Spatial Patterns of Food Security in Haryana: A District-level Analysis

Abstract

In today's era the issue of food security is gaining much more attention as food
is one of the three basic requirements of man and is still a serious issue for
many poor people. Ensuring food security is a big challenge due to increase in
population, climate change etc. especially in developing Asian countries like
India. The present study is significant in a way that it examines the variations
in spatial patterns of food security at district level in one of the food bowl
states of India namely Haryana. This study also tries to identify the factors
behind the spatial variations in food security. Despite being self-sufficient in
foodgrains production, the state has vast regional contrasts in terms of land
productivity, farm labour and standard of living. At present, food grains
production is almost stagnant in the state and natural resources are also
experiencing degradation due to their extensive use. For this study, secondary
data have been collected from various state government offices. Further food
availability, food accessibility and food utilization indices have been
calculated by using different indicators. The results of the study reveal that the
districts situated in central and north-west part of the state having better
agricultural infrastructure are more food secure than the districts situated in
southern and northern parts of the state which have the disadvantageous the
state which have sandy soil, poor irrigation facilities and undulating
topography.