With India’s current recorded food grain production and the latest population, it is possible for the country to broadly meet the recommended dietary intake set by ICMR for every individual, but distribution challenges, food diversity, and nutrition quality gaps still pose risks to true food security for all Indians.
Food Production vs. National Requirements
- For the agricultural year 2024–25, India produced a record 3,539.59 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) of food grains, marking a 6.5% increase over the previous year and supported by strong output of rice (1,490.74 LMT), wheat (1,175.07 LMT), and maize.
- The current population as of October 2025 is estimated at approximately 1.47 billion (146.4 crore).
- ICMR guidelines recommend a daily intake per adult that includes around 250g of cereals, 400g of vegetables, 100g of fruit, 85g of pulses/eggs/flesh foods, 35g of nuts/seeds, and 27g of fat/oil.
Per Capita Calculation
- India’s per capita food grain availability exceeds the recommended 250g/day (about 91kg/year per person). With total food grain output at 3,539.59 LMT (353.959 million tonnes) and a population of 1.47 billion, it comes to about 240kg/year per person—nearly double the recommended cereal/millet amount.
- While cereals and millets are adequately produced, pulses, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and protein sources lag behind ICMR recommendations for universal, balanced nutrition.
- Food is produced in sufficient quantity, but accessibility and affordability, as well as dietary diversity, are unequal.
Food Security Challenges
- Despite adequate total production, segments of the population remain at risk of undernutrition, chronic energy deficiency, and lack of dietary diversity, particularly protein, micronutrients, and fresh produce.
- Distribution inefficiencies, post-harvest losses, market access issues, and purchasing power gaps mean not all Indians are assured of actually consuming the recommended balanced diet.
Monoculturing crops and food habits
Monoculturing of both crops and food habits has resulted in significant nutritional imbalance and increased health risks, with recent ICMR studies showing the Indian diet is excessively carbohydrate-rich and low in proteins and healthy fats—exacerbated by agricultural and culinary monoculture.
Monoculture in Crop Production
- Major crop monoculture—like rice in Punjab, Haryana and South India and wheat in north and central India—has led to poor crop and soil diversity, causing soil nutrient depletion, pest buildup, and increased reliance on external inputs.
- Monoculture reduces long-term yields, strips soils of organic matter and micronutrients, and limits the supply of diverse, nutrient-rich foods, since only a few crops get produced in bulk.
- This agricultural practice translates into a less varied food basket for consumers, narrowing the range of available nutrients.
- This is largely driven by the current procurement system by the Government under Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Public Distribution System (PDS)
Monoculture in Food Habits: ICMR Findings
- The ICMR-INDIAB study (2025) finds 62% of daily calories for the average Indian come from carbohydrates, largely rice, wheat, and added sugars—one of the highest global rates.
- Protein constitutes only 12% of calories (vs. recommended 15%), while healthy fat intake is low and saturated fats are often excessive in many regions.
- Even in regions where millets or whole wheat are consumed, the dominance of a single carbohydrate staple persists, keeping diabetes risk high due to elevated glycaemic index associated with polished and milled grains.
Health Impacts
- The monotony in both farming and eating habits directly contributes to widespread micronutrient deficiency, poor glycaemic control, and higher rates of obesity and diabetes—a risk increase of 15–30% for metabolic syndrome.
- Poor dietary diversity means lower intake of vegetables, fruits, pulses, nuts, and animal-source foods, failing to deliver essential micro- and macro-nutrients as recommended by ICMR.
- The national tendency toward refined, low-fiber, high-carb meals—often at the cost of protein and beneficial fats—worsens health outcomes and magnifies the consequences of monoculture at every stage from farm to table.
- Our food habits have not changed based on our changing life style. Given that more than 50% of the current population are into sedentary works having over 60% carbohydrates in food only results in pot bellies and fat asses as Indian body type is spindle shaped.
Promoting crop diversification, supporting balanced diets (including more pulses, vegetables, fruits, and quality fats), and actively reducing processed and refined staple consumption are critical for reversing monoculture’s adverse nutritional impacts, as emphasized by both the latest ICMR and agricultural studies
Monoculturing of crops and food habits in India is driven by public policies that incentivize rice-wheat production via fertilizer subsidies, free electricity for irrigation, government procurement (MSP), and distribution through the Public Distribution System (PDS), while more nutritious crops like pulses and oilseeds are under-supported, often left to volatile markets or imported.
