Page 5 - Food Security

Govt exploring options to make ration shops modern, viable: Food Secy

Union Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra on Wednesday said the government is exploring various options to make ration shops vibrant, modern and viable by enabling them to offer more products and services apart from running PDS operations. The food ministry on Wednesday held a workshop in the national capital to deliberate upon further initiatives to make fair price shops (FPS) more vibrant and a more financially viable organisation. The secretary stressed that fair price shops should move with time and become "modern outlets" and said these ration shops dealers can start functioning as common service centres (CSCs). Already 60,000 dealers have become CSCs and they could also be banking correspondents. The Centre has written to States to allow ration shop dealers to keep non-PDS items such as FMCG products and many states have already allowed, he said. To reduce the transport cost and save in food subsidy, Chopra said the government has engaged IIT Delhi and World Food Programme for ...

G20 members stressed on raising climate finance to help farmers: Agri secy

The G-20 members stressed on the need to increase climate finance to help farmers take up adaptation measures in order to mitigate the climate change impact on the farm sector, agriculture secretary Manoj Ahuja said on Wednesday. Addressing media on the concluding day of the G20 first Agriculture Deputies' Meeting here, Ahuja said: "Climate finance was one of the issues which was discussed. The members felt that there was a need for an environment for increasing climate financing in terms of financing farmers for adaptation measures." The member countries also suggested that farmers can be incentivised if they are adopting climate friendly farming or green agriculture. One of the ways was carbon credit, he said. The G20 nations also shared their experience on the impact of climate change in agriculture, he added. Climate smart agriculture was one of the four priority areas discussed in the first Agriculture Deputies Meeting. The secretary said: "There was also discussion on the im

Govt to raise sugar export quota in March after assessing output estimate

The government will take a call next month on increasing the sugar export quota from the present 60 lakh tonnes for the current marketing year after assessing the domestic production, Food Secretary Sanjeev Chopra said on Wednesday. The food ministry has allowed 60 lakh tonnes of sugar exports for the current 2022-23 marketing year (October-September), which is expected to see a drop in the sugar production. India exported a record 110 lakh tonnes of sugar in the previous year. "We have not yet taken a call. we are closely monitoring the production and we would take a call may be in March depending on what the final figures of anticipated production are," Chopra told reporters here when asked whether the government will hike the sugar export quota. He said the sugar production is estimated to be lower in the 2022-23 marketing year because of bad weather in some producing states. Recently, Indian Sugar Mills Association (ISMA) said that sugar production is estimated to fall 5 per ce

BJD demands to restart PMGKAY in interest of household food security

"Economic life hasn't returned to normal. Stopping PMGKAY now will affect the poor and their chance to get their lives back to normalcy after the pandemic"

6 million people in Pakistan facing acute food insecurity: World Bank

A new report from the World Bank has revealed that an alarming six million people in Pakistan are currently experiencing acute food insecurity as a result of the devastating floods

PoK on the verge of food riots as it grapples with flour shortage

The desperate situation has triggered chaos and some clashes among people were also seen in the region in the past few days

Food security scheme to cover 800 mn poor named as PMGKAY: Centre

The central government's integrated food security scheme has been named as the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY), under which free foodgrains are being given to more than 80 crore poor people from January 1. The move also comes amid Opposition's criticism over the government discontinuing free monthly distribution of 5 kilograms of foodgrains to poor people under a scheme that was also known as PMGKAY. This scheme, which was launched in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic in April 2020, ended in December last year. Last month, the government decided to subsume PMGKAY into two existing food subsidy schemes and consequently, the new integrated food security scheme came into force. "The new scheme has been named as Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Ann Yojana (PMGKAY)," the food ministry said in a statement. Keeping in view welfare of the beneficiaries and in order to maintain uniformity across the states, free foodgrains will be provided under the PMGKAY for the year 2023 t

Pakistan flour crisis worsens; prices skyrocket amidst wheat shortage

Balochistan's Minister for Food has said that the wheat stock in the province had "completely ended"

Japan PM Kishida in Paris to discuss Ukraine, climate, food security

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida started a weeklong trip to Europe and North America in Paris where he held talks Monday with French President Emmanuel Macron on key issues including North Korea and the war in Ukraine. Kishida first visited Notre-Dame Cathedral with Macron before heading to the Elysee presidential palace for a working dinner. Reconstruction work on the cathedral, ravaged by the April 15, 2019 fire, is expected to be completed in time for its reopening to the public next year. Japan's historic Shuri Castle on the southern island of Okinawa, a UNESCO World Heritage site, was also nearly destroyed by fire in 2019. Both countries decided to rebuild the respective monuments exactly as they had been before. Macron and Kishida's talks come as Japan is leading the Group of Seven most advanced economies and is preparing the next G-7 summit scheduled in May in Hiroshima. We have an ambitious agenda ahead, Macron said in a joint declaration with Kishida ahead of their .

