Assessment of variation in food security levels: A case study of Dandakarnya Region in Chhattisgarh State

Himanshi Gole¹, Dr. Tike Singh²

^1,2S.o.S. in Geography, Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University, Raipur

Abstract

Since the advent of the Green Revolution, India has achieved self-sufficiency in food grain production and improved agricultural productivity. However, the country now faces significant internal challenges related to food security. In this context, the objective of the present paper is to conduct a geographical assessment of the current food security situation in Dandakaranya region. The study begins by calculating the consumption units for each district. In the next step, food availability is estimated in monetary terms. Finally, the per-capita, per-hectare net food availability also expressed in monetary value is computed. Based on these values, the state is divided into different food security zones. Using the Quartile method, four categories are identified: secure, moderately secure, insecure, and very insecure zones.

Key Words-Consumption unit, Food Grain Production, Monetary value, Food

security/Insecurity.

Introduction

Food security constitutes a vital component of human well-being at both household and national levels. The term is generally understood in two ways: first, as the ability of a typical low-income household to obtain adequate food throughout the year through farming, wage labor, government assistance, or other means; and second, as the ability of a low-income nation to meet the nutritional requirements of its population through domestic production, imports, or food reserves. Thus, food security encompasses not only the availability of food but also the capacity to access it through various entitlements.

Food security has increasingly emerged as a critical global issue. The concept itself is highly complex, multidimensional, and multifaceted. In developing nations, it continues to be closely linked with domestic agricultural production (FAO, 2008; Bruinsma, 2009). Countries with substantial food-insecure populations are frequently those whose agricultural systems remain highly susceptible to climatic variability, particularly across Northern Africa as well as South and Southeast Asia. Empirical evidence from nations that have successfully mitigated hunger and malnutrition demonstrates that economic growth driven by agriculture—especially within the smallholder sector—is at least twice as effective in alleviating poverty compared to growth originating from non-agricultural sectors. Consequently, given the strong interdependence between local production and food security, strategies in food-insecure regions have increasingly emphasized investment in agriculture, both to enhance food availability and to strengthen the resilience of food production systems.

Study Area

Bastar division (Dandakaranya Region) is situated in the southern part of Chhattisgarh state. The study area is extended between 18^֯13’34” to 20֯26’1” north latitude and 80֯72’1” to 81֯95’3” east latitude. Its total area is 39060 square kilometers, which is 28.29 percent of Chhattisgarh state. The height of the region is 150-1200 meters above sea level.The total length of the from north to south is 402 kilometers and width from east to west is 360 kilometers . The region bounded by Balod district in the north, Dhamtari district in the north-east and Mohla-Manpur district in the north-west, Maharashtra state in the west, while the eastern border is determined by Sundarban districts of Odisha state and Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states in the south. According to the census of 2011, the total population of the state is 5611679, which is 21.96 percent of the total population of Chhattisgarh state, while the population density is 96 persons per square kilometer. The percentage of total tribes in the state is 32.40, of which 61.9 percentage is literacy rate.

Administratively, the state is divided into 7 districts viz. Kanker, Kondagaon, Dantewada, Bijapur, Bastar, Sukma and Narayanpur and 32 tehsils. There are 4005 villages and 3777 inhabited villages in the state, while there are 1834-gram panchayats, 8 municipalities, 14 nagar panchayats and 837 patwari circles.

Sources of Data

The analysis is based on secondary data collected from Department of Agriculture and District Statistical Handbook 2022-2024. 32 tehsils of seven districts of Bastar division are taken as the unit of analysis. Population data is obtained from Census of India 2011 report.

Methodology 

Food Security has been a matter of concern for many a decade and many Geographers have conducted their researches in this field, employing different methodologies suiting to their concerns. The research has been conducted in terms of calories, monetary value and land capability, etc. In this present paper we have derived Food Security in terms of Monetary Value, which is devised into three phases. In the first step the consumption unit has been derived from the Population data using, Singh’s Scale of Consumption Unit which is 0.773 (i.e., 1000 person are equal to 773 consumption unit). For the second step the food availability in Monetary Value is calculated from the total available Produces through the Coefficient of Production (0.832), where 16.8 is deducted for wastage (100-16.8=83.2). Lastly, in the third step the Total Food Availability in monetary form is divided by Consumption unit to obtain the Per Capita Per Month Food Availability in Monetary Value. The tehsil-wise data thus obtained is classified into five areas of food security-insecurity -High secure, moderately secure, insecure, and highly insecure.

