Why Our Country’s Nutritional Security and Farmers’ Welfare are Inseparable Issues

India's record is lowest among South Asian countries in fighting hunger and stands to be worsened following the new farm laws, writes DR ARUN MITRA.

————-

The recently released National Family Health Survey-5 report is a worrying factor. 

That even after the much-advertised Poshan Abhiyan, the children of our country remain stunted in such a large number calls for review of the efforts to provide nutrition to all the countrymen particularly the children. 

There are three criteria for malnutrition, low height for the age called stunting,  low weight for the height labeled as wasting and low weight for age that is underweight. According to these criteria 31.96 per cent children were found to be stunted 17.29 per cent children are wasted and 26.95 per cent children are underweight. In its report, The State of the World's Children 2019, UNICEF has pointed out that Malnutrition caused 69 percent of deaths of children below the age of five in India.   

With a Global Hunger Index (GHI) score 30.3 India is at 102 among 117 countries. We are lowest among the South Asian countries. The countries which fall below us are Sierra Leone, Uganda, Djibouti, Congo Rep., Sudan, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, Timor-leste, Haiti, Liberia, Zambia, Madagascar, Chad, Yemen Rep. and Central African Republic. Most of these countries have been involved in internal or external strife for a long period.    

Pakistan, which was at 106th position till last year has improved to be at 94th position even though it is said to be in the midst of worst economic crises ever, so much so that it is struggling hard to improve its status in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). With a booming economy, as claimed by the government, our dismal performance in combating malnutrition and hunger requires a serious thought.   

Hunger refers to the distress associated with a lack of sufficient calories. 

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) defines food deprivation, or undernourishment, as the consumption of too few calories to provide the minimum amount of dietary energy that each individual requires to live a healthy and productive life, given that person's sex, age, stature, and physical activity level.

The GHI scores are calculated using four indicators; 

Undernourishment, the share of the population whose caloric intake is insufficient; Child Wasting, that is the share of children under the age of five who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute undernutrition; 

Child Stunting, the share of children under the age of five who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic undernutrition and 

Child Mortality, that is the mortality rate of children under the age of five.   

It is astonishing that data regarding child mortality due to malnutrition is not maintained by the Ministry of Women and Child Development on the plea that malnutrition is not a direct cause of death among children under five years of age. However, it can increase morbidity and mortality by reducing resistance to infections. Malnourished children are more vulnerable to any infection than normal children.   

To meet the nutritional requirement it is important that people's economic status is improved. For this it is important that people get sufficient remuneration for their work. It is also important that conducive conditions are created for the self-employed persons to meet their livelihood requirements. 

It is however important to note that an estimated 12 crore people lost their jobs during the lockdown. Many of them are without any work even today. During the recent months a large number of people from low income strata had to miss one meal per day as a result of poor economy and lack of government support during lockdown.        

Several economic experts including the Nobel Laureate Abhijeet Banerjee have suggested various means to alleviate poverty. The basic principle however remains that buying capacity of the people should increase and the government should ensure food security to all citizens.   

Workers' organizations have formulated their demand for minimum wage based on the principles of nutritional security. They have been demanding Rs. 21000 per month as minimum wage.  

To their utter dismay, the government has fixed the national minimum wage as Rs.178 per day or Rs.5340 per month in the wage code bill approved by the union cabinet. This is despite an internal labour ministry committee recommendation of Rs.375 per day (Rs.11250 per month). 

No wonder 90 percent of our population lives on subsistence wage only. 

This low minimum wage will further increase inequality and poverty. Large number of our population is in the unorganised sector where the legal formulations are hardly implemented. The farmers and agriculture labour who are the producers are among the worst sufferers. 

It is ironic that the farmers have to launch agitation against the laws passed by the Parliament in a hush-hush manner without any debate and in the absence of opposition. 

The farmers had never demanded such laws. Under the new laws the corporation will gain control over the farmers' land and decide as to what is to be produced by the farmer. Obviously the corporates will weigh the needs as per their profits. This will push the poor and marginal farmers into abject poverty who will eventually lose the ownership of the land. The consumers will be forced to buy food products at a higher price which are bound to increase as a result of hoarding by the corporates. 

Agriculture labour which is directly connected to the farmers will be further marginalised. Such laws will add to the malnutrition. It is therefore important that farmers' welfare is maintained to meet the food security.     

With the skewed policies we will never achieve a hunger free India. There is a need to have public discourse around such issues. Taking decisions by-passing any logical debate is detrimental for society and our democratic ethos. (IPA)

(Dr Arun Mitra, is co-president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. Views are personal.)