Food Security And Panchayati Raj

Papers presented at the National Conference on "Panchayati Raj--the Key to Food Security and Nutrition" at New Delhi, India, on 2-3 July 1996.

Contributed discussion papers with reference to India.

Persistence Of Poverty, Hunger And Starvation Along With Growing Availability Of Food Has Rendered The Rationale Of Both Poverty Alleviation And Food Self-Sufficiency Policies Suspect And Created A Paradoxical Situation. There Is A Consensus Among Policy Makers, Planners And Economists That The Problems Of Poverty, Hunger And Malnutrition Have Not Been Solved Satisfactorily. It Is Also Acknowledged That The Persistence Of These Problems Has The Potential Of Undermining The Very Process Of Democratic Governance. Policies And Programmes Have Systematically Failed With A Huge Opportunity Cost.There Is Need For New Answers To These Questions. Available Solutions Have Outlived Their Utility. Time Has Come To Recast And Redefine The Agenda For Poverty And Food Insecurity Eradication. This Is Easier Said Than Done. There Is A Need For A Dispassionate Debate, Discussion And Meaningful Action. This Challenging Task Cannot Be Solved By State Intervention Alone. It Is Against This Backdrop That The Present Volume Seeks To Provide Answers To Some Of The Key Questions.The Main Objective Of The Book Is To Add Fresh Insights To The Theory And Policy Of Poverty And Food Insecurity Alleviation. How Far We Succeeded Shall Be Reflected Through The Pages Of This Book.

Contributed articles discussed at national consultations during 2001.

Contributed articles.

Chapter - I Introduction, Chapter - II Food Security: Inter and Intranational Perspectives, Chapter - III Concepts, Theories and Food Security Aspects, Chapter - IV Profile of the Study Area, Chapter - V Food Security among Socially Excluded Communities in Rural Tamil Nadu, Chapter - VI Summary of Major Findings and Conclusion, References The right to food and freedom from hunger re-emerged during 1990s. The historical World Food Summit was held in Rome in 1996, in which 185 countries participated and signed the ‘Rome Declaration on World Food Security’ which reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food. Consequently, the right to adequate food is recognized as a fundamental human right. The world communities, further pledged in 2000 to cut the number of the world’s hungry people to half between 1990 and 2015, as one of the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2008). Food security is an important means to realize the right to food. It means the assured access to adequate food to all members of the household throughout the year. The Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen (1981) has suggested a framework of food entitlement in order to understand the genesis of hunger and the access to food. According to him, own production, stored wealth, employment, kinship and government transfers are all possible sources of food entitlement. Food security as defined by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO, 2005) “exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life”. Household food security is the application of this concept to the family level, with individuals within the households as the focus of concern. India has been witnessing the phenomenon of erratic monsoon consistently. It has serious implications on the food sufficiency and food security of the country. Poor monsoons also affect the welfare of people in terms of availability of drinking water and employment opportunities. Studies on food security have not been carried out in Rural Tamil Nadu by academic and specialized research institutions.

Contributed articles, some of which have been previously presented in a seminar and in two journals.