Chapter - I Introduction, Chapter - II Food Security: Inter and Intranational Perspectives, Chapter - III Concepts, Theories and Food Security Aspects, Chapter - IV Profile of the Study Area, Chapter - V Food Security among Socially Excluded Communities in Rural Tamil Nadu, Chapter - VI Summary of Major Findings and Conclusion, References The right to food and freedom from hunger re-emerged during 1990s. The historical World Food Summit was held in Rome in 1996, in which 185 countries participated and signed the ‘Rome Declaration on World Food Security’ which reaffirmed the right of everyone to have access to safe and nutritious food. Consequently, the right to adequate food is recognized as a fundamental human right. The world communities, further pledged in 2000 to cut the number of the world’s hungry people to half between 1990 and 2015, as one of the Millennium Development Goals (United Nations, 2008). Food security is an important means to realize the right to food. It means the assured access to adequate food to all members of the household throughout the year. The Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen (1981) has suggested a framework of food entitlement in order to understand the genesis of hunger and the access to food. According to him, own production, stored wealth, employment, kinship and government transfers are all possible sources of food entitlement. Food security as defined by Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO, 2005) “exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets their dietary needs and food preference for an active and healthy life”. Household food security is the application of this concept to the family level, with individuals within the households as the focus of concern. India has been witnessing the phenomenon of erratic monsoon consistently. It has serious implications on the food sufficiency and food security of the country. Poor monsoons also affect the welfare of people in terms of availability of drinking water and employment opportunities. Studies on food security have not been carried out in Rural Tamil Nadu by academic and specialized research institutions.

This book offers insights into the issues around food security, public health, equity and global governance. With a focus on India, it highlights the complex networks of sociopolitical, economic and agricultural challenges to ensure self-sufficiency in food production. Based on field research conducted across India and an in-depth study on government agencies and multilateral fora, this book connects and juxtaposes global, national and local narratives on food security and policy. It analyses issues ranging from climate change to gaps in the nation-wide public food distribution systems. Through interdisciplinary narratives on food insecurity and poverty, the book exposes the underlying problems within policy frameworks and offers solutions for greater accessibility and distribution of food supplies while combating climate variability and agrarian distress. The volume explores global food governance norms and India’s role in further shaping them. It will be of interest to students and researchers of public policy and governance, development studies, sociology, agriculture studies, public health and nutrition and economics.

The main focus of this book is on the causation of starvation in general and of famines in particular. The author develops the alternative method of analysis--the 'entitlement approach'--concentrating on ownership and exchange, not on food supply. The book also provides a general analysis of the characterization and measurement of poverty. Various approaches used in economics, sociology, and political theory are critically examined. The predominance of distributional issues, including distribution between different occupation groups, links up the problem of conceptualizing poverty with that of analyzing starvation.

This volume provides an interdisciplinary collection of studies that cover the trends and issues related to agricultural productivity and availability, food and nutrition security, and sustainability in India. The book discusses a broad range of vital issues concerning the production and consumption of food during the era of climate change, and has been prepared to generate awareness of these issues in a large agricultural economy to shed light on new perspectives and solutions to achieve sustainable food production and security in India. The book is organized into three major sections: Climate and Agricultural Productivity for Availability, Changes and Trends in Cropping Patterns and Food Security, and Food and Nutrition Security for Sustainable Development. The book will be of interest to students, researchers, policymakers, and other inquisitive readers interested in different aspects of agriculture, food and nutrition security, and sustainable development.

This open access book examines the interactions between India’s economic development, agricultural production, and nutrition through the lens of a “Food Systems Approach (FSA).” The Indian growth story is a paradoxical one. Despite economic progress over the past two decades, regional inequality, food insecurity and malnutrition problems persist. Simultaneously, recent trends in obesity along with micro-nutrient deficiency portend to a future public health crisis. This book explores various challenges and opportunities to achieve a nutrition-secure future through diversified production systems, improved health and hygiene environment and greater individual capability to access a balanced diet contributing to an increase in overall productivity. The authors bring together the latest data and scientific evidence from the country to map out the current state of food systems and nutrition outcomes. They place India within the context of other developing country experiences and highlight India’s status as an outlier in terms of the persistence of high levels of stunting while following global trends in obesity. This book discusses the policy and institutional interventions needed for promoting a nutrition-sensitive food system and the multi-sectoral strategies needed for simultaneously addressing the triple burden of malnutrition in India.

This compendium showcases the ongoing trends and challenges in South-South cooperation between India and select countries in Africa, for achieving food security and poverty reduction. Scholars and practitioners share diverse perspectives on the role of India’s development compact; aid, trade, private sector driven Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs), and concessional Lines of Credit (LOCs) to the agricultural and agro-processing sector in Africa. India- Africa cooperation also underscores that the sharing of knowledge and capabilities- technical and financial, along with North- South partnerships- through trilateral and multilateral mechanisms, can upscale agriculture and agro-processing sectors to centre stage the food security agenda and reduce poverty. Arguments made through the volume critically highlight hegemonic neo-liberal economic policies, structural adjustment programmes, import substitution practices, and the denationalization of food production, and illustrate the need for sustainable and cost effective agro-ecological practices, in the face of ongoing global challenges, such as the climate emergency and degradation of biodiversity and habitats. The axial questions addressed are; how does cooperation between countries of the Global South- India and Africa - impact intra-South trading, capacity building, and the investment landscape. Scientists, academics, development professionals, government officials, NGOs and international organizations, offer the readers; empirical case studies, policy perspectives, the limitations and challenges, and the way forward in an analytical manner.