Management of Natural resources for food security

Authors Ms. Mamata S. Dahad Lecturer Institute of Management and Research Jalgaon Cell: Email: dahadmamata@gmail.com Mrs. Anupama P. Chaudhari Lecturer Institute of Management and Research Jalgaon Cell: 9881376212 Email: chaudharianupama@gmail.com

Abstract Almost one billion people experience the hardship that hunger imposes, a figure which continues to rise even amidst the riches of the 21st century. Engulfed within a vortex of energy shortage, price inflation and climate change, food security has become the most intractable challenge for development agencies. Having mobilised vast financial resources to rescue the discredited international banking sector, rich country governments are now under pressure to achieve similar coordination in dealing with a crisis which hits hardest at the poor. Population the world over is rising, and nations are worried about giving food security to their population, thinking differently they are plagued by various concerns such as Global warming affecting food production Use of extensive chemical fertiliser and pesticides having its after-effects on the society Stress on food producing land due to o Loss of its productivity o Use for non-agricultural activities Variations in natural climatic conditions. Commodity inflation world over. Unavailability of proper irrigation resources to farmers with reference to India and other developing countries. Food self-sufficiency goals need to include nutritional security goals. Modernization of existing production systems and designing of diversified ones for economic benefit and environmental good will necessitate perceiving research on agroecosystem basis. To increase the productivity various biosciences companies have evolved various GM seeds to tide over the crisis of reducing natural resources. The fundamental requirement of this presentation is to develop base line information on natural resources and their carrying capacity. The paper will concentrate with the help of secondary data on the economic policies and planning the world over in tune with India as India is still perceived to be 70 % agriculture oriented. The paper will also focus on the ground realities ( micro problems) and policy and implementation problems( macro problems) in India. Keywords: Environment- surroundings, Climate- Weather, Population- Inhabitants, NutritionFood, Biosciences- science which deals with living things Inflation-Price rise

Management of Natural resources for food security Present Indian Scenario The economy of India is the twelfth largest economy in the world by market exchange rates and the fourth largest by purchasing power parity (PPP). In the 1990s, following economic reform from the socialist-inspired economy of post-independence India, the country began to experience rapid economic growth, as markets opened for international competition and investment. In the 21st century, India is an emerging economic power with vast human and natural resources, and a huge knowledge base. Economists predict that by 2020, India will be among the leading economies of the world. At the threshold of the twenty-first century, widespread poverty, food insecurity, and environmental degradation cause severe human suffering and threaten to destabilize global, regional, and national economic and ecological conditions. If these trends continue unabated, the world will not be a pleasant place to live for most of humanity. The International Food Policy Research Institute has developed a 2020 Vision of a world where every

person has economic and physical access to sufficient food to sustain a healthy and productive life, where malnutrition is absent, and where food originates from efficient, effective, and low-cost food and agricultural systems that are compatible with sustainable use and management of natural resources. With foresight and decisive action, we can create the conditions that will permit this vision to be realized by 2020. There are several challenges to assuring food security and sustainable use of natural resources: (i) Widespread poverty and inadequate human resource development, which inhibit people's capacity to grow and/or purchase the needed food; (ii) Large increases in developing-country populations, especially in urban areas, which will substantially increase food needs; (iii) Gross under-investment in agricultural research in developing countries and inadequacies in availability of and access to agricultural inputssuch as water, fertilizer, pesticides, energy, research, and technology, which leads to lagging yield

increases in more-favored areas and low and variable yields in less-favored areas; (iv) Degradation of natural resourcessuch as soils, forests, marine fisheries, and waterwhich undermines production capacity; (v) Inefficient functioning of markets and inadequate

infrastructure as well as weakened capacity of developingcountry governments to perform their appropriate functions; and (vi) Insufficient domestic resource mobilizationsavings and investmentand declining international assistance, which

restrains economic growth and development. These challenges can be overcome and the 2020 Vision of food security and sustainable use of natural resources realized if all relevant partiesindividuals, households, farmers, local communities, civil society, private sector, national governments, and the international communitytake appropriate action and change their behavior, priorities, and policies. Priority actions include investing more in poor people, accelerating agricultural productivity, assuring sound management of natural resources,

