India has exported 18 lakh tonnes of wheat to a dozen countries including Bangladesh and Afghanistan The country banned the export of grains According to Food Secretary Sudhanshu Pandey on May 13.
He said that against the commitment of 50,000 tonnes, about 33,000 tonnes of wheat has been supplied to Afghanistan as humanitarian aid.
Addressing a ministerial conference on ‘United for Global Food Security’ held in Berlin, Germany on June 24, Mr. Pandey said that India has always kept the needs of the world in mind, even with its population of 1.38 Even while fulfilling the difficult obligations of feeding Arab people, an official statement said.
The Secretary said, ‘It is important to mention here that the recent decision of the Government of India’ [GoI] Bringing in regulation on export of wheat was essentially taken to protect domestic availability as well as availability of vulnerable countries whose supply cannot be ensured by market forces. ,
He said India has continued its commitment to meet the real needs of neighboring countries and food-deficit countries through a government-to-government mechanism and to meet the supply commitments already made.
“Following regulation till June 22 in this financial year, 1.8 million tonnes of wheat has been shipped to countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Israel, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, almost four times last year. , South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Switzerland, Thailand, UAE, Vietnam and Yemen,” he said.
The government had on May 13 suspended the export of wheat with immediate effect. It shifted the export of all varieties of wheat, including high protein durum, from “free” to “prohibited” category. The purpose of this decision was to control the rising prices of wheat in the domestic market.
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He said that India had exported a record 7 million tonnes of wheat during the 2021-22 financial year, whereas normally, the country exports around 2 million tonnes, which is about 1% of the global wheat trade.
Stating that India is deeply conscious of its responsibilities towards the most vulnerable in different parts of the world, Mr Pandey said that the country has contributed through the supply of vaccines as well as food consignments during and after the pandemic. Continuing to provide humanitarian aid.
For example, the country has sent several shipments of humanitarian aid to the people of Afghanistan, including 33,000 tonnes of wheat out of a total commitment of 50,000 tonnes made by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and continues to do so in the wake of the devastation caused by it. The earthquake a few days ago, he said.
During the pandemic, India has provided food aid in the form of wheat, rice, pulses and pulses to many countries across the world including Afghanistan, Comoros, Djibouti, Eritrea, Lebanon, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Myanmar, Sierra Leone, Sudan . , South Sudan, Syria, Zambia, Zimbabwe and others, to strengthen their food security, he said.
During the COVID pandemic, India has developed what can be described as the world’s largest food support system covering around 810 million people.
“Even today, more than two years after we started, we still continue to provide food assistance to these vulnerable people who are on par with the populations of Europe and the United States. To ensure correct targeting, The entire system was run on a huge technology platform, which was biometrically authenticated,” he said.
Stating that India acknowledged the efforts made by the UN Secretary General to enhance global food security, the Secretary said that the country also welcomed the recommendation of the Global Crisis Response Group Task Team, which includes the World Health Organization for Humanitarian Assistance. The purchase of food was exempted by the Food Program. Food export ban with immediate effect
“We have also highlighted that it is important that equitable exemptions are provided to all Member States and relevant stakeholders who are contributing to this global humanitarian effort,” he said.
Mr Pandey further said that the COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected global food security, which is further aggravated by recent geopolitical developments and the impact of climate change.
He also shared that the world is now facing rising cost of food, fertilizer and fuel. The Global South, the developing and least developed countries, and the world’s most vulnerable, has been particularly disproportionately affected.
He said, “Recent developments have highlighted the urgent need to develop resilient and seamless food supply chains, to ensure both food security and nutritional security, in the face of climate change-induced natural disasters, global pandemics and global warming. In times of conflict,” he said.
He further said that India is making a genuine effort to adopt a holistic approach to agriculture and make it more sustainable, which includes effective water and soil management and improvement in crop diversity and production practices.
Digital technology is now playing a vital role in empowering the farmers of India through digitization of crop evaluation and land records. Post-harvest infrastructure has also been strengthened, including the creation of an Agricultural Infrastructure Fund in recent years as well as the establishment of a cold chain storage capacity of 35 million tonnes and a program of 12 million tonnes for silo construction . ,
He added that sustainable food processing technologies are being adopted to reduce the overall carbon footprint, including waste utilization, resource recovery and adoption of circular economy in the food industry.