> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://signals.joincomrades.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # 19 Oct 2026 · Editorial > Comrades Editorial of 19 Oct 2026, by news group. > **[Comrades Editorial · 19 Oct 2026 (PDF)](https://dl.joincomrades.com/e/19-10-26)** *** ## In this edition 1. [Ensuring Sustainable Food Security](#h-1) Agriculture & Rural ## Agriculture & Rural ### Ensuring Sustainable Food Security [Source](https://www.drishtiias.com/current-affairs-news-analysis-editorials/news-editorials/19-10-2026) This editorial is based on "‘Innovate today, nourish tomorrow’ for food security" published in The Hindu on 16/10/2026. The article highlights that achieving food security requires moving from cereal surplus to climate-resilient innovation. Prioritizing agronomic research, biofortification, groundwater management, and supply chain modernization will effectively mitigate ecological risks and eliminate systemic malnutrition. India's transformation from a food-scarce nation to a food-surplus producer is a remarkable saga of scientific breeding, irrigation expansion, institutional procurement and policy innovation. The Green Revolution, dairy cooperatives and targeted crop missions reshaped production, while public distribution strengthened access. Yet malnutrition, climate shocks, groundwater stress and import dependence persist. How India Transformed from a Food-scarce to a Food-surplus Nation? * **Scientific Breeding and the Green Revolution:** * The introduction of high-yielding, semi-dwarf wheat varieties, including Kalyan Sona and Sonalika, during the 1960s raised yield potential and strengthened the response to irrigation and fertilisers. * Collaboration among M. S. Swaminathan, Norman Borlaug, and Indian agricultural institutions helped establish intensive cereal production, particularly in northwestern India. * Crucially, crop improvement continued beyond the initial Green Revolution. ICAR released 339 varieties across crop groups in 2025–26, suited to different agro-climatic conditions. Thus, sustained genetic improvement helped India increase production while adapting crops to disease, environmental stress and changing cultivation requirements. * **Assured Irrigation and Greater Cropping Intensity:** * The expansion of canals, tubewells, rural electrification and water-management infrastructure reduced dependence on a single monsoon crop and supported more reliable rabi cultivation and multiple cropping. * Assured water also enabled farmers to realise the benefits of improved seeds and nutrients. According to the Economic Survey 2025–26, gross irrigated area increased from 41.7% of gross cropped area in 2001–02 to 55.8% in 2022–23. * More recently, drip and sprinkler irrigation under Per Drop More Crop have supported efficient water application. The underlying transformation was greater and more dependable annual production from cultivated land. * **Price Assurance and Institutional Procurement:** * The combination of Minimum Support Prices, public procurement and the Food Corporation of India, established in 1965, reduced marketing uncertainty for participating farmers. * Reliable purchasing arrangements encouraged investment in marketable surpluses, especially of wheat and rice, while supplying the public distribution system. During the Rabi Marketing Season 2025–26, government agencies procured 300 lakh tonnes of wheat, benefiting approximately 25 lakh farmers. * This illustrates how public purchasing converted higher production into an economically viable proposition for many cultivators. * **Institutional Credit and Timely Farm Operations:** * The expansion of rural banking, cooperative finance and Kisan Credit Cards enabled farmers to purchase seeds, fertilisers and machinery services when required, rather than postponing operations because of cash shortages. * Ground-level agricultural credit increased from ₹7.30 lakh crore in 2013–14 to ₹28.67 lakh crore in 2024–25. Mechanisation complemented this financing by improving the timeliness of sowing, harvesting and preparation for the next crop. * By October 2025, 25,689 Custom Hiring Centres had been established under the agricultural mechanisation scheme, allowing access to equipment without requiring every farmer to purchase it. Together, finance and shared machinery supported more intensive cultivation. * **Agricultural Extension and Wider Adoption of Scientific Practices:** * Improved technology translated into production gains through state agricultural universities, Krishi Vigyan Kendras, frontline demonstrations and farmer training. * These institutions helped farmers select locally suitable varieties, manage pests, balance nutrients and improve cultivation practices. * As of June 2026, ICAR has established 731 KVKs across the country, with around 58 lakh farmers trained during 2021–22 to 2023–24. Their contribution lies in narrowing the research–adoption gap. * **Targeted Crop Missions and Expansion beyond Traditional Grain Belts:** * India progressively broadened the geographical and crop base of production through programmes such as the National Food Security Mission, Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana and Bringing Green Revolution to Eastern India (BGREI). * Launched in 2010–11, the BGREI initiative covered 7 states, including Bihar, Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal, addressing constraints in rice-based farming systems. * Crop-specific interventions also supported pulses through demonstrations, improved seed and agronomic support. Pulse production increased from 14.20 million tonnes in 2006–07 to 25.68 million tonnes in 2024–25. * **Diversification through Dairy Cooperatives and Horticulture:** * India expanded its food economy beyond cereals through Operation Flood, producer cooperatives, veterinary