strengthening the capacity of developing-country governments to perform appropriate functions, and expanding and realigning international development assistance. The world's natural resources are capable of supporting the 2020 Vision, if current rates of degradation are reduced and replaced by appropriate technological change and sustainable use of natural resources. From a nation dependent on food imports to feed its population, India today is not only self-sufficient in grain production, but also has a substantial reserve. The progress made in agriculture during the last four decades has been one of the biggest success stories of independent India. Despite these impressive gains, India, at present, finds itself in the midst of a paradoxical situation: On the one hand there are record food grain stocks standing at an all-time high and on the other hand, over 200 million of Indias population is underfed, and millions are undernourished. The challenge is to bridge this gap. In a scenario of shrinking land and depleting water resources, the challenge of the new millennium is to increase biological yields

to feed the ever-growing population without destroying the ecological foundation. The following are suggestions towards achieving sustainable agriculture, rural development and food security. They provide a reference for actions to be undertaken by the various stakeholders in this area. Natural resources have to be accessible to the poor, which in the farm sector means secure rights to land, water and genetic resources. For this, there is a need to develop publicprivate partnerships. A positive right to life would imply that the State provides to each and every person, adequate food and other basic necessities, and that it ensures a healthy environment, so that people may live and grow in dignity. The most important challenge in the 1980s and 1990s was physical access to food. In this millennium, the challenge is economic and ecological access to food. A surge in commodity prices has pushed 'food security' up the agenda in policy, business and public debate. Yet the term is used to promote everything from self-sufficiency to social justice.

Natural Resource Management is a discipline in the management of natural resources such as land, water, soil, plants and animals, with a particular focus on how management affects the quality of life for both present and future generations. Natural resource management is interrelated with the concept of sustainable development, a principle that forms a basis for land management and environmental governance throughout the world. Land, water and forests are the three most important resources for the people living in rural areas. Intensive work is carried out by Gram Vikas in enhancing food security and improving environmental resistance to drought through effective land, water and forest management practices. Communities recognize the fact that sustainability of natural resources will also determine food security and sustainable livelihoods for themselves. Gram Vikas supports village communities in undertaking sustainable

management of natural resources through a variety of interventions in promoting community forestry and horticulture, land and water conservation and development. Atlas of the Sustainability of Food Security in India

How can India ensure sustainable food security for a billionstrong population? "Sustainable food security" means enough food for everyone at present plus the ability to provide enough in future as well. This calls for sound policies and investments in natural resources such as land and water, flora and fauna, forests and biodiversity -the ecological foundations essential for sustainable food security plus sustainable intensification of crop and animal production. Population pressures and the forces of atmosphere and climate change must also be taken into account. "Food security has three components," says Prof M S Swaminathan. "The first is food availability, which depends on food production and imports. The second is food access, which depends on purchasing power. The third, food absorption, is a function of safe drinking water, environmental hygiene, primary health care and education." The Food Insecurity Atlas of Rural India revealed that the Punjab-Haryana region, India's breadbasket, could lose its production potential in a few decades if current patterns of

groundwater extraction and pollution, soil salinization and ricewheat monoculture persisted. It was therefore decided to produce an Atlas on Sustainability of Food Security in India to promote ecologically sustainable methods of food production and natural resources management. The Atlas examines the ability of States in India to provide food security at present as well as sustain it in future. The Atlas concludes with a "Sustainable Food Security Compact," a nine-point action plan for every State and Union Territory. The action points refer to stabilizing population, conserving and enhancing land resources, ensuring water security, conserving and restoring forests with community participation, strengthening biodiversity, improving the

atmosphere, managing common property resources, intensifying crop and animal production in a sustainable way, and forming a Coalition for Sustainable Food Security in every State revealing some interesting facts.

In some States like Orissa, Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Net sown area has been declining. In the process prime agricultural land may shift to non-agricultural uses.

Land degradation has been fairly high in Nagaland, Sikkim and Himachal Pradesh. In some northeastern State, wasteland accounts for 50 per cent of the total geographical areas.

Overexploitation of groundwater has reached danger levels in Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.

Some States (Madhya Pradesh for example) show high poverty levels at present, yet natural resources are sufficient to sustain agriculture in future. In other states (Punjab and Haryana), livelihood access is good at present, but natural resource endowments for future sustainability are below par.

