The Hindu : Kerala News : ‘State should build up food buffer stock’

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Apr 25, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

Kerala

Kerala

‘State should build up food buffer stock’

K.P.M. Basheer

Supplyco should take the lead in this, says economist

‘Set up buffer stock on the lines of FCI’
‘Restructuring of system has hit PDS’

KOCHI: Economist and member of the National Commission on Enterprises in the Unorganised Sector K.P. Kannan has suggested that Kerala, a perennially food-deficit State, should create a food buffer stock.

In view of the threat to the nation’s food security and the rising prices of rice, wheat and other foodgrains, a long-term food strategy is necessary for Kerala, which is one of the most food-deficit States in the country, he said. The State cannot keep on depending on the Central allocations alone to meet the food needs, Dr. Kannan, who co-authored the book Towards a Food Secure India: Issues and Policies, told The Hindu.

One major step would be to set up a buffer stock on the lines of the Food Corporation of India. This could be best done by the Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco). Since Supplyco had a large network of outlets, distribution would not be a problem and hence Supplyco grains can be accessed by people in times of a shortage.

However, Dr. Kannan, who is also a member of faculty at the Centre for Development Studies, Thiruvananthapuram, pointed out that setting up of the buffer stock would require a huge amount of money. The cost of maintaining large quantities of rice and wheat would also be high. Since there was no other go, the State would have to find the resources.

He noted that Kerala produced less than 20 per cent of its foodgrain needs.

After the economic liberalisation started in the early 1990s, rice production had fallen by more than a third in Kerala and the rice fields had drastically shrunk. Farmers were abandoning rice in favour of high-value crops as the wage cost of rice cultivation was very high. Kerala had for a long time been a food-deficit State; however, the lifting of zonal restrictions on procurement years back had helped it procure rice from anywhere in the country.

Dr. Kannan said Kerala used to have the best and the most effective public distribution system (PDS) in the country. Built up over several decades, the network had catered to the basic food needs of the entire State.

But the restructuring of the PDS across the country by the NDA Government in 2000-01 had upset the system. The Centre classified the ration cardholders into two — BPL and APL — and the highly subsidised foodgrains are given to the BPL category. The huge majority of cardholders are now in the APL category and get slightly subsidised food grains and other items, and (An APL family now gets only 3 kg rice and 1 kg wheat a month.) The BPL category is determined on the basis of the Planning Commission’s poverty estimates.

Dr. Kannan said the government should always be sensitive to foodgrains market and devise temporary strategies to keep prices in check.

The current heavy dependence on the Central government supplies for the PDS supplies should be reduced as the Centre needs to take care of other States too.

He also suggested that the Supplyco should have a more active role in maintaining the food security of the State. Its market intervention should be stepped up.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Kerala