Food Security and Sustainable Development of Agricultural Sector in India

Abstract

The increasing urbanization in India over time has resulted in deceleration or negative growth in productivity of land and resultant decline in availability of food-grains for the consuming population. The growing urban population with near stagnant productivity of food crops has raised several doubts about the food security of India in the years to come. Since the problems of food security and urban poverty are inter-correlated and have multi-faceted dimensions, the issues that are vital in addressing the significant levels of urban economic deprivation obviously revolve around provision of affordable food to the urban poor along with the creation of employment and educational opportunities, improved access to permanent shelter, sanitation facilities, safe drinking water and improved medical care for impoverished sections of the population, etc. It is difficult for policy makers to ill-afford complacency in dealing with urban poverty or more-of-the-same solutions. The future for India in terms of availability of food for rural and urban population is not very bright in view of the fact that the projected human demand for food will be higher than projected domestic demand for rice, wheat and pulses crops.