You had then said that we had food surplus because many in India could not afford to buy food.
Yes, at that time, I had gone on record saying that our surplus was not real surplus. It is a hunger surplus or under nutrition. As a single nation, we have the largest number of people with malnutrition. So, if all of them eat well, then there will be no surplus at all. That is why the then government started a food for work programme.
What according to you is the reason behind our food scarcity? Is it because India is consuming more or has food production declined?
No, the production is not increasing in proportion to population growth. The rate of consumption too has gone up marginally particularly in terms of animal products like poultry and so on. The only living organism that can make direct food are green plants.
We are all living as guests of the green plants and the farmers who produce them. Animals can only eat green plants and give milk or meat. The plant-animal-man food chain becomes important then. Animals also require food and water like you and me.
We have a number of problems; our food growth rate is not commensurate with our population growth. Second, there is a higher consumption on the part of some. About 15 to 20 per cent of the population eat animal products and the animals in turn need more grains.
In countries like the US and Russia one tonne will support one individual, in our country, one tonne supports nearly six individuals. That is partly because part of them are vegetarians and partly because we are undernourished. This is the range of variability.
The average in the world is three persons per tonne. In other words, if you have a population of 1.1 billion, we require 300 million tonnes of food grains.
Image: A farmer sits on his stack of wheat while waiting for customers at a wholesale grain market in New Delhi. India has forecast a record grain harvest but experts warned that farm productivity would have to rise much faster to feed the nation of 1.1 billion people and avert a food security crisis. Photograph: Manan Vatsyayana/AFP/Getty Images
Also see: Want to earn like Warren Buffett? 24 tips
Advertisement