In States like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, there is an urgent need to diversify livelihoods to non-crop and non- agricultural enterprises.

Every State will have to chalk out its own strategies for sustainable livelihood to move on the path of sustainable food production and sustainable livelihood security. A State that ranks high in unexploited natural resources such as forests and water, soil fertility (in terms of lower land degradation and greater natural replenishment of soil) and stable crop production, will also rank high in composite index of sustainable food security. Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Goa obtain the top three ranks as regards a sustainable food security index. Karnataka, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh occupy ranks four to six. "The path towards sustainable development varies from State to State," States with a strong natural resource base may rank high in sustainability but may not be in a position to produce enough food at present. Removing pressure on land and water and conserving natural resources for sustainable water supply are essential in TamilNadu; increasing land productivity, diversifying agriculture, improving infrastructure and providing market linkages are essential in Orissa, and to some extent in Bihar and

Uttar Pradesh. In states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, population stabilization will ultimately hold the key to sustainable food security. Secure Food Security for All Food security is a physical, environmental, economic and social issue. It involves not just production, but access; not just output but process; not just technology but policy; not just global balance but also national conditions; not just national figures but household realities; not just rural but urban consumption; and not just quantity of food but also quality. The concept of food security should be broadened to make it holistic so as to mean every individual has the physical, economic and environmental access to a balanced diet that includes the necessary macro and micro nutrients and safe drinking water, sanitation, environmental hygiene, primary health care and education so as to lead a healthy and productive life. Issues of food security are part of a bigger whole. Sustainable land and water management must be seen as directly linked to food security. Population growth, environmental sustainability,

poverty

reduction,

agricultural

production,

distribution,

marketing, credit and many other factors also need to be recognized as part of this whole. The major challenge is to produce additional food while conserving depleting natural resources. It is also to provide physical, economic and ecological access to food and nutrition security at the household level. Food security must focus on a diversified food basket, not food grains alone. Broad-based food security systems are not dependent on two-three species but on over 100 species that are underutilized. This will also prevent locally adapted grains from becoming extinct. Nutrition security must be given integrated attention by emphasizing horticulture, animal husbandry, fishery, millets, pulses and several other resources for which India is traditionally known. There is need for investment in science and technology that will promote diversification.

 Food security must not be based on market, but rather on selfreliance and sufficiency. The approach should be one of moving from food security to food sovereignty. The elimination of hunger and malnutrition is not just a food problem. It is linked to poverty and population growth. Rising food output is essential but so are the slowing of population growth and maintaining the ecological balance. Food banks at grass root levels should be well maintained.

Promote Awareness and Education Activities National policies and planning should recognize that public awareness can play an important role in establishing a firm basis for sustainable agricultural resource conservation and use. Public awareness should be considered in the development of all national programme activities. National strategies should identify objectives and strategies for public awareness, define target audiences, partners and tools for public outreach.

 Governments should recognize and encourage the work of NGOs in raising public awareness. Short-term and long-term courses specializing in sustainable agriculture should be run in agricultural universities. A separate curriculum for this subject should be developed for the regular graduate and postgraduate courses also. There is generally public apprehension about the possible consequences of agricultural biotechnology. It is important to organize public information programmes and public discussions that would help share relevant work of agricultural and biological scientists with the public. Ensure Appropriate Application of Research, Science and Technology A comprehensive area-specific database of natural resources should be developed and made available for agriculture planning, implementation, research and extension. Well-designed information technology packages should be developed, that could help serve as a market information network; weather, pest and disease monitoring system.

 Additional research is necessary to develop drought tolerant, pest and disease-resistant crops, biological pest management, nitrogen fixation, more effective use of locally available organic materials, inter-cropping systems, and perennial crops, including agroforestry. Farming systems need to be designed so as to achieve the triple goals of more food, more income and more livelihoods per hectare of land. Such tools include biotechnology, information and communication technology, GIS mapping, space technology, renewable energy technologies (solar, wind, biomass, biogas), and management and marketing technolo gies. The revolution in biotechnology has both promises and problems. Biotechnology should be judiciously used so as to support the mission of environmental protection, poverty reduction and food security. But the adoption of every new technology must be accompanied by a precautionary package. In the case of biotechnology, biosafety and biosurviellance must be considered as important factors.

