Government should intervene to reduce hunger: experts

The government should directly intervene to prevent hunger amongst people instead of leaving it to charities and non-government organizations, experts in the field said here Monday.

Drawing parallels with the food security issue in the United States and India, Joel Berg of the New York Coalition Against Hunger said: "The US policies were very successful in the 1960s, but they are not working anymore".

"There are children living in food insecurity in the United States," he said advocating an international concept of right to food and shelter.

"Lack of universal health care is a serious issue when we look at hunger in the United States," he said participating in a panel discussion on 'Hunger: What can the US and India learn form each other'.

"The state has to do it (remove hunger). NGOs and charities are not the way out," Berg asserted.

Former rural development secretary N.C. Saxena said: "Hunger in India is both a problem of production and distribution".

He said that since the 1980s, per capita food production in India has not increased.

"In fact the per capita availability of food grains has fallen," he said.

Saxena said that action needs to be taken at the government level, and favoured direct benefits transfer for poor families.

Anuradha Talwar, National Secretary, New Trade Union Initiative, said: "In India sometimes the government's hands seem to be tied up".

Blaming the developed countries, she said that the United States and Europe are making sure that India remains isolated at the World Trade Organization talks on farm subsidies, which has a direct effect on Indian farmers.