No of hungry in India rose by 65 mlln between 1990-2005

London (PTI) - The number of hungry people in
India has increased by 65 million -- more than the population
of France -- because economic development excluded the rural
poor, and welfare programmes failed to reach them, according
to charity organisation Oxfam.
In a report titled 'Growing a better future', it
said on Tuesday that India's economy doubled in size from 1990
to 2005, but the number of hungry in the country had risen by
65 million during the period.
Oxfam also warned that average prices of staple
crops will more than double in 20 years if urgent action is
not taken to change the international food system, which is
already failing to feed nearly a billion people a day.
Oxfam research forecasts that average international
prices of key staples, such as maize, will increase by between
120 and 180 per cent by 2030, with up to half of this increase
due to climate change.
The world's poorest people, who spend up to 80
per cent of their income on food, will be hit hardest.
An Oxfam release says that decades of steady
progress in the fight against hunger is now being allegedly
reversed as demand outpaces food production.
Depleting natural resources, a scramble for fertile
land and water, and the gathering pace of climate change is
already making the situation worse, it adds.
Oxfam warns that by 2050 demand for food will rise
by 70 per cent yet our capacity to increase production is
declining.
The average growth rate in agricultural yields has
almost halved since 1990 and is set to decline to a fraction
of one per cent in the next decade.
Oxfam Chief Executive Barbara Stocking said, "We are
sleepwalking towards an avoidable age of crisis. One in seven
people on the planet go hungry every day despite the fact that
the world is capable of feeding everyone.
"The food system must be overhauled if we are to
overcome the increasingly pressing challenges of climate
change, spiralling food prices and the scarcity of land, water
and energy. We must consign hunger to history."
Archbishop Desmond Tutu said, "Many governments and
companies will be resistant to change through habit, ideology
or the pursuit of profit. It is up to us - you and me - to
persuade them by choosing food that's produced fairly and
sustainably, by cutting our carbon footprints and by joining
with Oxfam and others to demand change."
Former President Lula of Brazil said: "We can’t
wait anymore. Political leaders and global companies must act
now to ensure that all people can put food on their table.
There are no excuses. We have the capacity to feed everyone on
the planet now and in the future.
"If the political will is there, no one will be denied
their fundamental human right to be free from hunger."