Indian agronomist says the country still fighting hunger

NEW DELHI, India – Although India launched the Green Revolution more than five decades ago, the fight against hunger is still ongoing.

According to Kodoth Prabhakaran Nair, a former professor, and Indian agricultural scientist, many poor people still do not have enough to eat.

Writing an article in India’s Deccan Herald newspaper, he stated that net food availability per capita has increased only slightly over the years.

India’s ranking on the World Hunger Index has worsened, indicating that a significant portion of the population still suffers from hunger.

Although India has experienced economic growth and a decline in poverty in recent decades, malnutrition remains a persistent problem.

India is home to the largest number of undernourished people in the world. Malnutrition is most prevalent among children under the age of five, with high rates of emaciation and stunting.

He said one of the main reasons for the persistence of child malnutrition is the high rate of poverty in rural areas, especially in poorer states, compared to urban areas.

agricultural households account for 50 percent of extreme poverty in India.

The agronomist said governments have failed to improve terms of trade between agricultural producers and consumers and to invest adequately in the agricultural sector.

He said parliamentarians from around the world are coming together to form a multilateral body to push for reforms in the agriculture and food system, which is an interesting development and gives hope.

Meanwhile, India has ranked 107th out of 121 countries in the World Hunger Index (GHI).

According to the peer-reviewed annual report, jointly published by Welthungerhilfe and Concern Worldwide, India has deteriorated from its previous rankings of 101 and 94.

The GHI score for India is 29.1, putting it in the “severe” category.

Crisis-affected countries such as Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Nepal all scored better than India.

The GHI is a measure of hunger that takes into account several indicators, including malnutrition, child emaciation, stunting, and infant mortality.

The top-performing countries on this index are Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Chile, China, Croatia, Estonia, Hungary, Kuwait, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, Northern Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Türkiye, and Uruguay.

It is important to note that GHI is only one measure of hunger and that other factors, such as access to clean water and sanitation, also play a role in determining the level of hunger in a country.