 Food should originate from efficient and environmentally benign production technologies that conserve and enhance the natural resource base of crop and animal husbandry, forestry, inland and marine fisheries. Development of agro-ecology-relevant technologies based on an understanding of local agriculture and resource management practices need to be supported and promoted. Chemicals and pesticides banned in developed countries should not be dumped into developing countries in the name of liberalization, globalization and industrialization. Before

releasing a new variety, including genetically modified varieties in the market, the following parameters should be considered for a variety of agro-climatic zones: Impact on soil productivity; hazardous residual effect; health hazards; adverse effects on other crops; adverse effects on other agricultural practices; threat to the indigenous varieties; impact on other professions; and impact on flora and fauna. Nutrition security must be placed high on the agenda for development plans and programmes at all levelsvillage, block,

district and state. Institutions that will design and monitor locality-specific interventions must be developed. The way forward on food and nutrition security The world is facing protracted and especially difficult food and economic crises, and climate change will increasingly provide serious challenges. Hunger is on the rise and the lives and health of millions of people are being compromised. Now more than ever, a global response to the problems facing poor people is needed. This includes new institutional arrangements. Focusing on narrow issues will not be sufficient. Fortunately, the G-20 and the UN are calling for a "comprehensive approach" to achieving food security. A truly comprehensive approach for supporting the poor in managing growing food-security risks must include agricultural and productivity trade enhancement, insurance

strengthening

market

opportunities,

opportunities, and social-protection opportunities. Food security risk prevention will not be achieved without accelerated innovation, and therefore at a global level the investments in agricultural research, especially in the

Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), have to increase. This must be complemented by four priorities that need to be addressed now in the context of a comprehensive approach: 1) Investing in Nutrition Despite extensive research demonstrating the overwhelming social and economic benefits of improved nutrition, this issue remains a step-child. Nutrition interventions are rarely discussed, much less vigorously pursued, by developing-country

policymakers, in part because nutrition does not fit neatly within any one government sector. Nevertheless, nutrition programs are often the most cost-effective inventions. Improving nutrition contributes to productivity, economic development, and poverty reduction by improving physical work capacity, cognitive development, school performance, and health. The economic costs of malnutrition are very highseveral billion dollars a year in terms of lost gross domestic product. 2) Improving Market Access

Lack of market access for small-scale farmers is one of the biggest barriers to rural development. Without a reliable market for their products, farmers have little incentive to increase their productivity. Additionally, farmers need reliable price

information, contracts enforcement, and other measures to allow them to compete effectively. Government policy to facilitate market access requires strengthening. Increased investment in rural market infrastructure is key. Access to good seeds and fertilizer also require public policy in environments of market malfunctioning, with targeted support in transition periods until infrastructure and financial institutions are in place 3) Reducing Food Price Volatility The food price crisis that raged throughout 2008 and still lingers in 2009 had several causes, including stagnant agricultural productivity growth due to low investment in agricultural research, rising demand for food and feed and biofuels, and high oil prices. Speculative price spikes have built up, and the gap between cash and futures prices has risen. These reactions impede the free flow of food to where it is most needed and undermine

the flow of price signals to farmers, and impose enormous efficiency losses on the global food system, hitting the poorest countries and people hardest. To counteract these problems, IFPRI has proposed a new global institutional arrangement that would consist of two prongs: (1) a minimum physical grain reserve for humanitarian assistance, and (2) a virtual reserve and intervention mechanism to calm markets under speculative situations, backed up by a financial fund. Implementing this risk mitigating instrument of real and virtual reserves would go a long way to prevent future price spikes. 4) Adapting to Climate Change Investment for agricultural adaptation to climate change shall be increased in order to improve food security under climate change and therefore agriculture and forestry, especially in developing countries, shall benefit from a fund at appropriate scale (drawing on public-private partnerships and other funding sources) for results oriented investments that enhance food security and livelihoods.

In closing, it is important to remember that the world has achieved great successes in agricultural development that have fed billions of people. Investment in agriculture is accelerating, and it is important that forums such as the World Summit on Food Security help to assure that these investments are done well and contribute to substantially reducing hunger.