Overcoming food insecurity

According to the United Nations’ Committee on World Food Security “Food security is achieved when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life”.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and World Food Programme (WFP) estimate 6.3 million Sri Lankans are facing moderate to severe acute food insecurity. This could be attributed to shortage of food and high food prices. The latest WFP assessment reveals that 86 percent of families are buying cheaper, less nutritious food; eating less, and in some cases skipping meals altogether. This unfortunate situation is the result of many factors among which are poverty, non-availability of agrochemicals at correct times, scarcity of foreign exchange reserves, depreciation of the local currency, etc.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has launched a programme to ensure food security in the country. The vision of this Food Security Programme is to ensure every citizen has access to enough food at a reasonable price, to lead an active and healthy life, and to ensure that no citizen of the country should starve due to lack of food, and no child should be a victim of malnutrition.

National Food insecurity is attributed to inadequate food production at national level and high prices consumers have to pay. The recent banning of agrochemicals has drastically reduced food production in the country resulting in high food prices. We have been importing food costing around Rs. 300 billion a year. Most of the food such as rice, milk, sugar, lentils, etc., which are vital in raising Food Security are imported, indicating that there is no national food security. If we are unable to import the essential food items, people will not have enough food for their sustenance. Hence it is important that relevant action is taken to produce essential food locally, at affordable prices. National food insecurity is due to many factors. Among these are wild elephants roaming in some of the dry zone villages, causing death to many and destroying crops, Chronic Kidney Disease affecting thousands of farmers, inadequate water supply, lack of reasonable transport facilities, non-availability of fertilisers such as urea, and other agrochemicals at correct times, inability to sell the produce at reasonable prices etc. Authorities need to take cognizance of these issues in their endeavours to = increase national food security.

The National Food Security and Nutrition Council has been established in Sri Lanka to take appropriate action to achieve Food Security. This council will function under the chairmanship of the President of Sri Lanka, advised (?) by a former Secretary to the Ministry of Power and Renewable Energy. Plans are underway to produce several food items such as rice, onion, chili’s lentils etc. to increase food security in the country. Simply planning to produce rice, onion, etc. indicated above will not have any desired effect, unless an integrated plan is implemented. If national food security is to be enhanced it is essential that food is available at an affordable price. As indicated above, several factors play important roles in food production. Efforts to strengthen the national food security require an integrated approach that combines crop improvement alongside sustainable land and water management, efficient irrigation, application of appropriate fertilizers and other inputs, effective marketing etc.

House -hold Food Security is closely related to the economy, which has deteriorated during the last few years, mainly due to the drop-in crop production and several other factors. Prices of most food items have been on a steady rise since the last quarter of 2021, and reached a record high in August 2022, with the year-on-year food inflation rate at nearly 94 percent, further limiting the purchasing power of households.

According to the Dept. of Census and Statistics around 14.3 % (nearly 3 million) are below poverty level. Unemployment, lack of resource production factors such as land and/or capital are the main factors causing poverty. Ill-health and sickness among family members, addiction to drugs and alcohol, frequently occurring natural disasters such as floods and droughts in some parts of the country, inborn defects such as deformities, blindness, inadequate knowledge on nutrition also tend to affect food security among households.

The Plantation sector plays an important role in achieving food security. There are nearly 430 estates in the country and around 200,000 families live in these estates. Poverty in the estate sector is around 34%. They are saddled with low incomes, and have to face severe food shortages. They do not have enough land to grow many crops so as to supply necessary food for sustenance.

The fisheries sector plays a key role in Sri Lanka’s social and economic life. Fish products are an important source of animal protein for the population which increases food security. Around 350,000 are directly involved in the fisheries sector. During the last few months their incomes have decreased drastically, as it has become extremely difficult for them to go fishing. This is mainly due to non-availability/high prices of kerosene oil, which is necessary for them to go fishing. They are saddled with low incomes, and have to face severe food shortages. They do not have enough land to grow many crops so as to supply necessary food for the household. As a result of lowered incomes, the fishing community is unable to purchase food necessary for their sustenance.

An integrated approach is necessary to achieve food security. The factors which cause food insecurity among different communities in the country need to be examined and action taken accordingly. Simply cultivating every inch of land as some insist will not yield desired results.

The Island