Various government policies such as the Public Distribution System (PDS), mid-day meal, food for work programme, National Rural Employment Guaranty Scheme (NREGA) have failed to create food security at the household level, says a study by Gujarat Institute of Development Research.
The findings of a primary survey of 110 households undertaken in two districts of two villages – a tribal district and a developed one – in Gujarat showed that about 80% of households have fewer meals in a day because there was not enough food, while 78% have to make do with a smaller meal.
The working paper ‘Food Security at Household Level: A Preliminary Investigation of Two Villages in Gujarat’ by Itishree Pattnaik, says that the consumption of high-value items like milk and vegetables was negligible among the villages due to food inflation.
"The households cope with the food inflation by consuming less food, cutting down the consumption of milk and vegetables as well as borrowing. Lower assets or few resources and more responsibilities leads to food insecurity among households that in turn leads to less consumption of food among women," the paper says.
In the tribal village in Dahod district, 30% households reduced the quantity of their meals, 29% borrowed money, 24% reduced the number of meals in a day, 10% reduced the quantity of meals for their women while 7% reduced the consumption of milk and vegetables.
In the non-tribal village in Amreli district, among other coping mechanisms, households stopped sending their children to school. In the village, 37% reduced quantity of their meals, 35% reduced consumption of milk and vegetables, 15% borrowed money, 6% reduced the consumption of meal for their women, 5% reduced the number of meals and 2% households stopped sending their children to school.
"Enough food is being produced at the national level and there are enough buffer stocks at the central pool. Despite this and the existence of PDS which is targeted at poor people, food insecurity at the household level still exists," the paper says.