The expert panel looking into the National Advisory Council’s recommendations on the proposed Food Security Bill has asked the agriculture and the food minister Sharad Pawar to increase production and procurement of grains.
Sources said the expert panel, headed by C. Rangarajan, chief of Economic Advisory Council, flagged the low productivity of agriculture and the current level of procurement during a recent meeting to review the financial implications of the NAC’s recommendations on the proposed Food Security Bill.
Sources said the panel felt that improvement on these two counts was necessary to sustain the proposed right to food legislation in the long run.
According to the agriculture ministry, bridging the huge difference in the productivity levels among different states remains a big challenge. Official estimates show that against the 1,000-1,200 kg foodgrains produced per hectare in an eastern state like West Bengal, Punjab in the north produces around 4,000 kg per hectare.
Revised estimates of the farm ministry show food production dropped from 234.47 million tonnes in 2008-09 to 218.2 million tonnes in 2009-10.