Food security and Policy of Government

Food Security and Policy of Government

One of the key components of development and the reduction of poverty is "food security," which has been the objective of numerous international and national public organizations. Food security refers to the idea that everyone has access to enough wholesome food to stay healthy and active. We require a functional food system so that everyone has access to enough healthy food.

Food security is defined as "everyone, at all times, having physical and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritional food that meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life." This statement was made at the 1996 World Food Summit.

Worldwide Organization for Health "Food security" is defined as the following: "All people at all times have physical and economic access to enough food for an active, healthy life; food production and distribution methods are sustainable and respectful of the earth's natural processes; the consumption and production of food are both governed by social values that are just and equitable as well as moral and ethical; the ability to acquire food is ensured; the food itself is nutritionally adequate a

Community food security is also described as existing "when all citizens acquire a safe, personally acceptable, nutritional diet through a susta system that maximizes healthy options, community self-reliance, and equal access for everyone." Association for Public Health in British Columbia (PHABC)

Dimensions of Food Security

The framework of food and nutrition security is made up of four components: availability, access, usage and utilization, and stability. The graph below shows the characteristics representing the flow of food from availability and access to usage and utilization as well as a sustainability factor.

• Availability
  • The term "availability" refers to food's actual physical presence. A mix of domestic food production, commercial food imports and exports, food aid, and domestic food stocks determines the availability of food on a national scale. On a home level, food may be self-produced or purchased from local markets. Water resources are needed to grow the crops in order to create food. Pressure on already-existing natural resources, such as land and water, is on the rise as a result of population growth and climate change. The effects of climate change frequently result in losses of economic livelihoods due to land degradation, a lack of irrigation water, reduced soil moisture, and other factors. This could pose a threat to long-term food security along with an increase in disputes over the use of water resources (cultivation of crops for energetic use vs. cultivation of crops for nutritional use, use by other sectors like drinking water, industry, and environment).
• Access
  • Access is assured when all homes have enough money to buy food in quantities, of acceptable quality, and in a variety suitable for a balanced diet. This primarily depends on the quantity of resources available to the household and the cost. In addition, the physical, social, and policy environments all play a role in accessibility. Affected households' access to food may be seriously threatened by drastic changes in these dimensions, which could seriously disrupt production plans. an illustration.
• Use and Utilization
  • Use, which is influenced by knowledge and habits, describes the socioeconomic aspects of household food and nutrition security. Assuming that there is access to and availability of nutritious food, the household must decide what to buy, how to prepare it, how to consume it, and how to distribute it among the members of the household.
• Stability
  • Stability is the term used to characterize the temporal aspect of food and nutrition security, or the time period that is taken into account. When home supply is stable over the long term and throughout the year, there is stability. That includes financial resources, food, and income. Additionally, it's crucial to reduce external risks like natural disasters, price shocks and climatic volatility, wars, or epidemics through initiatives and implementations that boost household resilience. These measures include insurances, such as those against crop failure and drought, as well as environmental protection and the wise use of natural resources like water, land, and soil.

Policy of Government in Food Security

• Constitutional Provision
  • Every resident of Nepal has the right to "food sovereignty" as a fundamental human right, according to the country's interim constitution.
  • There was no attempt to put the constitutional provision into action.
• Legislative Framework
  • Accessibility to food.
  • The factors of food security and the FAO's definition of food security have been taken into consideration during the analysis.
  • Food is available.
  • Utilization.
  • Stability.
• Food Availability
  • No laws governing food aid.
  • The Land Act of 1964 mandates the deposit of food crops (the provision is no longer enforced). However, the Act is not specific on how to use food that has been deposited.
  • The regulatory method in Nepal's food availability legislation distinguishes it.
  • The Consumer Protection Act of 1997, the Competition Act of 2007, the Black Marketing Act of 1975, and the Essential Commodities Act of 1961 have all implemented negative measures to stop collusion, price fixing, and diverting food supplies from areas of the country where there is a food shortage, among other things.
  • Additionally, the government is able to control and regulate food prices under the aforementioned legislation.
• Food Accessibility
  • The Land Act of 1964 has provisions on land use and redistribution, and comparable provisions are found in the National Code Chapter on Land Use and the Water Resources Act of 1992, which both deal with the sharing or collective use of resources.
  • The Land Act of 1964 provides for a food deposit or stock provision. [To ensure food security, the government of Nepal has donated 19,675 metric tons throughout the past fiscal year]
  • Incentives and protections for food access:
  • The Land Act offers agriculturally linked protections for farmers combined with substantial incentives for cooperative farming in order to guarantee farmers' access to resources and food. order
  • The National Code Chapter on Land Use supports agriculture by granting exemptions for converting sandy or arid land into low-lying paddy fields.
  • The Industrial Enterprises Act of 1992 offers a number of incentives, such as tax exemptions, to encourage the establishment of a few (agro) industries in Nepal's remote regions.
  • The Forest Act of 1993 authorizes a variety of economic activities by members of community forests in such forests while also granting access to community forests and their products.
• Utilization
  • Consumer's Right
    • The Consumer Protection Act and Black Marketing Act provide for the consumer's right to high-quality goods, including accurate information about price, quality, nature, and other factors, as well as proper labeling.
  • Quality Control and Standardization of Food
    • The Animal Slaughterhouse Act, the Local Self Governance Act, and the Seed Act
• Stability
  • Management of Resources
    • The Local Self Governance Act of 1999, the Essential Commodities Act, and the Land Act of 1964.
  • Regulation of Market
    • The Consumer Protection Act, the Black Marketing Act, the Essential Commodities Act, and the Competition Act of 2007.