Millets solution to food shortage, healthier than rice, wheat: Jaishankar

Millets are far healthier than rice and wheat one eats daily and offer a completely different value proposition at a time when there is a worry about a global food shortage, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has said. Addressing the members of the Indian diaspora here in the Austrian capital on Sunday, Jaishankar said India can grow millets which offers a solution to the growing food demands across the globe. The government announced on January 1 it has lined up a series of millet-centric promotional activities across the country as the International Year of Millets (IYM) kicks in. Millets are far healthier for all of us than the cereals, rice and wheat we eat every day. It was the food that was most prevalent in our societies till it was displaced. It requires much less water and is much more carbon friendly, Jaishankar said. Today in a world where there is worry about food shortage, millet offers a completely different value proposition. In fact, today for almost every five

Govt sees bright prospect of wheat; current temp conducive for high yields

Agriculture Secretary Manoj Ahuja on Thursday said there is a bright prospect of wheat crop in key growing states as the current temperature remains conducive for plant growth and higher yield. Till last week, there was a 3 per cent increase in wheat acreage at 286.5 lakh hectares in the ongoing rabi season that began in October, according to the agriculture ministry's data. "Wheat crop prospect is bright. The current weather remains conducive for the plant growth and better yields," Ahuja told PTI on the sidelines of a millet luncheon organised by the Union Agriculture Minister at his residence ahead of the 2023 International Year of Millets. Better weather conditions and higher area under the crop are expected to lead to higher production in the 2022-23 crop year (July-June), he said. Like last year, there have been no reports of extreme temperatures from wheat-growing states so far. This augurs well for the crop prospects, he added. Farmers have brought more area under the whea

Centre taking vital steps on food security in people's interest: Union MoS

Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shobha Karandlaje on Thursday shed light on the steps undertaken by the Centre government towards food security

Food prices in Poland unlikely to fall next year, says Minister Kowalczyk

He added that Poles did not have to worry about the country's food security as Poland was a huge food producer and exporter

FSSAI's proposed food label system lacks clear messaging: Experts

Labels must have unambiguous information about health value of a food product, they say

United Nations' WFP approves $74.87 million for Sri Lanka's strategic plan

The WFP appreciated the government's commitment towards achieving food security and improved nutrition and to corporate with achieving the Agenda for 2030 and SDGs

GM mustard safe for food, feed use and cultivation, says govt

Says GM technology important for food security, import reduction

India says GM technology important for food security, import reduction

The environment ministry in October granted environmental clearance for indigenously developed GM mustard seeds, potentially paving the way for a commercial release of the country's first food crop

'World's largest grain storage' scheme for food security soon: Report

The disruptions in food supply and high inflation due to the war in Ukraine have increased food security concerns in several countries, including India

UN warns 500,000 more people will need humanitarian aid in South Sudan

Some 9.4 million people in South Sudan will need humanitarian assistance and protection services next year, half a million more than the current number, the United Nations said in a report Friday. According to the 2023 South Sudan Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) report, more people will face food insecurity in 2023. Currently, nearly a third of 12.4 million people living in South Sudan are facing severe food insecurity. Humanitarian conditions have been worsened by endemic violence, conflict, access constraints, operational interference, public health challenges and climate change effects such as flooding and drought, the report said. The need for assistance will be greatest in counties in the Upper Nile and Western Equatoria States that have been facing conflict. Something has to change in South Sudan because the number of people in need continues to rise every year and the resources continue to decrease, said Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Humanitarian Coordinator in South Sudan, in

India addresses food security in Yemen by prioritising wheat exports

Highlighting India's humanitarian assistance to Yemen, India's representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj said that New Delhi took steps to address food security in Yemen by prioritizing wheat exports