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| 5 districts facing acute food insecurity: Study |
| BS Reporter / Kolkata/ Bhubaneswar Jul 08, 2009, 00:49 IST |
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Five districts in Orissa- Malkanagiri, Gajapati, Rayagada, Kandhamal and Nuapada are reeling under extreme food insecurity, according to a study conducted by the New Delhi-based Institute for Human Development (IHD) on behalf of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP).
The study was conducted last year in eight states of the country- Jharkhand, Bihar, Orissa, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
“The objective of the study was to identify the regions and social groups of the country most affected by food insecurity. The study was also conducted to suggest policy interventions appropriate to improving food security for these regions”, said Pravas Mishra, resource person of the city-based Centre for Youth and Social Development (CYSD).
Mishra was speaking at a workshop on Food Insecurity and Hunger in Orissa, organised by CYSD in association with WFP and the Orissa Sarvodaya Samaj.
The policy interventions recommended as a result of the study include the implementation of forest rights for tribals, giving land to landless labourers, improving women’s literacy, increasing access to microfinance, improvement of rural connectivity and increase in investment for high value crops.
PK Sahoo, chairman, CYSD said, “Five districts in Orissa have been identified as the most affected in terms of food insecurity. Most of the people in Orissa engaged in agriculture do not possess land and this is one of the prime reasons for the acute food crisis.”
The study focussed on parameters like availability of food, access to food, absorption of food and food security outcome index.
The availability of food was determined by factors like per capita agricultural production, proportion of forest area, extent of irrigation and rural connectivity.
Under the Access to Food parameter, the study focussed on proportion of agricultural labourers, proportion of the SC & ST population, monthly per capita expenditure, casual wage rate of workers and female literacy rate.
The absorption of food depended on factors like access to safe drinking water and access to primary healthcare services while the food security outcome index was determined by the under-five mortality rate and proportion of underweight children.
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