GJ-IIMA-FOOD SECURITY

IIMA joins multi-nation consortium to work on food security
    Ahmedabad, Sep 8 (PTI) The Indian Institute of
Management Ahmedabad (IIMA) has joined a multi-nation body to
undertake research on how to meet the food demand targets by
2050 and have sustainable land use, an official said.
    As part of the Food, Agriculture, Bio-diversity, Land
and Energy (FABLE) consortium, comprising 18 countries
including India and USA, the aim is to develop integrated
policies for participant nations to meet the food demand
targets in a sustainable way, he said.
    The consortium has in its first report expressed
confidence that sustainable land use and food security are
possible and suggested pathways to achieve it, Prof Ranjan
Kumar Ghosh of the IIMA's Centre for Management in Agriculture
told PTI.
    "Considering the fact that present land use and food
systems are unsustainable, the International Institute for
Applied System Analysis, Sustainable Development Solutions
Network and The Food and Land Use Coalition formed the FABLE
consortium around 18 months back," he said.
    The IIMA was invited to represent India, he said,
adding the consortium includes USA, countries of the European
Union and major G-20 nations.
    The expansion of agriculture to meet the food demand
causes severe stress on land, water, forests and other natural
resources, the official pointed out.
    "Given the high population growth projected for India
by 2050 and the ever increasing food demand, can we produce
enough to feed the population and yet secure our land and
other natural resources for future generations?" he wondered.
    In this context, Prof Ghosh and IIMA's research fellow
Chandan Kumar Jha are working with teams from other countries
as part of the FABLE consortium to develop core modelling
skills required to answer a series of questions pertaining to
sustainability of food and land use systems across the world.
    "Certain decisions can have cross-sectoral and even
cross-country effects," Jha said, noting that large import of
palm oil in India has led to deforestation in Indonesia.
    The government's policy to promote bio-fuel production
through crop residues can only be fulfilled through increased
land availability, that in turn comes from deforestation or
pasture land reduction, Ghosh said.
    "Recent fires in Amazon forests raised concerns across
the world. It cannot be ruled out that deforestation is taking
place to boost agriculture production in Brazil," he said.
    The increased dependence on animal-based protein could
lead to livestock expansion, which may lead to severe effects
on land use changes, he opined.
    Ghosh said the findings of the first report of FABLE
consortium are based on three pillars - efficient and
resilient agricultural systems, restoration of biodiversity
and food security, and healthy diets.
    The pathways suggested in the report include investing
in technology for large gains in agriculture productivity,
shifts in diets towards less meat consumption, slow down in
population growth and reduced food loss.
    "In India, we currently lack an integrated policy
framework that can inform decisions-makers about such cross-
cutting dynamics. This research programme aims to develop a
platform which can provide scientific projections of
individual, collective as well as policy actions," Ghosh said.
    "The report, however, is a work in progress," he said,
indicating that more findings will come out which the
countries can present to their respective leaderships. PTI PD
GK GK

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from a PTI feed.)