Food Security

Book Review: Food Security and Sociopolitical Stability edited by CB Barrett

Global food price spikes in 2008 and again in 2011 coincided with a surge of political unrest in low- and middle-income countries. In some places, food riots turned violent, pressuring governments and in a few cases contributed to their overthrow. Foreign investors sparked a new global land rush, adding a different set of pressures, andContinue reading “Book Review: Food Security and Sociopolitical Stability edited by CB Barrett”

National Food Bill: A short review of the critiques

Picture from Forbes India What? The National Food Security Bill aims to provide food to 67% of India\’s 1.2 billion people by distributing heavily subsidized food grain (5kg of grain @ Rs.1/kg). First introduced in 2011, the bill has invited heated debate, caused parliamentary disruptions and is yet to be passed. Why the criticism? Where will the money to finance the scheme comeContinue reading “National Food Bill: A short review of the critiques”

Oxford Global Food Security Conference, 2013

An interdisciplinary conference dealing with issues of food security and uncertainty around the world was held at Oxford University on April 27, 2013. Although not directly related to my current research on rural livelihood vulnerability to water scarcity and climate change, the conference was an interesting collection of diverse approaches to understanding, quantifying, and addressing food insecurityContinue reading “Oxford Global Food Security Conference, 2013”

Nero\’s Guests: A Documentary on the Indian Agrarian Crisis

P. Sainath is the Rural Affairs Editor at The Hindu. After a decade of covering farmer suicides in water-scarce Maharashtra, he has repeatedly witnessed men and women die, trapped by the twin issues of the commodification of the countryside and inadequate policy frameworks. He is, justifiably, an angry man. Nero\’s Guests is a documentary that followsContinue reading “Nero\’s Guests: A Documentary on the Indian Agrarian Crisis”

Harvest season: The important of social capital to a farming household

I\’m tired. And it’s only 8:00 am. I trudge along the dirt track that leads me to the latest village I have been frequenting. After two bus rides that pulverised my morning meal quite successfully, and a quick zip on a motorcycle, during which I nearly flew, I must complete the last 2 km onContinue reading “Harvest season: The important of social capital to a farming household”