Global Forum on Food Security and Nutrition (FSN Forum)

Re: What are the barriers and opportunities for scientists and other knowledge holders to contribute to informing policy for more efficient, inclusive, resilient and sustainable agrifood systems?

Suggestion included:

  1. More interactions between scientists and policy makers (preferably with technological back ground (technocrats) for gauzing the needs precisely and acccurately).
  2. Region specific developments based on local needs.
  3. Quick Transfer of technologies and field assessments.
  4. Preference to be given in development of  rural  technologies sans depending on electric and fossil fuels for operation so as to save environment on long term basis and also to generate rural employment and for constructive engagement of human resources. 
  5. This year is  IYM-2023 (International Year of Millets): All programs need to be in “Blitzkrieg Mode”, then only we can get substantial outcome.
  6. Introduction of More Producer Centric Policies: Producer (farmer/aquaculturists/fishers) centric policies need to be enhanced. World over the marginal land owners are more in number and are extremely vulnerable to vagaries of nature (extremities of climate change that included cyclones, floods, droughts etc.), socio-economic conditions, conflicts as they are occurring in different parts of the world and wars of trade. These are known facts. Major hindrance here is the overall development in terms of enhanced levels of food production will be marginal. This can be a major problem to meet food demands in coming years of possible increase of population to 10 billion by 2050. In my observation cooperative farming paid good dividends among marginal farmers. This needs to be promted.
  7. Food and Nutritional security demands need to be met by all means. Especially of hinterland residents of all under developed nations is need of the hour for the reason they are going play a major role in service sectors with continuously increasing aged population in developed countries.

Background to the issue

I provide here under a case study of  "HUDHUD a Very Severe Cyclonic Storm (VSCS) that hit the east coast at Vishakhapatnam,Andhra Pradesh State, India  on 12th  Oct, 2014.  Despite the fact that the cyclone  was not the most severe cyclone that hit the Indian coast, however, it had the most devastating impact  during the landfall. I was in the city next to coast (few hundred meters away).

In post cyclone  conditions 1. Emergency meetings were held.2. Loss assessments were made 3. Reports were published. 

  A paper was published by me on how to mitigate measures of cyclone that included, short, mid and long term kind  (Reference: Prasad, MM (2014). HUDHUD, A case study. In the background of Tropical cyclones (TC) in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and their impact on fisheries. Fishing Chimes 34(7):16-20)

One of the simplest solutions I suggested was to raise casuarina plantation of of 150 meters width all along the coast. We can not stop cyclones but we can predict  the landfall and can reduce the tidal surge  if we have sufficient plantations.

The implementation did not take place and  possible reasons include:

  1. Extreme Cyclone occurrenace is not regular phenomena.
  2. Lack for sufficient funds and allocations therein.
  3. Different priorities.
  4. Change in policy makers and
  5. Changes in policies it self for various reasons  such as COVID-19 etc. 

At the same time, it need to stressed that after Hud Hud significant developments took place from all walks of life that included important contributions policy makers and implementation  to such an extent  that Viskhapatnam reverted back to full fledged commercial and other activities in few months time.