Crop diversity key to reducing hunger, malnutrition in India

The UN World Food Programme says that 45 million people worldwide are on the brink of starvation. The hunger situation in India is no less alarming. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in its report, “The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2020” stated that 189.2 million people are undernourished in India. India dropped from rank 94 to rank 101 in the Global Hunger Index 2021; it is placed below Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The recently developed experience-based indicator called the Prevalence of Moderate and Severe Food Insecurity (PMSFI) reveals that there were about 43 crore people facing moderate to severe food-insecurity in India in 2019. India should urgently repair its crop diversity to reduce hunger and malnutrition in the country.

The country suffered a massive crop diversity loss during the British Raj; later, the green revolution eroded much of the native crops. The British introduced mono crops to maximise profits, without caring for the indigenous crops. The disappearance of the weather-resistant crop back-up resulted in a famine-like situation after 1950 and compelled the government to allow high-yielding wheat and paddy during the Green Revolution. It has saved millions of people from starvation, but at the cost of native crop diversity.

In 2018-19, the cultivation of the gross cropped area of paddy and wheat in Punjab increased to 84.6% from 32% in 1960-61. Wheat and paddy-growing has led to significantly reduced cultivation of pulses, maize, bajra, chana, masur, mustard, sunflower, groundnut, sugarcane, etc. “The soil of Vidarbha is not suitable for growing cotton. Still farmers here have been concentrating on cultivating BT cotton. This is the main reason behind crop failure and farmers’ suicides,” said Surendra Kumar Singh, Director of ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Nagpur.

As per NCRB’s findings, despite various farmers’ welfare schemes, including loan waivers, development plans and innovations, Maharashtra recorded 3,927 farmers’ suicides in 2019, the highest in the country.

Tamil Nadu has lost much of its iron and protein-rich rice varieties. The flood-resistant Kattuyanam rice, Poongkar rice and Kuzhiyadichan rice, which grow on saline and alkaline soil, respectively, have almost disappeared, along with hundreds of edible herbs and shrubs. The exotic Arupatham Kuruvai rice, which matures in 60 days only, has disappeared due to gene pollution, soil and environmental degradation.

Until 1970, India had 1,10,000 rice varieties. That has fallen to 6,000 varieties with gene contamination. Kerala has witnessed a 70% decline in traditional rice varieties between 1960 and 2010. “It is shocking that agriculture scientists, universities and research institutes do not accord importance to rice diversity or its conservation, and after having spent billions of rupees on research, scientists have failed to develop the aromatic rice variety which the ancient but unknown farmers developed,” according to Debal Deb, the noted rice conservationist.

Many climate-friendly and highly nutritious food grains like Karhani rice of Chhattisgarh, Moth bean of central Karnataka and Maharashtra, Meher Dhan of Chhattisgarh, Kangu (foxtail millet), Gathia (pearl millet) and Janah (sorghum) of Odisha have become extinct due to lack of genuine research and proper strategy. The lure of MSP on a few crops, mainly wheat and rice, has let the farming community replace large numbers of exotic, nutrition-rich and climate friendly crops. MSP should have covered weather-resistant indigenous crops as those crops could have been marketed for their taste, aroma, medicinal value and nutrition.

In India, 85% of farm holdings are below two hectares, which is not a disadvantage as propagated by some experts; with multiple edible plants and food grains, small landholding worked well to meet the food and nutrition needs of the local people.

According to FAO, small farmers, fishermen and other communities around the world generate more than half of all agricultural production. Big farms growing mono crops overexploit groundwater, overuse chemical fertilisers, use GM seeds and introduce mindless farm mechanisation to damage the crop diversity, degrade soil, create hunger and suicides. In view of the present crisis, the Ministry of Agriculture plans to promote ‘Natural Farming’ in 12 lakh hectares in the next five years, with an outlay of Rs 2,500 crore. As per the Union Budget, chemical-free natural farming will be implemented across the country. More than the fund, India needs genuine agriculturists, mindful farming, true leaders and dedicated volunteers.

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