities. It empowers
poor men and women in all aspects of life.
22. Continue..
• Promote gender equality and empower women:
Women play a critical role in agriculture in much of
the developing world, especially in sub-Saharan
Africa. Formalizing their legal and economic rights
will help boost agricultural productivity.
• Reduce child mortality and improve maternal
health: More children die before the age of five in
rural than urban areas. About half of these deaths
are due to malnutrition. Increased and diversified
agricultural production is one of the most reliable,
sustainable interventions to improve nutrition and
reduce child malnutrition and mortality .
23. Continue…
• Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases: When people
with HIV lack sufficient food and proper nutrition, they develop
AIDS more rapidly. The agricultural sector in developing
countries can help by generating income to purchase food and
increasing the availability of nutritious food.
• Ensure environmental sustainability: Many agricultural
practices that increase productivity may also cause damage to
the environment. Overuse and misuse of agricultural chemicals
can pollute surface and ground water supplies and leave
dangerous residues in food. But agriculture’s large
environmental footprint can be reduced. Agriculture can also
help protect the environment through carbon sequestration.
24. Continue…
• Develop a global partnership for development:
Domestic agricultural policies in rich countries hurt
many poor countries. Rich countries subsidize their
farmers to overproduce, which makes it difficult for
the world’s poorest farmers to compete and
therefore to earn a living.27 Agricultural protection
in rich countries remains solidly in place despite
agreements to bring agriculture within the purview
of the World Trade Organization and negotiate fairer
policies.
25. Food Security
• As per the Economic Survey (2018-19), India needs to
take big initiatives to improve its food security as it faces
supply constraints, water scarcity, small landholdings, low
per capita GDP and inadequate irrigation.
What is Food Security?
• Food security, as defined by the United Nations’
Committee on World Food Security, means that all
people, at all times, have physical, social, and economic
access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food that meets
their food preferences and dietary needs for an active
and healthy life.
26. • Food security is the combination of the following three
elements:
I. Food availability i.e. food must be available in
sufficient quantities and on a consistent basis. It
considers stock and production in a given area and the
capacity to bring in food from elsewhere, through trade
or aid.
II. Food access i.e. people must be able to regularly
acquire adequate quantities of food, through purchase,
home production, barter, gifts, borrowing or food aid.
III.Food utilization: Consumed food must have a positive
nutritional impact on people. It entails cooking, storage
and hygiene practices, individuals health, water and
sanitations, feeding and sharing practices within the
household.
27. • Food security is closely related to household
resources, disposable income and socioeconomic
status. It is also strongly interlinked with other issues,
such as food prices, global environment change, water,
energy and agriculture growth.
Why Food Security is Important for a Nation?
a. For boosting the agricultural sector.
b. For having a control on food prices.
c. For economic growth and job creation leading to
poverty reduction
d. For trade opportunities
e. For increased global security and stability
f. For improved health and healthcare
28. Food Security in India
• Food security concerns can be traced back to the
experience of the Bengal Famine in 1943 during
British colonial rule, during which about 2 million to
3 million people perished due to starvation.
• Since attaining independence, an initial rush to
industrialize while ignoring agriculture, two
successive droughts in the mid-1960s, and
dependence on food aid from the United States
exposed India’s vulnerability to several shocks on the
food security front.
29. • The country went through a Green Revolution in the
late 1960s and early 1970s, enabling it to overcome
productivity stagnation and to significantly improve
food grain production.
• Despite its success, the Green Revolution is often
criticized for being focused on only two cereals, wheat
and rice; being confined to a few resource abundant
regions in the northwestern and southern parts of the
country that benefited mostly rich farmers; and putting
too much stress on the ecology of these regions,
especially soil and water.
30. • The Green Revolution was followed by the White
Revolution, which was initiated by Operation Flood
during the 1970s and 1980s. This national initiative has
revolutionized liquid milk production and marketing in
India, making it the largest producer of milk.
• Of late, especially during the post-2000 period, hybrid
maize for poultry and industrial use and Bacillus
thuringiensis (Bt) cotton have shown great strides in
production, leading to sizeable exports of cotton, which
made India the second largest exporter of cotton in
2007–2008.
31. Concerns vis-a-vis Food Security in
India
• India, currently has the largest number of
undernourished people in the world i.e. around 195
million.
• Nearly 47 million or 4 out of 10 children in India do not
meet their full human potential because of chronic
undernutrition or stunting.
• Agricultural productivity in India is extremely low.
