CORONAVIRUS EXACERBATES INDIA’S HUNGER PROBLEM

Corona-virus has been called an equalizer because it has affected both The rich and poor. But when it comes to the hunger crisis the poor people have suffered more. India has experienced a hunger crisis before but it was created by factors like extreme weather, economic problems, wars, or political instability and not by a pandemic.COVID-19 has stalled the efforts of the UN Developmental goals to achieve zero hunger by 2030.
People in the country who were already living hand to mouth are facing worse conditions during the pandemic. There is mass unemployment and due to that food and nutrition security is becoming worse.
Despite being one of the largest producers of food, India has not been able to reach people in rural and remote areas. India has a labor-intensive food distribution and retailing. The pandemic has disrupted local, regional, and national food chains. The lockdown measures have resulted in a severe labor shortage and delayed harvests. Farmers growing crops at a small scale have to sell their crops at a loss just because they need money to survive. Export has been affected and the import of products has also stopped due to the closure of roads and air transportation. The locust invasion made matters worse for the cultivation of rice. There has been climate change and environmental degradation also.

Farmers are stranded and unable to travel to their villages where they would normally be employed at that time. Due to logistical constraints, the planting, harvesting, and transportation of crops were not done on time.COVID-19 pandemic migration is considered to be the largest since independence. The farmers of the country were stuck between working and catching the virus or remaining at home and seeing their scanty food stocks dwindle. Limited employment opportunities during the pandemic have pushed the already poor communities to the edge. The malnutrition rate and not being able to afford healthy diets would lead to long term consequences. Children who experience malnutrition early in life can damage them both physically and mentally. In adulthood, they might experience stunted growth.
The people of India are facing an immediate threat from hunger than the virus. The situation in India has been a wake-up call to reconfigure food systems that support millions of lives. An efficient food system needs to be developed that minimizes the caloric and nutrient gap for the poor. There should be a system that ensures that nobody goes hungry because the underprivileged people in India are being affected worse than ever. Experts are saying that stocked food items must now be used to provide relief to millions of Indian households