Arunachal Pradesh Food security
It means to provide Food and nutritional Security in human life cycle approach by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
Food and agriculture organization (FAO) says Food security is made up of four pillars viz. Availability, Affordability, Nutrition, and Stability.
Availability of Arunachal Pradesh Food security
Food should be available in sufficient quantity at all times and at all places. Various steps were taken to diversify the agriculture economy by encouraging the cultivation of cash crops like potatoes, and horticulture crops like apple, oranges, guavas, and pineapples, etc. Many important projects such as Regional Seed Foundation Potato Farm at Tawang, Regional Apple Nursery at Dirang, and State Horticulture Farm at Sheragaon were set up with the help of North-Eastern Council to boost agro-horticulture activities.
Apart from these Gramsevak Training Centre and farmers Training Centre located at various parts of the state impart training in scientific methods of rural development and agriculture respectively. In this way pre-agricultural level of technology in 1950 is now firmly established in the world of hybrid varieties, genes and biotechnology.
Affordability of Arunachal Pradesh Food security
Food should be affordable to poor people.
Through Targeted-PDS and National Food Security Act (NFSA), Government provides cheap grain to poor.
Public Distribution System of Arunachal Pradesh Food security
Arunachal Pradesh’s unique set of problems impinge on the implementation of the public distribution system in the state. Most significantly, many regions in the hill state are hard to access. Further, the state does not have a civil supplies corporation to manage the movement of foodgrains from the Food Corporation of India (FCI) godowns to Fair Price Shops (FPS). The FCI does not have its own godowns in the state either. In the prevailing situation, the task of procuring and transporting PDS .
The practical challenges of implementing the Public Distribution System (PDS) in Arunachal Pradesh led to the conceptualization of the Arun ePDS initiative to improve delivery through process re-engineering and use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).
The first phase, currently under implementation, is already showing significant impact in reducing the pilferage of food rations. The initiative has resulted in rapid redressal of grievances, detection of ghost ration cards and issuance of cards to people hitherto excluded from the system.
Nutrition
Food should be nutritious to ensure healthy development of body of mind.
Through Mid-day meal, Food-security Act, Integrated-Child Development scheme (ICDS) and half dozen other schemes, Government ensures nutritious food to children.
Stability
In food prices and supply must be stable. Otherwise political and social unrest.
FCI keeps ‘buffer-stock’ of grains. It can be sold to open market or distributed among people during high inflation, natural disaster etc.
National Food Security Act (NFSA)
Govt. of India promulgated and issued National Food Security Ordinance on 5th July’2013 to provide Food and nutritional Security in human life cycle approach by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. The Food Security Ordinance envisage right to receive foodgrains at subsidised price by persons belonging to eligible households under Targeted Public Distribution System, nutritional support to pregnant woman, lactating mother and nutritional support to children etc. Under NFSA every identified beneficiaries is entitled to get 5kg of foodgrain per month @ Rs. 3/- Rs. 2/- & Rs.1/- for rice, wheat and Coarse grain.
As approved by the Cabinet in the meeting on 08.08.2013, the Govt. of Arunachal Pradesh had launched the NFSO’2013 in the State on 20th Aug/2013 at Itanagar.
Identification of Eligible Households
For the state of Arunachal Pradesh, the targetted coverage of population under the priority group (including AAY) is Rural 66.31% and Urban 51.55%. the state of Arunachal Pradesh took it as an opportunity under NFSA to prepare a new list of eligible households under NFSA by not only relying on old BPL and AAY lists.
| Digitization of NFSA Beneficiaries |
| After identification of the eligible households under NFSA, the beneficifiaries data were digitized manually as per the standard presecribed by the GoI ensuring demographic data, FPS linkage, Family members data and PLC encoding (as per RGI standard) in ration cards for upload in the state portal for transparency and social audits. For centres with Arun ePDS running, the the data enumerations were done in the centres itself. |