Fertilizer Policy and Monoculture
- India’s fertilizer subsidy, which topped ₹1.7 lakh crore in 2025, overwhelmingly benefits rice and wheat farmers, encouraging continuous monocropping of these staples over pulses and other nutrient-dense crops.
- Fertiliser policy leads to excessive use of urea, DAP, and other chemicals in areas growing wheat and rice, depleting soil health and making monoculture more “economically viable” despite its long-term environmental and nutritional costs.
- Crop diversification, including pulse production, receives little policy support—if pulse subsidies were extended to major rice-wheat states, both import dependence and fertilizer consumption would drop.
Free Power for Irrigation
- Free electricity for irrigation further boosts rice and wheat monoculture, allowing farmers to pump groundwater without restraint for water-intensive crops, especially in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, and western Uttar Pradesh.
- This policy undermines efforts to promote less water-thirsty crops and contributes to serious groundwater decline in monoculture-driven regions.
Procurement and PDS Distribution
- MSP procurement focuses on rice and wheat—nearly half of all rice and around a quarter of wheat produced are procured and distributed mainly through PDS, reinforcing monoculture both in fields and on plates across India.
- Millets and pulses, while eligible for minimum support prices, attract limited state procurement, remaining largely market-driven or imported and excluded from most PDS rations.
- Karnataka, Odisha and select states have piloted inclusion of millets in PDS, yet pulses are still not a regular feature, limiting access for poor households to more balanced, protein-rich diets.
Imports and Market Exposure for Healthy Foods
- Pulses and edible oils—healthier and more diverse than rice/wheat—are significantly imported and exposed to price fluctuations, given their lack of robust policy support or procurement infrastructure.
- Policy incentives, market access, and procurement remain low for these crops, adversely impacting both farm diversity and family diets, as ICMR notes Indian food habits lean heavily toward carbohydrates, greatly exceeding recommended limits.
Declining Nutrient density
Soil degradation in India has led to marked declines in both crop nutrient density and human nutrition, as documented by major studies from NIN and ICAR.
Impacts on Crop Nutrient Density
- ICAR’s long-term research shows that high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat, although increasing production, have lost their nutritional value: zinc and iron contents have dropped by 33-30% and 27-19% respectively over five decades.
- Intensified fertilizer use, especially of nitrogen fertilizers, disrupted the balance of macronutrients in soil, resulting in declining nutrient uptake by crops, soil fatigue, and reduced grain quality.
- Soil organic carbon—critical for soil nutrient cycling—has dropped from historical levels near 1% to just 0.3% in intensively farmed regions, lowering both yield and food nutritional value.
The Link to Food and Human Nutrition
- NIN research highlights direct links between soil micronutrient deficiencies (zn, Fe, B, Mo) and increased risk of malnutrition among Indian populations, with 49% of Indian arable land deficient in zinc, 12% in iron, and significant deficits in boron and molybdenum.
- These deficiencies result in staple grains that lack vital micronutrients, causing widespread hidden hunger and undermining public health.
- ICAR’s studies warn that heavy metals (Pb, Mn, Cd, Ni) have accumulated in food crops in industrial zones, compounding health risks.
Declining Nutrient Uptake and Public Health Risks
- Soil health collapse reduces plants’ ability to absorb essential minerals, driven by overuse of chemical fertilizers, soil erosion, and lack of organic inputs.
- Indian populations increasingly consume calorie-rich, but micronutrient-poor staple foods, leading to chronic undernutrition and rising prevalence of diet-related diseases.
- Heavy fertilizer reliance also increases groundwater contamination, affecting both food safety and nutrient density.
Therefore, Soil-centric agricultural reforms, restoration of soil biodiversity, balanced nutrient application, and increased organic matter recycling are essential to reverse these critical food and nutrition security challenges.
Soil Health Degradation
- Indian soils suffer rapid degradation, with nutrient levels falling and fertilizer efficiency collapsing from 1:10 in the 1970s to just 1:2.7 today.
- Less than 5% of Indian soils have adequate nitrogen, and excessive nitrogen use has caused imbalances (NPK ratio skewed at 7.7:3.1:1 versus the preferred 4:2:1), nutrient fatigue, and declining yields.
