Wednesday, December 23, 2020

PUBLICATION OF PAPER ON "SDG 2: FOOD SECURITY FOR ALL – OPPORTUNITIES FOR CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANIZATIONS"

 Dear All

Continued the journey of publication and recently (October - December 2020) published the above paper in MAHILA PRATISHTHA, an International Multidisciplinary Journal and brief details include: 

..................................................................

ABSTRACT

Poor availability, accessibility, and affordability for agriculture inputs and food grains affect food security both at the stage of production as well as distribution which finally lowers larger population’s health, education, development, and other vulnerabilities with poor quality of life.  Food is the basic and critical need of everyone and India is the Agriculture based Country where around 70% of the rural population depend on agriculture. The processes of Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization, the model of development has got shifted to Business Oriented Development where it aims for business or profit. Mismatch in inputs supports, crop management, transfer of technologies, pattern of harvesting, transportation, storage, and other processes have resulted for lower production with productivity with low returns. The farmers and other people connected with agriculture are facing several challenges and are unable to continue agriculture as it has become uneconomic. The mission of food security gets affected both at production and its distribution. There exist several leakages of food grains and wastage at all levels. Water is another precious natural resource which is well connected with the production of food grains and further with poverty and development. India has accepted Sustainable Development Goals and further developed its future vision as Modern India with several missions where Zero Hungry, Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture as Goal 2 has gained priority. In addition to the efforts made by Government to achieve the targets and indicators of Goal 2 as a partner, Civil Society Organizations do have several opportunities at all the stages of Food Security. The initiatives as opportunities are need based and simple and are expected to result for significant impact with better sustainability and quality.                                 

Key Words: Water, Food, Farmers, Hungry, Health, Education, Development, Production, Productivity, Marketing, Sustainability, Quality of Life.    

Statement of the Problem

Poor availability, accessibility, and affordability for agriculture inputs and food grains affect food security both at the stage of production as well as distribution which finally lowers larger population’s health, education, development, and other vulnerabilities with poor quality of life.  

Initiatives

The author is well connected (as a farmer, explorer, faculty, guide, trainer, mentor, counselor, documenter, facilitator, mobilizer, researcher, etc.) with the domains of Water, Health, Education, Agriculture, Nutrition, and other associated as part of Development covering different terrains and parts of the Nation and some of the initiatives taken up include:

Ø  Awareness cum Advocacy on needs of People and Communities in general and specifically connected with Water Security, Food Security, and Sustainable Agriculture.

Ø  Use of Geotools (Geological, Geophysical, Hydrological, Geochemical, Drilling, and other supporting tools) supported for mapping, assessment, identification, monitoring, evaluation, protection, and management of water resources (both surface water and subsurface / groundwater).

Ø  Training and Workshops (for various stakeholders) on the need of transforming technologies from Lab to Land with better utility; community preparedness to face hazards & disasters; and other associated aspects of community development.

Ø  Teaching connected with Water, Health, Sanitation (WASH), Education, Land & Soil Management, Resettlement & Rehabilitation, Pollution & Environment, Project Management, and other aspects of Community Development.

Ø  Research activity in the area of Water, Sanitation (WASH), Education, Food & Nutrition, Resettlement & Rehabilitation, Social Marketing, and Product Making.   

Ø  Supporting Conferences and Seminars with presentations connected with Water, Nutrition, Education, Land & Soil, Agriculture, and other aspects of Community Development.

Ø  Use of E Forums for better connectivity, reach, sharing, dissemination, facilitation, care, and other needed services and supports.

Ø  Publication of papers (in National and International Journals, Seminar Volumes & Edited books) on subjects like Water, Sanitation (WASH), Food & Nutrition, Farmers, Community Development, Social Marketing, Land & Soil, Hazards & Disasters, Resettlement & Rehabilitation, Pollution & Environmental Management, and other aspects of Development of People & Communities.

Ø  Mentoring CSOs working on Water, Health, Sanitation (WASH), Education, Agriculture, Food & Nutrition, Product Making, Land & Soil, Pollution & Environment, Consumer Protection, etc., with priority for rural areas.

Ø  Mobilization of Resources for CSOs with better connectivity of Government, Private, Corporate, Fudging Agencies (both National and International), and other Agencies.              


The initiatives taken up are need based and resulted for significant impact in achieving the desired targets with better participation, accountability, responsibility, and transparency (PART) making services and supports available, accessible and affordable (3As) for All for better living in an inclusive community with better sustainability and quality of life (QOL).


Recommendations

It is observed that Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security has gained priority for the development of People and Nation and the recommendations made include:

ü  Better Awareness with IEC Martials on Sustainable Development Goals to various Stakeholders.

ü  Trainings, Workshops, Conferences, and Seminars on Sustainable Development Goals with priority for Farmers, and other concerned groups of Agriculture and Water Departments,

ü  Support Schools, Colleges, and Universities for better sharing and dissemination with the use of technologies.

ü  Support National Institutes, and other Research Centers connected with Agriculture and Food Processing & Product Making for effective transfer of technologies from Lab to Land with better management.

ü  Develop Farm Clubs to support inputs, crop management, production, processing, product making, marketing, and disposal with better quality and sustainability.

ü  Linkup Farmers & Community with Self Help Groups for Product Making and Marketing with better returns.

ü  Support Civil Society Organizations to work with Government and Private (including Corporate) on Partnership basis for better Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture.      

.............................................

Looking forward

With tahnks     

No comments:

Post a Comment