DETERMINANTS OF FOOD SECURITY

George (1999) offers a broad perspective on food security, emphasizing livelihood security for every household. This includes assured physical and economic access to a nutritious diet, clean drinking water, proper sanitation, primary education, and essential health services. Chung et al. (1997) outline various factors influencing food security within a general conceptual framework that highlights the connections between household resources, agricultural and non-agricultural production, income levels, consumption patterns at both household and individual levels, and ultimately, nutritional outcomes.Food security is understood to rest on three core components: (i) food availability, (ii) food access, and (iii) food utilization. The interconnections among these determinants can be illustrated diagrammatically

A Conceptual Framework of Food Security and Generic Indicator Categories

Distribution Pattern of Consumption Unit

The calculation for deriving the Consumption Unit is based on Singh’s Scale; which states that every 1000 person is equal to 773 consumption units and thus one person is equal to 0.773 unit. This value of 0.773 is regarded as Consumption Co-efficient and is multiplied with the tehsil population to obtain the consumption unit.

Table No.1- Dandakaranya region: Distribution Pattern of Consumption Unit (2011)

Source: Calculated by Author

The pattern of consumption unit distribution is shown in table no.01. The very high consumption category includes only one tehsil, Jagdalpur. Being the headquarters of the entire region, it has access to all types of facilities provided by the government. Since Jagdalpur lies in the plains of the region, it has a relatively high population density per square kilometer and as the divisional headquarters, it records a higher consumption unit. In the high consumption unit category, four tehsils Kanker, Pakhanjur, Bakawand, and Bastar are included. Most of these areas placed under the Indravati plains, Kanker basin, and Kotri river regions, which are fertile agricultural zones. Thus, the region shows evident signs of population pressure. The third category medium consumption unit includes 15 tehsils: Charama, Durgkondal, Narharpur, Antagarh, Keshkal, Baderajpur, Farasgaon, Makdi, Narayanpur, Geedam, Dantewada, Tokapal, Darbha, Chhindgarh, and Konta. These tehsils have low population pressure, larger un irrigated areas, expanses of red infertile soil and forested regions.

   Map No. 1: Distribution Pattern of Consumption Pattern (2024)

Consequently, they placed under the medium consumption category. While the region includes a total of seven tehsils—Bhanupratappur, Bhairamgarh, Bijapur, Usur, Lohandiguda, Kuakonda and Sukma all these tehsils have limited agricultural land due to being covered with forests. The population is scattered across small villages, placing this region under the low consumption unit category. Bhopalpattnam, orchha and Kondagoan tehsils classified as an extremely low consumption unit in the region, is a highly Naxal-affected region. As a result, it has sparse population, red–yellow infertile soil, hilly terrain, and extensive dense forests. (Map.no. -01).

Pattern of Per Hectare Food Availability in Monetary value

Food Availability can be determined through many methods based on weight, standard nutritional unit, calories, and value. In the present analysis the Per Hectare Food Availability is determined in Monetary. For this the entire Produce of the region is determined and converted into monetary value. The obtained figure is multiplied by Coefficient of Production (0.832) to avail the Net Availability of Food Crops in Monetary value. This value is divided by the Total Cropped Area of the region to obtain the per hectare food availability in monetary value.

The availability of food grains per hectare in the Dandakaranya region is expressed in monetary value. The first zone with very high availability includes the tehsils of Bastar, Bakawand, and Pakhanjur, where parts of the Kotri Basin and the Indravati Plainsareas with fertile land are located. Due to irrigation facilities from various sources, the presence of flat terrain suitable for agriculture, and high per-hectare production, food grain availability is greater in all these tehsils. The second zone with high food-grain availability includes the tehsils of Charama, Bhanupratappur, Narharpur, Kanker, Jagdalpur, Tokapal, Lohandiguda, Bastanar, Darbha, and Chhindgarh.This region under the basin formed by the Mahanadi and its tributaries Turi, Chinar, and Indravati. The soil here is mostlyred sandy-loam, and due to the lack of other employment opportunities, agriculture serves as the main source of livelihood in this area. The third zone with medium food-grain availability includes eight tehsils Durgukondal, Antagarh, Dantewada, Pharasgaon, Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Geedam, and Konta. These tehsils contain all three types of terrains Abujhmad hilly areas, plateaus, and basins. The soil in this region ranges from redsandy-loam and loamy soil to black and laterite soil.

Table No.2 - Dandakaranya region: Per Hectare Food Availability in Monetary value

Source: Calculated by Author

                      Map No. 2: Per Hector Food availability of Monetary Value (2024)

In the fourth zone of low food-grain availability, there are five tehsils: Keshkal, Baderajpur, Makadi, Katekalyan, andKuankonda. This region lies at an elevation of 600–1200 meters, is covered with hills and forests, and has comparatively less agricultural land.In contrast, the fifth zone of very low food-grain availability includes the five tehsils of Bhairamgarh,Bhopalpatnam, Bijapur, Usur, and Sukma. In these tehsils, the Indravati River is the major river, which along with its tributaries Ambel, Kokar, Chintayagu, andBerudiforms an extensive drainage network. However, these districts contain rugged plateaus and the Abujhmad hills, along with extremely dense reserved/restricted forest areas. As a result, there is a lack of agricultural land.