- Vulnerable soils erode at a rate of 20 tonnes/hectare/year—far above the global average—making lands less resilient and hard to recover for productive farming. Erosion and salinization worsen in major agricultural states.
Water Resource Stress
- India is experiencing historic water scarcity, with per capita annual water availability dropping to 1,341 cubic meters in 2025, firmly in the water stress zone and trending toward even lower by 2050.
- Agriculture accounts for most water use, but future demand from industries and households will escalate competition, further challenging farm irrigation availability and reliability.
- Overexploitation and pollution have contaminated 70% of Indian groundwater, reducing its suitability for crops and communities.
Climate Change Effects
- By 2025, average temperatures in India may rise by up to 1.5°C, driving up heat stress during crop growth and reducing yields for staples like rice and wheat by up to 10%; wheat could witness yield drops of 20% in adverse years without adaptation.
- Climate extremes—heat waves, erratic monsoons, flooding, and drought—disrupt crop cycles, reduce both food quantity and nutrient content, and raise dependency on food imports for maize and pulses.
- Elevated CO2 levels also reduce protein, iron, and zinc concentrations in cereals and pulses, worsening nutrition security.
Projected Food Production Impact
- Most projections highlight lower yields, reduced food diversity, and increased instability, especially impacting small and marginal farmers with limited adaptive capacity.
- Widespread food insecurity and income volatility could arise, with risks of malnutrition becoming more severe as both quantity and quality of harvests decline under stress.
Food Losses and Waste
India experiences significant food loss and waste, amounting to roughly 74 million tonnes annually, which is about 22% of the country’s total food grain and horticultural production. This loss is valued at over ₹1.5 lakh crore annually, equivalent to around 3.7% of India’s agricultural GDP.
Breakdown of Food Loss and Waste
- Major losses occur during production and post-harvest stages, especially in cereals (around 12.5 million tonnes lost), oilseeds (2.11 million tonnes), pulses (1.37 million tonnes), and horticultural crops like fruits and vegetables (nearly 50 million tonnes lost annually).
- Causes include harvesting inefficiencies, mechanization gaps, pest and disease attacks, poor storage infrastructure (lack of cold chains, moisture-proof silos), and inadequate transport facilities.
- Household level waste also contributes significantly, with about 50 kg of food waste per capita annually, largely due to over-purchasing, poor meal planning, and cultural habits.
Resource Wastage Due to Food Loss
- This lost food is linked to wasted natural resources. Given the scale:
- Land: Approximately 23-30 million hectares of agricultural land is effectively wasted because it produces food that never gets consumed.
- Water: India’s food production relies heavily on irrigation and rainfall, so food lost post-harvest means billions of cubic meters of water are wasted annually, roughly estimated to be around 30-40% of India’s agricultural water use.
- Fertilizers: Nutrients applied in fertilizer to produce lost crops are also wasted, with estimates suggesting millions of tonnes of nitrogen and phosphorus effectively lost annually through food loss and waste cycles.
Additional Land, Water, and Fertilizer Needs
To compensate for this 74 million tonnes of lost food, India would need to use:
- Additional cropland potentially equivalent to 20-30 million hectares (assuming average yields),
- Billions more cubic meters of water (proportional to current irrigation water usage for crops),
- Several million tonnes of fertilizer inputs wasted on crops lost before consumption.
This inefficiency worsens environmental sustainability challenges and heightens pressure to expand agriculture into more fragile ecosystems
Policy Reform Needs
India’s monoculture patterns require urgent reform in procurement, subsidies, MSP, and Kharif crop strategy—such changes would foster crop diversity, improve soil/crop health, and facilitate broader access to nutritious foods within government programs
India’s agricultural sustainability hinges on urgent transitions to from yield centric, input centric to soil-centric, water-efficient, and climate-adaptive practices, without which national food production and food security will decline steadily under compounding environmental pressures
India’s massive post-harvest and food waste problem not only undermines food security but imposes heavy demands on land, water, and soil fertility. Tackling these losses through improved harvesting methods, infrastructure, cold chains, and consumer awareness, building circular economy models, local production-consumption models could reduce resource wastage significantly and improve food system efficiency
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