Editorial: Overflowing granaries, empty stomachs

Ensuring access to wholesome food for all must be complemented by the availability of clean water and sanitary conditions for better nutrition results

The march of ignominy continues. Despite being self-sufficient in foodgrain production, an overwhelmingly large number of Indians go to sleep empty stomach. Hunger and malnutrition have reached alarming proportions. The latest Global Hunger Index (GHI)-2023 has ranked India 111th out of 125 countries, with the level of hunger falling in the ‘serious’ category; the country also has the highest child wasting rate — low weight for height — in the world. This should serve as a wake-up call for policymakers to strengthen hunger and malnutrition mitigation schemes such as the Poshan Abhiyaan. It is ironic that the fastest-growing major economy in the world should find itself ranking below nations like Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sub-Saharan African countries on critical nutrition parameters. Ensuring access to wholesome food for all must be complemented by the availability of clean water and sanitary conditions for better nutrition results. At the present rate, India is lagging in the race to achieve zero hunger by 2030 as per the Sustainable Development Goals. Year after year, India has been slamming the GHI report, saying that the basis of calculating the findings is divorced from ground reality and that the methodology used is unscientific. India’s main objection is that three out of the four indicators used for calculation of the index are related to the health of children and cannot be representative of the entire population.

However, even if the Hunger Index is dismissed for its flawed metrics and faulty methodologies, we cannot shut our eyes to the prevalence of the scourge of hunger and the challenges in the fight to eradicate it, as revealed by other surveys. Even the domestic family health surveys do not project a rosy picture. The latest report of the National Family Health Survey shows a significant increase in the neonatal mortality rate. Last month’s Poshan Tracker figures reveal that there are over 4.3 million malnourished children in India. The NITI Aayog report released in July showed that a whopping 74% of people in the country can’t afford healthy food. The situation warrants strong remedial measures and a relook at the current policies. Though agriculture production in the country has risen by six times since Independence, storage, distribution and wastage issues hamper optimal use of foodgrains. Well-meaning schemes over the years are riddled with graft and leaks, preventing the food from reaching the needy beneficiaries. With external factors such as conflicts among countries, climate change, the Russia-Ukraine war which has increased global food, fuel, and fertiliser prices, the hunger problem is expected to worsen in the years ahead. Hunger is more about the distribution of food than its unavailability. India’s agriculture sector, which supports more than half the population but contributed only 14% to the national GDP, needs a total overhaul. Fragmented landholdings, inadequate supply chain infrastructure, insufficient social security, and climate change undermine its effectiveness.

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