The Chief Executive of National Cooperative Union of India Dr Dinesh mooted the idea of Food Sovereignty in the General Assembly of World Food Organisation held in the last week of March in Buenos Ares, Argentina.
Food security is past and Food sovereignty is in, Dr Dinesh informed Indian Cooperative soon after the presentation. Detailing the road map to achieve this ambitious goal Dr Dinesh said that 40 percent grain produced by our farmers do not reach to beneficiaries.
The population of world would be 9 billion by 2050 and the demand for food cannot be met unless we expand the limit of arable lands by 70 percent, a gigantic task, he added. Only option left for us is increasing productivity per acre of land.
This is also not easy for developed countries as with the present level of technological advancement, not more than 10-15 percent increase is possible. However, developing countries like India hold great promise as an increase to the tune of 60 percent is possible with the help of latest technology, an animated Dr Dinesh told Indian Cooperative.
Stressing the fact that food cannot be treated as a commodity such as jewelry or textile he expounded that the food is connected to the survival of human race and one has natural right over it. I propounded the idea of Food Sovereignty only in this context. Governments should make major policy changes to ensure this, said Dr Dinesh.
The general assembly had eminent participants from across the world and the key note address was given by H.E. Kenneth Quinn who is from USA and reportedly a member of Noble Prize Committee.
