Panacea for food inflation & big push to farmer's income

2013 was a landmark year for Indian agriculture.

- Prof Asit Ranjan Mohanty and Swastik Routray

The National Food Security Act (NFSA) was enforced, and the National Centre for Cold-chain Development (NCCD) was established. This was done considering that food pricing is the basic fabric of food security. So, when a lousy potato harvest hit Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal in the second quarter of FY 2024-25, the cardinal vein of Odisha's food security lay exposed. The result: Retail inflation was the highest in Odisha at 7.05 per cent in March 2024 compared to 4.85 pc in the country. The rise in retail inflation in Odisha is mainly attributed to inflation rate of vegetables at 28.34 pc, followed by pulses and products at 17.71 pc, spices at 11.4 pc, eggs at 10.33 pc and food and beverages at 7.68 pc. While experts unanimously pointed at the rocketing costs of buying from neighbouring states, putting food on the plate became very painful for people experiencing poverty.