The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Food security must get focus in budgets: former Minister

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Friday, May 16, 2008
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Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Food security must get focus in budgets: former Minister

C. Gouridasan Nair

Architect of Maveli Stores seeks annual fund of Rs.500 crore for food security

E.Chandrasekharan Nair

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Food security must figure prominently in Kerala’s budget-making exercises in future if the State is to ensure availability of essential commodities at reasonable prices in the short term and increase food production in the long run, says former Food and Civil Supplies Minister E. Chandrasekharan Nair.

Speaking to The Hindu here on Tuesday, the architect of the ‘Maveli Stores’ retail chain said that at least Rs.500 crore should be earmarked in each budget to take up open market price neutralisation exercises and to offer support and risk coverage to farmers. Excerpts from the interview:

What would you attribute the current crisis in the public distribution system in the State to?

p, people began moving away from the rationing system. Food production in the country too has been stagnating around 200 million tonnes post-1990s. This also has contributed to the present crisis.

Do you think the time has come to revisit the PDS system and devise new strategies?

The system of rationing must not be allowed to suffer. We must get as much as possible from the Centre and also supplement it with domestic production. The two rupee rice scheme is meaningless. We will have to spend crores on that without commensurate benefits. Our attempt must be to give foodgrains at reasonable prices. What I tried to do as Food Minister was to ensure high off-take of ration articles. We have suffered because of the sharp fall in off-take during the time of the last government. Maveli Stores too have a major role to play in the public distribution system.

What can the government do to insulate the people from the sharp fluctuations in prices and ensure food security in the longer term?

We must increase agricultural production in the long term. If that is to happen, we must ensure attractive prices for the farm produce and offer risk coverage to farmers. We will have to procure food articles from outside in the short term and sell these at reasonable prices to the people. All told, we must set apart around Rs.500 crore in each year’s budget for food security.

Is there scope for increasing food production in the State given the changing land use pattern?

There is definite scope for increasing productivity, particularly of paddy and vegetables. We cannot increase vegetable production everywhere. But we can focus on districts such as Idukki and Wayanad for this. But any attempt must have creation of an effective marketing system with cold storage facilities as its key component. An improved marketing system will boost production. We must ensure that farmers would get remunerative prices for their produce. Then alone will productivity increase.

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