Workshop for Tackling Food Inflation in India Held

 

“Tackling Food Inflation in India: Towards a Sustained Solution” was the Workshop conducted by the International Food and Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), New Delhi, the Centre  for  Economic  and  Social  Studies  (CESS),  Hyderabad  and  the  ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural  Research  Management  (ICAR-NAARM),  Hyderabad  in  CESS, Hyderabad on 28 Nov 2014. The programme was spread over sessions, namely “Food Inflation and Food Security Act in India,” “Government Policy Perspective on the Issue of Food Prices,” “Marginalized Groups and Food Security,” “Agribusiness and Food Prices: History and the Way Forward,” and “Key Issues for Research in Food and Nutrition Security in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh.”

Dr R. Radhakrishna, Chairman, CESS elaborated on the background of the Workshop and emphasized on the need to control inflation by quoting from his experiences. He also mentioned the urgent implementation of technologies to improve the productivity of crops from lands. He also said that attention should be given to dryland areas so that these become cultivable.

Dr P.K. Joshi. Director (South Asia), IFPRI, New Delhi spoke on nutritional security and food security and the policies of the IFPRI in updating information in its food portal. He mentioned about the history of tacking food inflation in India and the availability of food to the population. “Affordability of food thro’ Right to Food is an important pillar to ensure food security,” he said.

Dr Devesh Roy, IFPRI, presented the IFPRI Food Security Portal and explained the proposed IFPRI India Food Security Portal that is likely to be launched in Dec 2014.

Dr Kalpana Sastry, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, gave examples from her research in innovation and explained the need to include a study on minor millets for nutritional and food security.

The National Food Security Act was discussed by Prof M. Kodandaram, Osmania University, Hyderabad. He explained the various provisions of the Act.

The policies of the Government of Telangana were presented by Shri C. Parthasarathy, IAS, Commissioner (Civil Supplies), Government of Telangana. He elaborated on the policies that included a multipronged approach towards food inflation, market interventions and the enforcement mechanisms. He also spoke on the current decisions taken by the Government of Telangana to help the poor get nutritional security.

The recommendations of the Workshop were:

  1. Affordability of food and the food should reach the unreached
  2. The markets for food supply should be interlocked and failures should be identified and reasons rectified.
  3. Improve institutional innovation and use of e-commerce in agriculture.
  4. Improving incentives for investment in agriculture.
  5. Modify agricultural policy to improve nutritional security.
  6. Improve the mid-day meals scheme for delivery of food not only to the children but also the population needing nutritional security.
  7. Reduce urbanization of agricultural lands in Telangana and to give incentives to improve cultivation of vegetables, cereals and pulses so that the price of food reduces.
  8. Reduce wastage of food as that leads to shortage of food.
  9. Tackle food inflation.
  10. Create a special programme for the malnourished so that food is affordable.
  11. Ensuring availability of fruits and vegetables at affordable prices.
  12. Study different models for food security after examining successful ones.
  13. Strengthening of value chain and involving the private sector into food security.
  14. 1Ensuring protein rich food at affordable prices.