Tag: Rural poverty

Food insecurity is consistently higher in rural areas than in urban areas across most regions of the world. This disparity reveals critical insights into who is the most vulnerable to food insecurity in rural areas, highlighting demographic, economic, and environmental factors that intensify their risk.

In 1979, a Planning Commission Task Force, led by Y.K. Alagh, officially established a calorie norm for poverty estimation in India, setting the requirement for rural areas at 2400 calories per capita per day. This metric became the foundation for defining the poverty line, though it was later replaced by a more comprehensive consumption expenditure-based methodology.

According to a 2021-22 survey, over 57% of rural households in India were classified as 'agricultural,' highlighting the widespread dependence on this sector. The seasonality of farming is the main reason for seasonal hunger in India, particularly for millions of landless labourers and smallholder farmers who experience a stark drop in income and work during the agricultural off-season, or 'lean season'.

According to the National Family Health Survey (NFHS), millions of Indian children are stunted, wasted, or underweight, underscoring a severe and persistent food security problem. The most affected food security people in India are concentrated within specific demographics and regions, often facing intersecting challenges of poverty, social inequality, and limited resources.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), worldwide average dietary energy supply reached nearly 2,800 kcal per person per day by 1999/01, though significant regional disparities persist. Understanding what is the average calories of energy per day in rural areas requires a nuanced view of various socioeconomic, environmental, and demographic factors.