Question

write a short note on food problem in India

Answer 1

Frankly speaking, our food problem, dates to the partition of Burma from India in April 1937 when India lost her best rice producing areas and had to import 15 to 20 lakh tons of rice from Burma. India faced its first serious food shortage in 1943, when millions of people perched in the Bengal famine.
This famine showed India’s weakness in rice production. Separation of Burma forced India to import rice; the Partition in 1947 made India dependent on import of wheat. Rapid increase of population sine 1920, the separation of Burma in 1937, the creation of Pakistan in 1947 and occasional crop failures due to failure of monsoons have had been the basic causes for the origin of food problem in India.
During the First 5-Year Plan (1951-56):
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The Government introduced the First Five-Year Plan in 1951 to achieve self-sufficiency in food. The Government undertook measures of agricultural development, irrigation, etc. Production increased rapidly. In 1950-51 India produced 55 mm. tonnes of food grains; but in 1955-56, India produced over 69 mn tonnes of food grains-an increase of more than 25% in 5 years.
As a result of this increase in food production, the prices of foodstuffs fell and there was plenty of foodstuffs available to the people. The imports of food grains were cut down from 48 lakh tonnes in 1941 to 6 lakh tonnes in 1955. Finally, the Government gave up controls and rationing of foodstuffs. The Government and the people felt happy that at least the food problem was solved.
During the Second 5-Year Plan:
The feeling of happiness and optimism which the Government felt about the food problem at the end of the First Plan was short-lived. For, even from 1955, prices of food grains started rising. In the beginning, the rise in prices was very mild and was not even noticed; but soon prices of food grains rose rapidly.
By 1958-59, the food problem became very acute and there was almost a crisis. But the strange thing was that throughout this period the production of food grains was increasing; food grains production increased from 69mn. tonnes in 1955- 56 to 82mn. tonnes in 1960-61. There was actually no shortage of food grains, but what worried the people and the Government was the increase in food grains prices.