{"id":141280,"date":"2021-10-14T18:57:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-14T13:27:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.forumias.com\/?p=141280"},"modified":"2021-10-20T15:09:19","modified_gmt":"2021-10-20T09:39:19","slug":"sowing-better-to-eat-better","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/sowing-better-to-eat-better\/","title":{"rendered":"Sowing better to eat better"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Synopsis: <\/span><\/b>Understanding the new\u00a0challenges plaguing the agricultural system and remedies needed.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Introduction<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

The health of a country’s agri-food systems determine the health of its people.<\/p>\n

Findings from the first round of the <\/span>5<\/span><\/b>th<\/span><\/b>\u00a0\u201cNational Family\u00a0Health Survey<\/span><\/b>\u201d suggest that nutrition related\u00a0indicators have worsened in\u00a0most States. The survey covers 17\u00a0States and five\u00a0Union Territories,\u00a0which comprise 54% of India\u2019s population.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

On the similar issue \u201c<\/span>Comprehensive National Nutrition\u00a0Survey\u201d<\/span><\/b> (2016-18) has also highlighted the\u00a0role of micro-nutrient malnutrition.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing the complex problem of malnutrition means India shall need a resilient agri-food system.<\/p>\n

What is the current scenario of agriculture in India?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

India produces sufficient food, feed and fi\u0081bre to sustain about 18% of the world\u2019s population (as of 2020).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Agriculture contributes about 16.5% to India\u2019s GDP<\/strong> and employs 42.3% of the workforce (2019-20).<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What are the new challenges that have emerged in the agri-food system?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

COVID-19-<\/span><\/b>\u00a0This has increased hunger and nutrition deficiency problem in India owing to loss of jobs and logistical issues.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Climate change- <\/span><\/b>India\u2019s bio-security remains vulnerable to disasters and extreme events.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Agricultural technologies- <\/span><\/b>the outdated and obsolete technology needs a change in order to improve productivity and minimise agri-losses.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What<\/span> is the way forward?\/What kind of agri-systems we need?
\n<\/b><\/h5>\n

In light of the ongoing hunger and malnutrition challenges and the added impact of climate events on agri-food system, we need a <\/span>\u201csustainable\u00a0agri-food system\u201d.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

– <\/strong>A <\/span>sustainable\u00a0agri-food system is one in which a variety of sufficient, nutritious and safe foods are made available at an affordable price to everyone, and nobody remains hungry or suffers from malnutrition. Under such a system, less food is wasted, and the food supply chain is more resilient to shocks.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n

The agri-food system should not only enhance <\/span>farm incomes<\/span><\/b> but also ensure\u00a0<\/span>dietary diversit<\/span><\/b>y by sowing\u00a0safe and nutritious\u00a0food\u00a0crop.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It needs to be reoriented to minimise cost on the environment and the climate.<\/strong> <\/span><\/p>\n

Diff\u008derent\u00a0combinations of integrated crop-livestock-\u00a0forestry-fi\u0081shery systems<\/strong> can\u00a0help farmers produce a variety of\u00a0products in the same area, at the\u00a0same time or in rotation.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Post-harvest<\/span><\/b> losses needs to be minimized.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Safety net programmes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0should be\u00a0more nutrition\u00a0sensitive. Women’s\u00a0empowerment,\u00a0enforcement of standards\u00a0and regulations, <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Awareness <\/span><\/b>regarding water, sanitation and hygiene, nutrition\u00a0education.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Eff\u008dective use of<\/span> digital\u00a0technology<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What steps have been taken in this regard?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/h5>\n

FAO<\/span><\/b> in collaboration\u00a0with <\/span>NITI <\/span><\/b>Aayog and the <\/span>Ministry\u00a0of Agriculture<\/span><\/b> convened a national\u00a0Dialogue for the transition to a\u00a0more <\/span>sustainable agri-food systems\u00a0by 2030<\/span><\/b> and thereby enhancing farmers\u2019 <\/span>income <\/span><\/b>and\u00a0achieving <\/span>nutritional security<\/span><\/b>.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Additionally, FAO has been engaged with\u00a0the Indian government for mainstreaming agrobiodiversity, greening\u00a0agriculture, promoting nutrition-sensitive\u00a0agriculture and strengthening\u00a0national food security.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:<\/span><\/b>\u00a0This post is based on the article \u201c<\/span>Sowing better to eat better\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/b>published in\u00a0<\/span>The Hindu\u00a0<\/span><\/b>on\u00a0<\/span>14<\/span><\/b>th<\/span><\/b>\u00a0October 2021.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Synopsis: Understanding the new\u00a0challenges plaguing the agricultural system and remedies needed.\u00a0 Introduction\u00a0 The health of a country’s agri-food systems determine the health of its people. Findings from the first round of the 5th\u00a0\u201cNational Family\u00a0Health Survey\u201d suggest that nutrition related\u00a0indicators have worsened in\u00a0most States. The survey covers 17\u00a0States and five\u00a0Union Territories,\u00a0which comprise 54% of India\u2019s population.\u00a0… Continue reading Sowing better to eat better<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10328,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1230,9],"tags":[9007,9649,10270,9848],"class_list":["post-141280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-9-pm-daily-articles","category-public","tag-agriculture-sector","tag-food-system","tag-major-crops-and-cropping-pattern","tag-reports-and-index","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704879321},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10328"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141280\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}