The population of India today is the second largest in the world. By 2030, India is likely to become the most populated country. It is therefore important to understand the status of food security in this country. India became independent in 1947. From that time till mid 1960s, India faced an acute problem of food shortage. In the late 1960s, the �Green Revolution� was ushered in. This led to significant improvement in food grain production and India became self-sufficient in food. However, during the last decade, there has not been significant improvement in yield and productivity. At the same time, population and per capita income is increasing. It is predicted that unless a systematic action plan is drawn to improve food grain production, India will face a severe crisis by 2050 due to population increase, climate change and other factors such as food preferences due to increased income. Key needed actions are: a) improve yield of crops, b) develop new varieties of high yielding seeds suitable for Indian climate, c) enhance production of fruits, vegetable and non-vegetarian items, d) increase area under irrigation, e) implement best agricultural practices for each crop, f) strengthen extension services, g) approve GM food crop after evaluation, h) optimize use of pesticides, which is one of the lowest in the world. A research project was undertaken to find out the reason for low pesticide use and the findings of the study will be discussed. The government of India introduced the �Food Security Bill� in 2013. This will partly take care of economic aspect of food security, but to ensure availability of sufficient quantity of food, agricultural productivity must increase.

Food security in India: Past, present, and future

248th National Meeting (2014)

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