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Workshop Debated Kerala’s Food Security issues

                    A Workshop on Household Food Security for Kerala examined the availability, access and nutritional aspects of food security with particular reference to Kerala. The workshop was held on 7th December, 2013 at the Government Guest House at Thycaud, Thiruvananthapuram and was organized jointly by Centre for Livestock Development and Policy Research (CLPR), a centre under theKerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences Universityalong with the Directorate of Academic and Research.Dr. B. Ashok, IAS, Hon’bleVice Chancellor in his inaugural address noted that though enough food grains are in stock with the Government of India, it could not ensure the nutritional status of the people as evident from the high incidence of malnutrition. He also emphasized the need for reforming the governance of thePublic Distribution System (PDS) so as to make it more effective.
Sri.T. MadhavaMenon,former Vice Chancellor of the Kerala Agricultural University in his key note address argued that the way in which food production and supply chains has developed overtime, has resulted in people living in food deficit regions likeKerala ending up consuming contaminated and low quality food because of the inadequate/ unsatisfactory conditionsof storage, transport and distribution network. According to him, to ensure, good quality food for consumption by population in the State, it is essential to exploit the potential of homesteadfarming as an important ‘way’ to augment the supply of fresh food. AGandhian approachto food production and distribution would be more appropriate to the ecological and economic conditions existing in the State, to achieve sustainable food production, rather than following the Capitalist form of farming.
Dr.K. N. Nair, former Director of the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram,in his address reviewed the evolution of Indian Agricultural Policy in the larger context of ensuring supply of food grains in food deficit regions like Kerala. The rapid increase in food grain production in India over the past 40 years has been due to the policy pursuedby theState to provide input subsidies to agriculture combined with the assured procurement of food grains at assured minimum support prices to the farmers in the North Western States and moving their grains to food deficit regions through the Public Distribution System. However this policy has resultedin the mounting subsidies adversely affecting the finance of the Centraland State Governments and consequently decline in Public Investment in agriculture.Though this trend has beenreversed in the 11th five year plan, the fall in agricultural prices, the decline in agricultural productivity and the increase in the cost of production contributed to decline in farm incomes and created conditions of distress in rural areas in the past decade. He argued that while the input subsides are largely concentrated in the agriculturally well endowed regions, the consumption subsidyis concentrated more in Stateswith vide coverage of the public distribution system. Because of such regional concentration of production and consumption subsidies, a shift from the present system of public distribution to cash transfer would destroy the existing food procurement and distribution system. This would become disastrous in ensuring the food security of the Country.
Prof. (Dr.) S. Ramkumar, Director of Entrepreneurship, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University opined that it is important to ensure food security to the different categories of livestock farmers, who are largely landless, marginal and small landholders. The approaches to ensure food security in these communities need to address the purpose for which people raise animals and the nature of farming system like subsistence or commercial. Any policy for the welfare of livestock farmers need to look at the opportunities available with the present practices adopted by farmers in management, feeding, breeding etc. Research to a great extent need to be built upon the present adoption of practices by farmers and try to improvise on these practices rather than blindly imposing on them the practices of farming in other developed countries.
Dr. A.V.Jose, Honorary Professor, Centre for Development Studies in his paper discussed the performance of Kerala’s agriculture and noted that the State has done well in terms of the production of commercial crops and resort increasingly to the import of food grains and other essential commodities from other parts of the Country. He also showed in hispresentation that considerable improvement has taken place in the effectiveness of the Public Distribution System and has been a major factor contributing to the reduction in poverty in several States.However, he argued that there is need to obtain better targeting of the public distribution system and improvement in the storage and transport of food grains.
Dr.T.P. Sethumadhavan, Head, Publications Division, Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University narrated the changing trends in the food habits and related social changes of people consequent to globalization, liberalization and privatization. There is increasing consumption of animal protein in the recent years and this can be linked to the increasing purchasing power of average Indians. Indian spend nearly 40% of their income for food, of which there is marked increase in expenditure on animal protein sources in urban as well as rural areas when compared to vegetable protein sources. This clearly shows that there is huge potential for the production of animal protein sources and food processing sector in the country.
Prof. D. Narayana, Consultant, Kerala State Planning Board, in his paper presented the nutritional status of the marginalized groups, especially the tribal in Wayanad district and argued that the poor nutritional situation noted among them is largely a reflection of the erosion of the asset base and livelihood security and destruction of their cultural environment.
Dr. M. Vijayamohanan Pillai, Associate Professor, Centre for Development Studies,in his presentation with the support of detailed calculations argued that there would be maximization of social welfare if the state could move to Universal Public Distribution System, instead of targeted system that exist at present.
On the basis of the analysis using NSS data Sri.Krishnakumar, Santhigiri Social Research Institute, showed that during the past two decades, calorie, protein and fat intake per person has shown an increasing trend. He also drew attention to the inequality in the distribution of calories and nutrients among various income classes and its impact on the anthropometric measures among the population belonging to various socio-economic groups.Prof. G.Gopikuttan,Retd. Professor, NSS College, Pandalam in his paper draw attention to the very weaklinkage between farm production and household consumption and argued that even farm households has to spend a higher proportion of their incomes for purchase of food from the market. In general, the farm households are spending higher proportion of their household expenditure on health and education.
                  The workshop was divided into three sessions. The session on “Food Security Act and its implications for the Procurement and Distribution of Food Grains” was chaired bySri. C.P. John, Member, Kerala State Planning Board; the session on “Household food security: Consumption and Nutritional aspects” was chaired byDr.V. Ramankutty, Achutha Menon Centre for Health Science Studies, SCTIMST, Thiruvananthapuram and Sri. T. Madhava Menon, Former Vice Chancellor, Kerala Agricultural University chaired the session on “Household food security and Sri. the emerging farming system in Kerala”.Dr. Arun George, Coordinator, CLPR welcomed the participants of the workshop and Prof. (Dr.) S.Ramkumar, Director of Entrepreneurship proposedthe vote of thanks. The main message of the workshop was that, it is high time for the state to rethink her strategies for ensuring food security.