The Crossbill News Desk
India faces an urgent need to overhaul its food production system and move beyond a cereal-centric approach to ensure that all its citizens can access healthy, balanced diets, according to Maximo Torero Cullen, Chief Economist of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).
In an interview with The Hindu, Cullen emphasized that despite remarkable progress in recent years, the challenge of food insecurity remains daunting.
“Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and affects, of course, South Asia. So India, I think, has a huge role to play. That’s why we believe it’s so important that they continue and accelerate the transformation. India needs to move to the higher level — that is access to healthy diets, which right now is 40.4% of the population. So we need to improve that even more and also to find ways to assure this today and tomorrow,” he said.
“The Green Revolution achieved its purpose, but now it’s time to go further,” he added.
According to him, this represents a significant improvement from the FAO’s 2023 assessment that 74.1% (approximately 60 crore people) of Indians could not afford a healthy diet in 2021.
“The methodology is more precise now, but even with the improvement, the number is too high,” Cullen said.
Highlighting the need for urgent action, Cullen called for greater investment in diversifying India’s agricultural production.
He urged the country to shift focus towards pulses, fruits, and vegetables—nutrient-rich, protein-heavy foods that better align with India’s cultural eating habits.
“Pulses could be an option because they are more nutritious and have proteins. But India should move more to fruits and vegetables, and that requires effort and substitution,” he noted.
Cullen underlined India’s pivotal role in global progress toward the UN’s 2030 goal of zero hunger.
“Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and South Asia. India has a huge role to play,” he said, stressing that improving affordability today and sustaining it for the future is critical.
He also pointed to global trade tensions as a serious threat to food security, warning that tariff wars “create inefficiencies, fragment trade, and hurt small farmers most connected to markets.”
Further, Cullen drew attention to the gendered impact of food insecurity. He pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, women experienced a dramatic rise in hunger due to wage gaps and unequal access to resources.
“Empowering women to more access to assets is important so that they can get more access to resources,” he said.
In an interview with The Hindu, Cullen emphasized that despite remarkable progress in recent years, the challenge of food insecurity remains daunting.
“Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and affects, of course, South Asia. So India, I think, has a huge role to play. That’s why we believe it’s so important that they continue and accelerate the transformation. India needs to move to the higher level — that is access to healthy diets, which right now is 40.4% of the population. So we need to improve that even more and also to find ways to assure this today and tomorrow,” he said.
“The Green Revolution achieved its purpose, but now it’s time to go further,” he added.
According to him, this represents a significant improvement from the FAO’s 2023 assessment that 74.1% (approximately 60 crore people) of Indians could not afford a healthy diet in 2021.
“The methodology is more precise now, but even with the improvement, the number is too high,” Cullen said.
Highlighting the need for urgent action, Cullen called for greater investment in diversifying India’s agricultural production.
He urged the country to shift focus towards pulses, fruits, and vegetables—nutrient-rich, protein-heavy foods that better align with India’s cultural eating habits.
“Pulses could be an option because they are more nutritious and have proteins. But India should move more to fruits and vegetables, and that requires effort and substitution,” he noted.
Cullen underlined India’s pivotal role in global progress toward the UN’s 2030 goal of zero hunger.
“Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and South Asia. India has a huge role to play,” he said, stressing that improving affordability today and sustaining it for the future is critical.
He also pointed to global trade tensions as a serious threat to food security, warning that tariff wars “create inefficiencies, fragment trade, and hurt small farmers most connected to markets.”
Further, Cullen drew attention to the gendered impact of food insecurity. He pointed out that during the COVID-19 pandemic, women experienced a dramatic rise in hunger due to wage gaps and unequal access to resources.
“Empowering women to more access to assets is important so that they can get more access to resources,” he said.
Comments (0)
Leave a Comment