services, chilling facilities and horticultural development. * Launched in 1970, Operation Flood connected small milk producers with organised markets through a National Milk Grid, strengthening production incentives and regular marketing. India’s milk output reached 247 million tonnes in 2024–25. * Meanwhile, horticultural production was estimated at 377 million tonnes in 2025–26. These developments broadened domestic food availability and rural income sources. * **Scientific Storage and Integration of Surplus-Producing Regions:** * Warehouses, transport networks, bulk handling and processing facilities helped preserve harvests and move food across regions and seasons. * These systems made larger production manageable through buffer stocking, public distribution and commercial marketing. Rice-storage pilots at Kaimur and Buxar in Bihar illustrate continuing modernisation. * The scale of marketable surpluses is also reflected in India’s 20 million tonnes of rice exports during 2024–25, demonstrating its transition from managing recurring shortages to supplying substantial quantities to international markets. What are the Key Issues Associated with Food Security in India? * **Limited Purchasing Power and Vulnerability to Food Inflation:** * Food availability does not guarantee access when household earnings are inadequate or irregular. * The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023–24 shows that food accounted for 47.04% of rural consumption expenditure and 39.68% of urban expenditure. * Consequently, increases in food prices can substantially squeeze budgets, particularly for households with little financial flexibility. Consumers may protect cereal consumption while reducing purchases of pulses, vegetables, fruit and animal-source foods, weakening dietary quality. * **Persistent Undernutrition and Double Burden of Malnutrition:** * Improvements in food supply have not eliminated poor nutritional outcomes. NFHS-6 (2023–24) reported 29.3% stunting and 5.2% severe wasting among children under five. * Simultaneously, 30.7% of women aged 15–49 were overweight or obese, illustrating the coexistence of undernutrition and excess weight. * These outcomes highlight challenges involving dietary diversity, appropriate child feeding, maternal nutrition and health conditions. * **Outdated Coverage and Exclusion Risks in Food Entitlements:** * The National Food Security Act’s population coverage remains linked to published census figures, creating difficulties in accommodating demographic change. * A July 2025 parliamentary reply confirmed that the intended coverage of 81.35 crore people was calculated using Census 2011 and that revision depended on publication of the next census figures. It also identified room to include 79 lakh additional beneficiaries even within the existing ceiling. * This creates two distinct challenges—updating overall coverage and identifying eligible people within available quotas. * **Climate Shocks and Increasing Production Instability:** * Heat stress, erratic rainfall, droughts and floods threaten the stability of harvests, even when average national production increases. * A March 2026 government assessment under NICRA identified 310 of 651 assessed agricultural districts as vulnerable to climate change. * Climate exposure can simultaneously damage crops, interrupt transport and reduce agricultural employment, affecting both food supply and purchasing power. * Longer-term modelling cited by the government projects a 19.3% reduction in wheat yields under the 2050 scenario without adaptation, with substantial regional variation. * **Groundwater Depletion and Ecological Stress in Production Centres:** * Food security becomes fragile when intensive cultivation depends on extracting water faster than it is replenished. * The 2025 groundwater assessment classified 730 of 6,762 assessment units as over-exploited. Particularly concerning is Punjab’s groundwater-extraction stage of 156%, meaning annual extraction substantially exceeded the assessed annual extractable resource. * Continued depletion can increase pumping costs, deepen inequalities between farmers and weaken drought resilience. * **Import Dependence in Essential Food Commodities:** * Strong cereal production does not translate into equivalent self-reliance across the food basket. * An August 2026 parliamentary reply reported 160 lakh tonnes of edible-oil imports in 2024–25 and 59 lakh tonnes of pulse imports in 2025–26. * Although imports help bridge domestic supply gaps, dependence exposes consumers to international price movements, exporting-country policies, exchange-rate changes and shipping disruptions. * This is particularly significant because pulses supply affordable protein and edible oils are widely consumed essentials. * **Post-Harvest Losses and Uneven Access to Perishable Foods:** * Weaknesses in aggregation, grading, transport, storage and market coordination reduce the quantity and quality of food reaching consumers. * The government-commissioned study estimated commodity-specific post-harvest losses of 6–15% for fruits and 4–12% for vegetables. These losses are especially consequential for nutritional security because perishables provide important micronutrients. * They can also coexist with distress sales in producing regions and high retail prices elsewhere, reflecting spatial and logistical mismatches. * **Competing Food, Feed and Fuel Demands:** * Expanding industrial uses of crops introduce additional claims on grain supplies and agricultural resources. * A December 2025 parliamentary reply recorded 52 lakh tonnes of FCI rice allocated for ethanol production in each of the 2024–25 and 2025–26 ethanol supply years. What Measures are Needed to Strengthen Food Security in India? * **Update Food Entitlements and Prevent Exclusion:** * Reform