Regional Pattern of Per Capita Per Annum Food Availability in Monetary Value

For determining food security, the monetary value of food availability has been divided by the consumption unit. The results obtained for per-hectare food availability in monetary terms have been classified into five categories of food security and insecurity.

Table No.3 - Dandakaranya region:Pattern ofPer Capita Per AnnumFood Security in Monetary Value

Source: Calculated by Author

The first food-secure zone of the region includes 11 tehsils—Konta, Kuakonda, Dantewada, Jagdalpur, Bastar, Kondagaon, Farasgaon, Makdi, Baderajpur, Keshkal, and Durgkondal. Together, these tehsils account for 34.38 percent of the total division. These tehsils of the Dandakaranya region are agriculturally significant due to the presence of the Kanker Basin, Kotri Basin, Lower Sabari Basin, and parts of the Indravati Plain. Agriculture is the primary occupation of the rural population in this area. Consequently, greater participation in agricultural activities has promoted food security in this zone.

The second category, the moderately food-secure zone, comprises six tehsils—Katekalyan, Geedam, Charama, North-East Narayanpur, North Antagarh, and Kanker. These tehsils lie within the Kanker Basin and the Indravati Plain and are suitable for agricultural activities. However, due to lack of awareness, reliance on traditional farming practices, predominance of rainfed agriculture, and population pressure resulting in higher population density per square kilometre, food security remains moderate. This zone covers 18.75 percent of the study area.

Based on calculations, the third category, the food-insecure zone, includes the tehsils of Sukma, Chhindgarh, Darbha, Bastanar, Tokapal, Lohandiguda, Bakawand, Narharpur, Bhanupratappur, and Pankhajur. These tehsils are characterized by plateau terrain and elevations ranging from 600 to 1200 meters, covering 31.25 percent of the total area. In this region, limited agricultural land relative to population size, lack of awareness, and adoption of traditional agricultural practices result in low per-hectare productivity. Moreover, dependence on forest produce for food consumption reduces internal agricultural output. Hence, this region is classified as food insecure.

The fourth category, the highly food-insecure zone, includes only one tehsil—Usur, accounting for 3.13 percent of the total area. This tehsil is largely covered by restricted/protected forests, leading to limited agricultural land and low population density. As a result, the level of food security here is extremely poor.

The tehsils of Bhopalpatnam, Bhairamgarh, and Bijapur fall under the severely food-insecure zone. Dense forest cover, sparse population, and Naxalite activities have severely disrupted agricultural activities in these areas, resulting in an extremely critical level of food insecurity. It is noteworthy that data for Orchha tehsil, located in the Abujhmarh hill region, are not available.

Conclusion

Thus, on the basis of the analyzed data related to consumption/availability units, variations across different levels have been observed (Table No.-1&2). Tehsils falling under very high and high consumption/availability zones show a high concentration of population, whether located in rural areas near administrative headquarters or in remote regions. Tehsils characterized by plain topography and basin areas, which are favorable for agricultural activities, record the highest levels of food availability and consumption units. These areas fall under food secure and moderately food secure categories.

In contrast, tehsils with low and very low consumption/availability units are characterized by sparse population, dense forest cover, reserved and protected forests, poor infrastructure, rugged terrain, and lack of connectivity. As a result, food availability and consumption in these areas are comparatively low. Such regions, with population densities ranging between 45 and 75 persons per square kilometer, fall under extremely insecure and severely food insecure categories (Table No-3)

It is noteworthy that the concept of food security is dynamic, complex, and multidimensional. Prior to the 1980s, it was considered mainly at global, regional, and national levels; however, the focus has now shifted toward household and individual levels of food and nutritional security. Despite a fourfold increase in foodgrain production and the availability of adequate buffer stocks, people in many regions still lack effective access to food. There should be no complacency arising from sufficient buffer stocks alone. The government must take appropriate measures to ensure access to foodgrains for the population, while simultaneously making efforts to enhance agricultural productivity in the region. Future food programs should aim not only at increasing food production but also at improving access to food through participatory involvement of local communities, with emphasis on resource efficiency, social equity, and environmental conservation. This would help raise income levels and thereby ensure economic access to food.

Finally, it can be concluded that food security at the regional level cannot be achieved unless appropriate governmental actions are taken to ensure a favorable political, social, and economic environment, along with the eradication of poverty and inequality. The adoption of sustainable food, agricultural, and rural development policies is essential. Furthermore, regional development must be promoted to encourage increased investment in agriculture and rural development.Top of Form

Map no. 3: Pattern of Food Security per capita per annum in monetary value (2024)

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