Food Security and Sustainability of Agricultural Production: An Economic Appraisal in Indian Context

Abstract

Food security is interlinked with agricultural production. Enhancement in farm productivity and providing diversified demand of food due to growth in per capita income, urbanization and changes in food habit is the major challenges. Study is based on secondary data collected from different published sources for the period from 1988-89 to 2017-18 i.e. for 30 years. Simple tabular analysis and compound growth rates were calculated to draw meaningful conclusion. The findings revealed that growth rate of net sown area for overall period was found negative (-0.05%). In case of gross cropped area, growth rates were found positive for all periods under investigation. The growth was due to more use of land to fulfill the growing demands of food and other agricultural commodities due to rise in population as reflected by growth trend of population. Growth rates for area and production of food grains indicated that area under food grains remained almost stagnant (0.001%) during the period under investigation. But in the last decade production growth was assessed positive (0.41%). Production growth may be attributed to technological change in cultivation practices like use of improved varieties of seeds and use of fertilizers etc. Growth rates of area under cereals were computed to be negative. The reason may be erratic weather condition or may be less remunerative crops or farmers would have shifted cultivated area to high value crops. Due to technological intervention, the productivity was recorded positive. Decrease in area under cereals is of great concern as a study commissioned by the Agriculture Ministry emphasized that given the current rates of population and income growth, India will have to push a growth of 4.2% per annum in cereal production till 2020, instead of the less than 2% as it was achieved in the previous decade.