India - FOOD INSECURITY

• why does India suffer from food insecurity?

  rapid population growth (17 million extra people to feed each year), physical and human challenges. largely due to poor wheat harvests, although the punjab region only makes up 2% of India, it produces 2 thirds of the countries grains.
• what physical challenges does India face

  water shortage, increasing temperatures due to climate change and soil erosion
• how is water shortage affecting india

  the unreliable monsoon rains have increased groundwater extraction (80% overexploited), this is causing the water table to decline. expensive equipment is needed for the extraction, which puts farmers in debt and causes them to leave agriculture / commit suicide
• how is increased temperature due to climate change affecting india

  more heatwaves mean crops are reaching maximum heat capacity. droughts are more common. yields are declining
• how is soil erosion affecting india

  rare amounts of rain are intense and heavy, the land is hard due to droughts so water doesnt infiltrate. this increases run-off (40% water lost due to run-off), deforestation and overgrazing exposes soils to erosion.
• what human challenges does india face

  the green revolution, government policies, globalisation
• how did the green revolution affect india

  in the 1960, a HYV was introduced to make India more self sufficient. this increased yields, resistance and employment in agro-chemicals. however increased irrgiation was needed, and chemical fertilisers were too expensive for poor farmers (debt)
• how does government policy affect india

  the government ignores supply issues, storage and transport (has created lots of food wastage), there is no FDI in the food sector so companies such as Walmart can't bring innovation to sector.
• how does globalisation affect india

  small scale farmers can't compete with agribusinesses, they are forced to buy more expensive crops increasing their debts. GM crops are being sold for far too much
• what are india's future plans

  increasing government investment, better prices for farmers, lower input costs (e.g. sharing machines in co-op farming), appropriate technology and improved storage
• India is the second highest producer for wheat in the world, but accounts for one third of the world's hungry.