This case study by Swati Narayan, Oxfam discusses how India is confronted with an agrarian crisis and mass hunger, despite producing enough food to feed itself. The paper argues that the country needs urgent action to protect the universal right to food, prioritize land reforms, and sustainably revive agrarian productivity.
India is home to a quarter of the world’s hungry people. Since the green revolution, the country has produced enough to feed itself, but it has not yet been able to wipe out mass hunger, which haunts the landscape of the countryside and lurks in the narrow alleys of urban slums.
Currently, 40 per cent of the population is malnourished – a decrease of only 10 per cent over the past three decades. Poor families, who spend more than 60 per cent of their incomes on food, are increasingly struggling to stretch their meagre household budgets. Unfortunately, small farmers have not benefited from high retail prices either, as they usually receive far less for their produce. In fact in the past 15 years, in an unprecedented wave, a quarter of a million farmers crippled by debt have chosen to commit suicide.
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This publication by the 
There is an ongoing programme to extend the benefits of the green revolution to the eastern parts of the country. The states of Assam, Bihar, eastern U.P, Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Bengal, Orissa were allocated extra funds in the last year for this purpose. This year (2011-12) too, the Union Budget has allocated additional Rs.400 crore for the same purpose. The money will be utilised according to a plan created by these states. The plan is to address the main constraints impeding the growth of agriculture. The short and medium term plan focuses on water management, efficient power and other input utilisation. Also the creation and maintenance of agricultural assets like wells is also looked into.
This report by 
