POTATO CRISIS IN ODISHA: A THREAT TO FOOD SECURITY

Ensuring food security eliminating mass malnutrition is perhaps India’s biggest and most serious development problem and challenge for policy makers. Despite a nearly 20-years period of strong economic growth since the early 1990s, as well as the recent emergence of exportable surpluses of food staples –wheat and rice- India continues to account for the largest share of world population considered to be food insure. The term ‘development’ in 21st Century believes on inclusive growth. It means whatever growth in any term that should give benefits to all segments of society including the poor, the near poor with meager incomes, the middle class and even the rich.. Food security is defined as allowing individuals to reach a nutritional target of 2,100 calories per capita per day. According to USDA’s International Food Security Assessment, 2013 study India’s food-insure population at 255 million, or about 36.1 percent of the 707 million food- insecure people among the 76 low-income countries in the world. The Government of India spends near about one percent of its GDP towards its aid program in the past year, making it one of the largest domestic food aid programs in the world. The recent enactment of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), certainly a step forward to mitigate the above noted deprivation.  Intense competition for reduced international supplies of cereals and other agricultural commodities is driving worldwide food price inflation, which brings with is the risk of food shortages and social unrest in low income countries. One strategy that could help to reduce the risk of diversification of food production to nutritious and versatile staple crops that is less susceptible to the vagaries of international markets. One such crop is potato. The potato in India is not primarily a rural staple, but as in much of Asia, a cash crop which provides significant income to rural farmers. Potato plays a very significant role in agricultural economy of Odisha. It is economically significant not only its contribution to the livelihood of the thousands of farmers and its dominance in the agricultural market consumption basket of house hold but also for its growing linkage to fast growing processing industry. Potato based food processing industry, which includes chips and bhujia making, has become successful business venture in the state such as Gujarat & Odisha farmer and entrepreneurs could use the high yielding seeds for more product of quality potato for economic development. There was a time in the 70s when Odisha was a surplus potato producer state. But now it depends upon the mercy of West Bengal and Punjab even for seeds. Odisha consumes more than 10 lakhs Mt. of potato a year but the annual production is 2.5 lakhs Mt. and rest comes from the west Bengal and Punjab. The State has been facing an acute crisis of potato supply. The decision of our neighboring state Government not to allow movement of potato laden trucks into our state is a matter of regret. In this context, this study highlights the role of potato in ensuring food security in Odisha and discusses the challenges and threat faces in the global front.