“Liberalizing
Food Grains Markets: Experiences, Impact and Lessons from South Asia”
Citation: Ganesh-Kumar,
A., D. Roy and A. Gulati (Eds.). 2010. Liberalizing
Food Grains Markets: Experiences, Impact and Lessons from South Asia.
IFPRI-Oxford University Press, New Delhi.
Abstract:
South Asia is
home to the largest concentration of poor and undernourished people in the
world, so food security—especially in basic staples such as wheat, rice, and
corn—continues to be a major concern. With both persistent and re-emerging food
price inflation reaching new heights in 2007–08 in global markets, South Asia
saw sharp inflation—between 50 and 100 percent—in basic staples in Bangladesh,
Pakistan, and Sri Lanka. These drastic price spikes drew comprehensive policy
responses from the governments of these countries, addressing both supply and
demand for foodgrains. India, the largest economy in
the region, reacted by banning exports of common rice, wheat, and corn, as well
as suspending these commodities from futures trading, to ensure comfortable
supplies in the domestic market at affordable prices. India also launched a
National Food Security Mission in 2007 and announced a special agricultural
package (Rashtriya Krishi
Vikas Yojana) of roughly US$6 billion to
rejuvenate its agriculture.
Today, South
Asian countries want a greater degree of self-sufficiency; reliance on trade to
achieve food security is being questioned by critics. Against this backdrop,
this book studies the nature of reforms in foodgrains
markets, both within-border and at-border reforms, their evolution, and their
effects on food economy in general and food security in particular. Through
country case studies the book provides analyses and research-based evidence on
decades of food policies in South Asia.