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Food crisis in the rice bowl of India |
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Chhattisgarh, known as the rice bowl of India, is home to more than 22,000 varieties of indigeous rice, nurtured by generations of farmers. And yet, today Chhattisgarh is among the most food insecure states of the country. Median Body weight and Body Mass Index figures seen in rural Chhattisgarh are worse than Sub-Saharan Africa.
Nakchedaram and Prahald review log of seed varieties in biodiversity program of Rupantar. With AID support, Rupantar promotes biodiversity in Chhattisgarh by demonstrating fields sown with local rice varieties.
Aggressive marketing of High Yielding Varieties (HYVs) of rice, often incompatible to local climate and soil, along with accompanying pesticides and fertilizers has caused a decline in soil productivity over the years.
In 2003, people stopped the state government from selling the germplasm, developed by renowned rice scientist Dr R.H. Richharia along with local farmers, to multinational corporations like Syngenta. Civil society is yet to use this rich germplasm, which is rightfully theirs, to address issues of agricultural output.
Annual consumption of food grains per person in India has fallen from 177 kg in the early 90's to 155 kg today. Since the early 1990's the levels of export of food grain has gone up significantly but amidst falling global prices for these exports. Additionally, rising costs of power, lack of rural credit and increased pressure on land have all led to lowered levels of food grain absorption by local farmers.
Jacob Nellithanam is an Agricultural Scientist and Consultant working with Jan Swasthya Sahyog (JSS) in Chhattisgarh.
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