Open AccessG. Etienne. Food and Poverty: India's Halfwon Battle. New Delhi: Sage Publications India Pvt. Ltd., 1988. 272 pp.Rupees (Wdian) 175.00 (Hardbound Edition).
Author(s) -
Khwaja Sarmad
Publication year - 1989
Publication title -
pakistan development review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.154
H-Index - 26
ISSN - 0030-9729
DOI - 10.30541/v28i1pp.65-66
Subject(s) - poverty , population , per capita , agriculture , agricultural economics , urbanization , population growth , geography , green revolution , distribution (mathematics) , economics , socioeconomics , development economics , economic growth , demography , mathematics , sociology , mathematical analysis , archaeology
A very large segment of the population in India has not beenaffected by the process of post-independence economic development.According to one estimate, in 1983, around 300 million people, or 40percent of the total population, were living below the poverty line,while more than 100 million people were living in severe destituteconditions. Infant mortality, which is an important indicator ofundernourishment, is more than three times the rate in Sri Lanka andChina. This is not a satisfactory state of affairs but it represents asignificant improvement over time. While population has increased from355 million in 1949-50 to 775 million in 1985-86, foodgrain output hasalmost tripled to 151 million tonnes during the same period. Most of theother agricultural crops have followed a similar pattern of growth,implying an increase in the per capita availability ofdomestically-produced agricultural products over time. The main sourceof agricultural growth since the Sixties has been the increasing use ofmodern inputs, which have contributed to higher yields and tomulti-cropping patterns. However, while the green revolution diminishedpoverty, it adversely affected the distribution of land, leading to theconcentration of resources in fertile areas and benefiting more thericher farmers. Furthermore, the growth of population combined with slowurbanization has increased the population pressure on land. The land-manratio has been declining over time and the increase in employmentopportunities outside agriculture, both in urban and rural areas, whichis vital for reducing poverty, has not been significant enough to alterthe employment pattern. This suggests that it would be impossible towipe out poverty in the foreseeable future by altering prices or raisingproduction alone, despite evidence that the price index and theproduction of agricultural products have a direct influence onpoverty.