the NFSA coverage framework to accommodate population growth between censuses, alongside continuous enrolment of newly vulnerable households. * Under SARTHAK-PDS, establish an enforceable “no denial because of authentication failure” protocol, with alternative verification and auditable delivery records. * Introduce proposed service standards for issuing cards and resolving complaints. Evaluate performance through eligible households included, missed entitlements and grievance resolution, alongside transaction digitisation. * **Diversify Public Food Provision towards Nutritional Adequacy:** * Supplement cereal entitlements through state-specific nutrition baskets, beginning with vulnerable groups and districts. * Strengthen PM POSHAN and Anganwadi meals with pulses, vegetables, appropriate dairy products and culturally acceptable protein sources, using nutrition standards and beneficiary feedback. * Link procurement contracts to women’s self-help groups, FPOs and local producers, with prompt payment and food-quality testing. Odisha’s Shree Anna Abhiyan procurement guidelines, which connect millets with public food programmes, offer an institutional example. * **Protect Purchasing Power and Stabilise Essential Food Prices:** * Develop a district-level affordable-diet index to identify where nutritious food prices are rising faster than vulnerable households’ purchasing power. * Pilot inflation-adjusted nutrition vouchers or supplementary transfers, retaining dependable in-kind support where markets are thin or disrupted. * Strengthen the existing Price Stabilisation Fund through transparent stock-release triggers based on prices, arrivals and local shortages. This would connect consumer protection with predictable procurement, avoiding measures that depress farm prices without reliably improving retail affordability. * **Integrate Climate Adaptation with Groundwater Governance:** * Convert district agricultural contingency plans into funded, village-level preparedness arrangements covering suitable crop varieties, sowing windows, seed reserves, protective irrigation and emergency logistics. * In stressed aquifers, combine efficient irrigation with community water budgets and limits on total extraction, so efficiency gains do not simply encourage additional pumping. * Support community seed banks containing locally adapted varieties, while reviewing insurance payouts against actual losses. The objective should be stable production and livelihoods under shocks, alongside higher average yields. * **Make Crop Diversification Financially Credible for Farmers:** * Offer time-bound transition support, dependable procurement and processing linkages to farmers shifting towards suitable pulses, oilseeds and millets. * Use rice-fallow areas for suitable pulse cultivation where moisture and agronomic conditions permit, limiting pressure to expand cultivated land. * Build on the Mission for Aatmanirbharta in Pulses’ seed systems and procurement provisions, but connect production clusters with dal mills, oil extraction facilities and institutional buyers. Track net farm returns, water use and sustained adoption, ensuring diversification remains attractive after introductory assistance ends. * **Build Usable Infrastructure across the Entire Food Chain:** * Prioritise packhouses, drying facilities, pre-cooling, reliable cold transport and processing according to commodity-specific bottlenecks, rather than financing isolated assets. * Enable FPOs and cooperatives to offer these services on affordable rental terms, backed by maintenance contracts and working capital. * Extend the Smart Warehousing System through temperature, moisture and pest monitoring, with clear responsibility for responding to alerts. For perishables, coordinate production schedules with buyers so storage capacity complements dependable demand and transport. * **Coordinate Strategic Reserves, Imports and Industrial Grain Demand:** * Publish regularly updated commodity balance sheets combining production estimates, consumption, public stocks, import commitments and food–feed–fuel requirements, with uncertainty ranges. * Diversify import sources for essential commodities and announce policy changes with reasonable notice wherever circumstances permit. * For ethanol feedstocks, introduce periodic allocation reviews tied to harvest conditions, welfare requirements and reserve adequacy, building on the existing requirement to protect these needs before releasing surplus FCI rice. * **Unify Nutrition, Healthcare and Local Accountability:** * Establish district food-and-nutrition plans with shared responsibilities across food distribution, health, women and child development, water and sanitation departments. * Prioritise the first 1,000 days, combining maternal nutrition, breastfeeding support, appropriate complementary feeding, safe water and timely treatment of illness. * Anganwadi workers and health teams should operate a referral-and-follow-up system so identified children receive appropriate care rather than merely appearing in monitoring records. **Conclusion** * India’s food security journey demonstrates the power of scientific innovation, institutional support and farmer participation in overcoming chronic shortages. However, food surplus does not automatically guarantee nutritional adequacy, affordability or equitable access. As Lailah Gifty Akita aptly observes, “Agricultural development is essential for sustainable food security.” India must now prioritise climate-resilient agriculture, sustainable water management, crop diversification and nutrition-sensitive welfare policies. Ultimately, a resilient food system must ensure not merely sufficient production, but accessible, nutritious and sustainable food for every citizen. This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.