Page 3 - Food Security

Govt seeks solution to long-pending food stockpile issue at WTO meet

India on Monday called on WTO members to find a permanent solution to the long-pending public food stockpile issue, saying it is directly related to achieving the sustainable development goal of zero hunger by 2030. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said that the World Trade Organisation (WTO) should not negotiate rules on non-trade-related subjects like climate change, gender, and labour and rather these should be addressed in respective intergovernmental organizations. "I re-emphasize that the development agenda would remain incomplete without a permanent solution on public stockholding (PSH) for food security purposes which is directly related to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal of Zero Hunger by 2030, Goyal said. This continues to be a long-pending issue for the last few decades and despite having a clear mandate agreed by the members in the past, finding a permanent solution on PSH remains an unaccomplished agenda on which we have to deliver in MC13. Trade

WTO ministerial: Permanent solution to food security may be some time away

WTO draft text proposes to 'agree, adopt' a binding framework until next meet

WTO meet: India to seek permanent solution to food security issues

India will strongly oppose a China-led proposal for an investment facilitation pact besides pressing for finding a permanent solution to public stock holding of grains for food security and protection of the interests of fishermen at the WTO ministerial meeting beginning Tuesday. The Indian delegation is led by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The four-day 13th ministerial conference (MC13) will start on February 26 in Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Trade ministers of 164 member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) are meeting against the backdrop of the uncertain global economic situation due to the Red Sea crisis, the Ukraine-Russia war and the Israel-Hamas conflict. The key issue of India's interests at the meeting relates to finding a permanent solution for its minimum support price (MSP) issue for food security, agricultural reforms, fisheries subsidies, e-commerce moratorium on import duties, dispute settlement, and WTO reforms. *Food securi

Govt increases authorised capital of FCI from Rs 10K cr to Rs 21K cr

The government has increased the authorised capital of state-run Food Corporation of India (FCI) from Rs 10,000 crore to Rs 21,000 crore to enhance the operational capabilities and fulfill its mandate effectively, the Food Ministry said on Saturday. FCI is the central government's nodal agency that undertakes procurement of foodgrains at a minimum support price (MSP) to protect the interest of farmers. It also maintains strategic stocks and distributes the grains under different welfare schemes. "The increase in authorized capital is a significant step towards enhancing the operational capabilities of FCI in fulfilling its mandate effectively," the ministry said in a statement. FCI resorts to cash credit, short-term loan, ways and means etc. to match the gap in the fund requirement. The increase in the authorised capital will reduce the interest burden, decrease the economic cost and ultimately affecting the government subsidy positively, it said. With this infusion of capital, th

BIS, AGMARK certification no longer must for food products: FSSAI

Sources said this decision taken at the meeting will go a long way in fostering ease of doing business in the food business in the country

Consensus on food security solution at WTO meet next month difficult: GTRI

Reaching an agreement on food stockpile issue at the WTO meet next month is difficult as both developed and developing countries have diverse views on the matter, economic think tank GTRI said on Tuesday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that developed countries like the US argue that India's programme could distort trade. The issue will figure in the 13th ministerial conference (MC 13) at Abu Dhabi from February 26-29. MC is the highest decision making body of the 164-member Geneva-based global trade body WTO. "MC13 might not resolve the issue, showing the conflict between developing countries wanting to protect food security and developed countries pushing for free trade," the GTRI said in its report. India's top priorities for the MC13 include securing a permanent solution for its public stockholding (PSH) programme. This programme seeks flexibility in food procurement and pricing, crucial for India's food security needs. The PSH programme is a policy tool unde

India for fast tracking talks to find food stockholding solution at WTO

India has asked WTO members to fast-track talks on finding a permanent solution on the public stockholding for food security issue at the ministerial-level meeting of the WTO in February, but some countries differ on this, an official said. The issue was discussed at a WTO (World Trade Organisation) agriculture negotiations meeting held on January 16. In the meeting, the US stated that "given members' deeply divergent views", a permanent solution for public stockholding for food security purposes by the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC) is "not possible", the Geneva-based official said. The MC is the highest decision-making body of the Geneva-based global trade watchdog WTO. The 13th MC meeting is scheduled for next month in Abu Dhabi. In its presentation, India stated that the public stock-holding (PSH) has to be dealt with separately on a "fast track mode and emphasized that it has to be delivered at MC13", the official added. According to the officials, the US has stated that ..