According to World Bank figures, cereal yield in India is
estimated to be 2,992 kg per hectare as against 7,318.4
kg per hectare in North America.
32. • The composition of the food basket is increasingly
shifting away from cereals to high⎯value agricultural
commodities like fish, eggs, milk and meat. As incomes
continue to rise, this trend will continue and the indirect
demand for food from feed will grow rapidly in India.
• According to FAO estimates in ‘The State of Food
Security and Nutrition in the World, 2018” report, about
14.8% of the population is undernourished in India.
o Also, 51.4% of women in reproductive age between 15
to 49 years are anaemic.
o Further according to the report 38.4% of children aged
under five in India are stunted (too short for their age),
while 21% suffer from wasting, meaning their weight is
too low for their height.
33. • India ranked 76 in 113 countries assessed by The Global
Food Security Index (GFSI) in the year 2018, based on
four parameters—affordability, availability and quality
and safety.
• As per the Global Hunger Index, 2018, India was ranked
103rd out of 119 qualifying countries.
Challenges to Food Security
• Climate Change: Higher temperatures and unreliable
rainfall makes farming difficult. Climate change not only
impacts crop but also livestock, forestry, fisheries and
aquaculture, and can cause grave social and economic
consequences in the form of reduced incomes, eroded
livelihoods, trade disruption and adverse health
impacts.
34. • Lack of access to remote areas: For the tribal
communities, habitation in remote difficult terrains and
practice of subsistence farming has led to significant
economic backwardness.
• Increase in rural-to-urban migration, large proportion
of informal workforce resulting in unplanned growth of
slums which lack in the basic health and hygiene
facilities, insufficient housing and increased food
insecurity.
• Overpopulation, poverty, lack of education and
gender inequality.
• Inadequate distribution of food through public
distribution mechanisms (PDS i.e. Public Distribution
System).
35. Deserving beneficiaries of the subsidy are excluded on the
basis of non ownership of below poverty line (BPL) status,
as the criterion for identifying a household as BPL is
arbitrary and varies from state to state.
• Biofuels: The growth of the biofuel market has reduced
the land used for growing food crops.
• Conflict: Food can be used as a weapon, with enemies
cutting off food supplies in order to gain ground. Crops
can also be destroyed during the conflict.
• Unmonitored nutrition programmes: Although a
number of programmes with improving nutrition as
their main component are planned in the country but
these are not properly implemented.
36. • Lack of coherent food and nutrition policies along with
the absence of intersectoral coordination between
various ministries.
• Corruption: Diverting the grains to open market to get
better margin, selling poor quality grains at ration shops,
irregular opening of the shops add to the issue of food
insecurity.
Recent Government Initiatives:
1. National Food Security Mission
I. It is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme launched in 2007.
II. It aims to increase production of rice, wheat, pulses,
coarse cereals and commercial crops, through area
expansion and productivity enhancement.
III. It works toward restoring soil fertility and productivity
at the individual farm level and enhancing farm level
economy.
37. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY)
o It was initiated in 2007, and allowed states to choose
their own agriculture and allied sector development
activities as per the district/state agriculture plan.
o It was converted into a Centrally Sponsored Scheme
in 2014-15 also with 100% central assistance.
o Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) has been named
as Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana- Remunerative
Approaches for Agriculture and Allied Sector
Rejuvenation (RKVY-RAFTAAR) for three years i.e.
from 2017-18 to 2019-20.
38. o Objectives: Making farming a remunerative economic
activity through strengthening the farmer’s effort, risk
mitigation and promoting agri-business entrepreneurship.
Major focus is on pre & post-harvest infrastructure,
besides promoting agri-entrepreneurship and innovations.
• Integrated Schemes on Oilseeds, Pulses, Palm oil and
Maize (ISOPOM) Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
• E-marketplace: The government has created an electronic
national agriculture market (eNAM) to connect all
regulated wholesale produce markets through a pan-India
trading portal.
• Massive irrigation and soil and water harvesting
programme to increase the country’s gross irrigated area
from 90 million hectares to 103 million hectares by 2017.
39. • The government has also taken significant steps to
combat under- and malnutrition over the past two
decades, through
The introduction of mid-day meals at schools. It is a
Centrally-Sponsored Scheme which covers all school
children studying in Classes I-VIII of Government,
Government-Aided Schools.
Anganwadi systems to provide rations to pregnant and
lactating mothers,
Subsidised grain for those living below the poverty line
through a public distribution system.
Food fortification
40. • The National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013,
legally entitles up to 75% of the rural population and
50% of the urban population to receive subsidized
food grains under the Targeted Public Distribution
System.
