Food and nutrition security in hot and cold arid zone of India

Worldwide there is a significantly greater proportion of dry lands, spread in almost 3 billion ha. The hot arid zone of India covers an area of 31.7 m ha. in seven different states including 7.03 m ha of cold arid zone in Jammu and Kashmir. In India, the country has become self-reliant in food production but still there are disparities in availability and consumption. However, food security was principally envisioned at the regional and national level and considered synonymous with national food self-sufficiency, the aggregated measures at national level often mask major disparities at the micro level. Food security must be considered at the household or individual level to help policy planning and effective allocation of resources. This monograph presents the macro and micro aspects of food access and availability in some hot and cold arid areas of India. The need of such studies are high for many operational agencies which are involved in regular measurements and monitoring of changes, food and agricultural programmes and effective futuristic planning management.