Pakistan's military men want to kickstart Green Revolution in the country

Pakistan's government argues that corporate farming is essential to ensuring food security for its 240 million people

Truckers' stir: HC issues notices to state, Centre on PILs over fuel supply

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the state and the Centre after hearing two PILs seeking its direction to both governments to ensure an adequate supply of essential commodities including fuel and foodgrains, in view of the strike by truckers. The Public Interest Litigations came up for hearing before the division bench of Chief Justice R Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra. The PILs were filed by Akhilesh Tripathi and Nagrik Upbhokta Margdarshak Manch, both from Jabalpur. State Advocate General Prashant Singh assured the high court to take necessary action in this matter. Advocate Pankaj Dubey, appearing for petitioner Tripathi, submitted that due to the strike called by the All India Motor Transport Congress, Madhya Pradesh Tanker Workers Association and Samyukta Transport Morcha (India), there is a panic situation in Madhya Pradesh. Seeking directions from the HC to the Union and MP governments, Dubey said they are duty-bound to ensure smooth ...

Dry weather, export curbs to strain global 2024 staple food supplies

Global wheat, corn and soybean prices - after several years of strong gains - are headed for losses in 2023 on easing Black Sea bottlenecks and fears of a global recession

Asia lags behind pre-pandemic levels of food security, UN agency says

Hunger remains a chronic problem in Asia, with 55 million more people undernourished in 2022 than before the COVID-19 pandemic, the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation says in its latest assessment of food security in the region. Most of those living without enough to eat are in South Asia, and women tend to be less food secure than men, the report says. The FAO's study focuses on food supply, consumption and dietary energy needs and is designed to capture a state of chronic energy deprivation that stunts growth and saps productivity and quality of life. The share of people in the region suffering from such undernourishment fell to 8.4 per cent in 2022 from 8.8 per cent the year before. But that's higher than the 7.3 per cent of people who were undernourished before the pandemic began, sending some economies into a tailspin and depriving millions of people of their livelihoods. Natural disasters and disruptions to food supplies, often linked to climate change, have added to those

Millions more Americans were food insecure in 2022 than 2021: USDA report

"The report is a stark reminder of the consequences of shrinking our proven safety net," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement

Food should not become instrument in war, says FM Nirmala Sitharaman

The finance minister urged countries across the world to consider regional balance in sourcing their food supplies, especially staple, and essential products

India to advocate for food security, WTO reforms at upcoming Geneva meeting

The WTO Director-General urged officials to arrive in Geneva with "realistic expectations of what is truly doable" for MC13, rather than sticking to established positions

World Food Day 2023: History, Theme, Importance, Celebration, Quotes

The World Food Day is celebrated every year on October 16 to promote food security everywhere and make sure people are getting enough of it. This Day is celebrated in nearly 150 countries

Who was M S Swaminathan? The father of India's green revolution

M S Swaminathan was instrumental in developing high-yielding varieties of paddy that helped ensure India's low-income farmers produce more yield

Ukraine war affects price, energy, food security: German Chancellor Scholz

What cannot be not talked about is the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine and the destruction it is wreaking in Ukraine, he said

Alien species threaten food supply, public health, and cost $423 billion

More than 37,000 alien species have been introduced worldwide as a result of human activity - transported from one location to another in ships' ballast water, for instance

Global food security at crossroads as rice shortages, surging prices hit

Francis Ndege isn't sure if his customers in Africa's largest slum can afford to keep buying rice from him. Prices for rice grown in Kenya soared a while ago because of higher fertiliser prices and a yearslong drought in the Horn of Africa that has reduced production. Cheap rice imported from India had filled the gap, feeding many of the hundreds of thousands of residents in Nairobi's Kibera slum who survive on less than $2 a day. But that is changing. The price of a 25 kg (55-pound) bag of rice has risen by a fifth since June. Wholesalers are yet to receive new stocks since India, the world's largest exporter of rice by far, said last month that it would ban some rice shipments. It's an effort by the world's most populous nation to control domestic prices ahead of a key election year but it's left a yawning gap of around 9.5 million metric tonnes (10.4 tons) of rice that people around the world need, roughly a fifth of global exports. I'm really hoping the imports keep coming, sa

India extending insights from its progress beyond its borders: US diplomat

India has come a long way from receiving US help to meet its food security needs to now becoming an exporter and is extending insights from its remarkable development progress to countries well beyond its borders, a top American diplomat has said. In her address to the US Indo-Pacific Command Chiefs of Defense (CHOD) Conference in Fiji on Wednesday, United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power said investments in one country can often yield benefits in other nations. She applauded India's efforts to help other countries. Investments we make in one country can often yield benefits in others. Take food security. In India, starting in the 1960s, we worked with scientists and local farmers to develop and distribute high-yield, resilient seeds. Over the next two decades, those seeds helped to increase rice production in India by 50 per cent and wheat production by 230 per cent, ending a cycle of recurring famine and helping kick off a Green ...