The eldest woman of the household of age 18
years or above is mandated to be the head of the
household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards
under the Act.
41. International Organizations involved in ensuring
Food Security
Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)
• Established as a specialized agency of the United
Nations in 1945.
• One of FAO's strategic objectives is to help eliminate
hunger, food insecurity, and malnutrition.
World Food Programme (WFP)
• Founded in 1963, WFP is the lead UN agency that
responds to food emergencies and has programmes
to combat hunger worldwide.
42. International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)
• Founded in 1977, IFAD focuses on rural poverty
reduction, working with poor rural populations in
developing countries to eliminate poverty, hunger, and
malnutrition.
• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations and was
one of the major outcomes of the 1974 World Food
Conference.
World Bank
• Founded in 1944, the World Bank is actively involved in
funding food projects and Many programmes.
43. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) It was
established in 1972 as the international arm providing
guidance and governance to environmental issues.
One of the topics that UNEP addresses currently is
food security.
44. International Initiatives
• The High-Level Task Force (HLTF) on Global Food and
Nutrition Security was established by the UN
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in 2008. It aims to
promote a comprehensive and unified response of
the international community to the challenge of
achieving global food and nutrition security.
• Formulation of the First Millennium Development
Goal (MDG 1), which included among its targets
cutting by half the proportion of people who suffer
from hunger by 2015.
45. • The United Nations Secretary-General launched the
Zero Hunger Challenge in 2012 during the Rio+20
World Conference on Sustainable Development. The
Zero Hunger Challenge was launched to inspire a
global movement towards a world free from hunger
within a generation. It calls for:
Zero stunted children under the age of two
100% access to adequate food all year round
All food systems are sustainable 100% increase in
smallholder productivity and income
Zero loss or waste of food
Sustainable Development Goals(SDG goals). End
hunger, achieve food security and improved
nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
46. REFERENCES
• Ali, M., & Hussain, S. M. (2012). Status of Food Insecurity at Household Level in
Rural India:A case study of Uttar Pradesh. International Journal of Physical and
Social Science.
• Anand, M. A., & Jyoti, J. (2013). Overview of food security in Uttar Pradesh,
India. Basic Research Journal of Food Science and Technology, 20-25.
• Gahukar, R. T. (2011). Food Security in India: The Challenge of Food Production
and Distribution. Journal of Agricultural & Food Information.
• Kumar, A., & Ayyappan, S. (2014). Food Security and Public Distribution
System (PDS) in India. Agriculture Research, 271-277
• Mir, M. A., & Shiekh, N. A. (2013). Progress of Millennium Development Goal
1(Eradication of Extreme Poverty and Hunger). International Journal on Arts,
Management and Humanities, 84-93
• Pandey, A. (May, 2015). Food security in India and States:key challenges and
policy option. Journal of Agricultural Economics and Rural Development Vol.
2(1), pp. 012-021.
• Ramachandran, P. (2018). Role of health Services in Nutrition. Yojana Journal.
47. • Rukhsana. (2011). Dimension of food security in a selected state-Uttar Pradesh. Journal
of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, 29-41.
• Saxena, J. (2017). Food Security in India: Sustainability, challenges and opportunities.
Kurukshetra Journal.
• Singh, K. (July. 2014). Food Security in India: Performance and Concerns. IOSR Journal
Of Humanities And Social Science (IOSR-JHSS) Volume 19, Issue 7, 106-119.
• Yu, W., & Zobbe, H. (2015). Food security policies in India and China: Implications for
national and global food security. Food Security Journal.
• Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Statistical Database. Suite of
Food Security Indicators. Available online: http://www.fao.org/faostat/en/#data/FS
(accessed on 22 May 2020).
• Organization, F. A. (2006, June ). Retrieved from
http://www.fao.org/fileadmin/templates/faoitaly/documents/pdf/pdf_Food_Security_C
ocept_ Note.pdf. (World Food Summit,1996)
• Patel ,A.K & G.S and Parmar ,A (2021). Effect of New Agriculture Techniques on World
Hunger(e-ISSN: 2582-8223) –just Agriculture multidiscplinary e-newslater.
WEBSITES
• India, U. N. Retrieved from http://in.one.un.org/un-priority-areas-in-india/nutrition-
and-foodsecurity/. (UN India)
• Index, G. F. (2018). Retrieved from https://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/Index. (Global
Food Security Index)
• drishtiias.com/printpdf/food-security-1
• FAO. 2017. The future of food and agriculture – Trends and challenges. Rome.