United Nations applauds India’s push for millets & wheat exports to countries in food crisis
The United Nations Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) has praised India for refocusing on millets and selling 1.8 million tonnes of wheat to 18 nations that experienced a severe food scarcity last year as a result of Ukraine’s war.
Alvaro Lario, head of the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), has stated that India’s G20 leadership has the potential to revolutionize global food systems, because New Delhi’s aims are well-aligned with that of the UN organization.
According to Lario, a well-known development finance specialist, Indian knowledge might help other nations in the Global South with agricultural and rural development, reported Hindusthan Samachar.
He remarked, “We also appreciate India’s wheat exports to 18 countries facing acute shortages last year as a result of the war in Ukraine,” Lario was in India for a meeting of the G20 agriculture ministers.
The International Fund for Agricultural Development is a UN specialized agency that has been concentrating on supporting initiatives in various poor and vulnerable countries to help them combat poverty, hunger, and food insecurity. “In addition, India has demonstrated thoughtful leadership in South-South cooperation. I appreciate India’s focus on millets, for example,” he remarked.
“We’ve seen that millets are important for farmers to adapt to climate change, given their drought resistance and to ensure nutrition in some of the world’s poorest and most remote areas,” Lario continued.
In the last few years, the world has witnessed continuous conflicts, economic shocks, climate extremes and soaring fertilizer prices, which created a food crisis of unprecedented proportions in several parts of the globe. According to the UN, as many as 828 million people appear to be unsure of their next meal.
However, to ensure food security in India, the government brought in the National Food Security Act. Under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households that constitute the poorest of the poor are legally entitled to receive 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month. Similarly, priority households are entitled to 5 kg per person per month under the same scheme. The Centre has a number of other welfare schemes which offer ample food security to the poor.
The National Food Security Act, 2013 provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural and upto 50% of the urban population for receiving highly subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), which at Census 2011 comes to about 81.35 crore. The coverage under the Act is substantially high to ensure that all the vulnerable and needy sections of the society get its benefit.
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