Reframing Food Regimes in the Indian Context

Abstract

Agriculture is the primary sector, with more than fifty per cent of the population still depending on the it for their main income in India. As a result, any change in the functioning of the system will lead to a drastic change in the country. Agriculture is not only the income source for half of the Indian population, it is also the source to ensure food security to all its population.

This puts agriculture at a very prominent position right in the midst of several actors trying to gain a share in the cake. From the period of Green Revolution, Indian agriculture has transitioned a lot and currently stands at cross roads.

This research tries to analyze the changes occurring in the system through the usage of analytical tool called the "Food Regime Analysis". It is a methodology through which the historical changes in agriculture at a transnational level have been mapped by theorists. Using this tool, this research studies three states i.e., Punjab, Madhya Pradesh and Kerala to understand the food regime changes over the years. Currently, the contemporary food regime is said to be the “neoliberal food regime”. This research tries to explore this regime through the analysis of two dimensions i.e., “market regulation” and “social security”.

For the analysis of these dimensions, policies and legislation related to the subject of study were collected and analyzed through several variables. The findings from the analysis pointed towards an inverse relationship between a neoliberal food regime and the social protection objectives of the state. Among the three states, there has been rapid adoption of neoliberal policies by Madhya Pradesh and the other two states feature somewhere in between. The study concludes with policy recommendation for some of the dimensions which were explored.