The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Ministers stress on food security

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Ministers stress on food security

Staff Reporter

World Food Day was celebrated in the city on Tuesday

Removal of State from food security scheme criticised
Need to strengthen PDS emphasised

—Photo: C. Ratheesh Kumar

Government stand: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan at the World Food Day celebrations in the city on Tuesday. Also seen are (from left): Kerala Congress (J) MLA V. Surendran Pillai, Food Minister C. Divakaran and Law Minister M. Vijayakumar.

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan has said that the government would initiate stringent action against real estate and construction lobbies that reclaim land meant for agricultural purposes.

He was speaking after inaugurating World Food Day celebrations organised by the Department of Food and Civil Supplies in the city on Tuesday.

“With paddy fields getting converted into spaces for commercial purposes, the production of food commodities has received a set-back,” Mr. Achuthanandan said. “People should come forward and resist such practices,” he added.

The Chief Minister said that though eminent agricultural scientists like M.S. Swaminathan have been advocating the need for increasing food production, little is happening at the ground level.

M. Vijayakumar, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs, proposed the idea of an international law in order to ensure equal distribution of food. “Increase in production of food alone will not suffice. We should supplement it with an effective mechanism for its equal distribution,” he said.

According to him, India should take the lead by implementing a law for equal distribution of food in the country.

Mr. Vijayakumar criticised the Central government decision to remove the State from the food security scheme.

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C. Divakaran, who presided over the function, emphasised the need to strengthen the State’s Public Distribution Systems (PDS) such as ration shops. Though Kerala does not report any starvation deaths, the fact remains that nearly 85 per cent of the food items used in the State are purchased from its neighbours, he said

Mr. Divakaran added that the government has been focusing on increasing the production of some of the essential commodities such as milk, meat, and grains.

Gyanesh Kumar, secretary, Department of Food and Civil Supplies, said that the State has been successfully regulating the supply of food allocated to the public through the 14,200 rations shops and 2,000 civil supplies outlets.

“Yet the management of food continues to be a challenge,” said Mr. Kumar.

The inaugural function was followed by a seminar on ‘Right to food.’

Presenting a paper on the topic, B.R. Kaimal, assistant general manager, Food Corporation of India (FCI) said that though the PDS has been successful in averting famine, it has not managed to address chronic under-nourishment due to its inability to distribute enough food. PDS entitlements meet only 10-30 per cent of an individuals food needs.

Mr. Kaimal, in his paper, points out that the total production of rice in the State, estimated at around 5.5 lakh tonnes, is not even 20 per cent of its total requirement. This makes the State heavily dependent on Central government allocation to meet the target. According to him, the FCI brings around 25 to 30 goods-train loads of food grains every month to the State. While boiled rice comes from Andra Pradesh, raw rice and wheat are brought from northern states.

The function was also attended by deputy mayor C. Jayaprakash, and MLA’s V. Sivankutty and V. Surendran Pillai.

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