"India Warns of Global Food Crisis Amid Fertiliser Shortages"
FAO Food Price Index
Monthly index tracking global prices of cereals, oils, dairy, meat and sugar
International Grains Council (IGC)
Intergovernmental body monitoring global grain markets and trade information
Food security is not simply about growing enough food. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) defines it through four pillars: availability (is food physically produced, stocked or imported), access (can households afford it), stability (do supplies and prices stay predictable through shocks) and utilisation (can people absorb nutrition given health and clean water). A crisis rarely hits all four pillars at once, but conflict-driven shocks tend to hit stability first and access soon after.
This is not a new pattern for India. After the 1973 global energy crisis, India's import basket shifted decisively. Foodgrain imports fell while fertiliser and petroleum imports rose, because domestic agriculture had become fertiliser-intensive even as energy prices spiked. That structural dependence has only deepened since. Today, fertiliser feedstock production is concentrated in West Asia and Russia. Countries around the Strait of Hormuz alone supply 13% of the world's nitrogen fertiliser exports and 9% of phosphate fertiliser exports. Global grain trade itself does not require any institutional gatekeeping. India is a member of the International Grains Council (IGC), but IGC membership is not a precondition for any country to export or import wheat and rice. This means actual grain flows through routes such as the Black Sea are determined by shipping security and geopolitics, not by institutional membership.
Fertiliser and food prices are linked through a time lag, not an instant transmission. Fertilisers must be applied at specific points in the crop cycle. If shipments are delayed or become too costly, farmers apply less or miss the window entirely. The yield loss then shows up only at the next harvest, months later. This is why disruption today can translate into a shortage two or three cropping seasons ahead rather than immediately. The FAO Food Price Index, a monthly gauge tracking cereals, vegetable oils, sugar, meat and dairy prices, is the standard barometer used to flag this kind of building pressure before it reaches consumers. …
Consider the following statements:
1.India is a member of the International Grains Council.
2.For the export or import of rice and wheat, it is necessary for a country to be a member of the International Grains Council.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Very recently, in which of the following countries have lakhs of people either suffered from severe famine/acute malnutrition or died due to starvation caused by war/ethnic conflicts ?
Which one of the following countries has been suffering from decades of civil strife and food shortages and was in news in the recent past for its very severe famine?
With reference to the International Grains Council (IGC), consider the following statements:
1.India is a member of the IGC.
2.Membership of the IGC is a mandatory precondition for any country to export or import wheat and rice.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Consider the four pillars of food security as defined by the FAO and match them with their correct descriptions:
List I (Pillar)
A.Availability
B.Access
C.Utilisation
D.Stability
List II (Description)
1.Ability of households to afford and obtain food
2.Physical presence of food through production, stocks and imports
3.Nutritional value derived from food, depending on health and clean water
4.Resilience of food supply and prices to shocks and seasonal swings
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
With reference to global fertiliser trade, consider the following statements:
1.Countries around the Strait of Hormuz account for a significant share of global nitrogen and phosphate fertiliser exports.
2.West Asia and Russia are among the world's major fertiliser-producing regions.
3.India is fully self-sufficient in fertiliser production and does not depend on imports.
How many of the above statements are correct?
Assertion (A): A fertiliser supply disruption often affects food prices only months after it occurs, not immediately.
Reason (R): Fertilisers must be applied at specific stages of the crop cycle, and any delay in application reduces yields that are realised only at harvest.
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