MEASURING FOOD SECURITY THROUGH QUALITATIVE INDICATOR: A CHALLENGE BEFORE RURAL MANAGEMENT: A CASE STUDY

The ongoing concern for Ecology, Climate change, Gender and Minorities issues, International conflicts have a nodal point in the name of Food security or let us say Food insecurity. Is our nation ready to measure itself in terms of food security or still we are gauging ourselves in terms of food insecurity? The pressure on the developing nations by World Bank for evolving a method of Good Governance gave birth to the Millennium development goals 2000. Eradication of extreme poverty and hunger were the first priority of United Nations MDGs. This gave rise to question the formulation, implementation and evaluation of Food security as a developmental tool. The paradox is that everybody understands the problem deeply but has no sustainable solution to solve it and if at all they have, they are dependent on the other significant contributors to food security. It is worth mentioning that food security can only be ensured when all the forces are working in cohesion with each other and not just on one agenda. It has to be wholesome and an honest way of finding limitations, overcoming it with innovative thinking and a transparent system wherein the last person must also be involved. The production, distribution and utilization are the three pillars of food security. If anyone of these is missing, food security cannot be ensured. The two large food distribution schemes owned by the government of India are the targeted public distribution system (TPDS) and the mid-day meal scheme (approximately 120 million children are signed up).It is the mismanagement of storage facilities and poor logistics that has created distrust in both the operations which are actually extensive and good and can always be improved through many ways, provided the state acts accordingly. It is the mockery of the whole system that despite of having lot of research in the productivity area nothing much is there to ensure food security to the poor and destitute. This paper has cases and examples from the targeted area and gives us real location specific indicators and its findings are a humble attempt to at least put forth a set of ideas for the development of the marginalized society in some way or sensitize the policy makers so that many other such societies can follow the same model of upliftment.