Comprehension : Comprehension

Q 275 / 466

UPSC CSE Prelims 2016

Historically, the biggest challenge to world agriculture has been to achieve a balance between demand for and supply of food. At the level of individual countries, the demand-supply balance can be a critical, issue for a close4 economy, especially if it is a populous economy and its domestic agriculture is not growing sufficiently enough to ensure food supplies, on an enduring basis; it is not so much and, not always, of a constraint for an. open, and growing economy, which has adequate exchange surplus to buy food abroad. For the world as a whole, Supply-demand balance is always an inescapable prerequisite for warding off hunger and starvation. However, global availability of adequate supply does not necessarily mean that food would, automatically move from countries of surplus to countries of deficit if the latter lack iii purchasing power. The uneven distribution of Hunger, starvation, under or malnourishment, etc., at the world-level, thus owes itself to the presence of empty-pock hungry mouths, overwhelmingly confined to the underdeveloped economies. In as much as 'a two square meal' is of elemental significance to basic human existence, the issue of worldwide supply of food has been gaining significance, in recent times, both because the quantum and the composition of demand has been undergoing big changes, and because, in, recent years, the capabilities individual countries to generate uninterrupted chain of food supplies have come under strain. Food production, marketing and prices, especially price-affordability by the poor in the developing world, have become global issues that need global thinking and global solutions.

According to the above passage, which of the following helps! help in reducing hunger and starvation in the developing economies?

  1. Balancing demand and supply of food
  2. Increasing imports of food
  3. Increasing purchasing power of the poor
  4. Changing the food consumption patterns and practices

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

EXPLANATION

Correct Option (C)

Statements 1 and 3 are correct.

  • Statement 1: The passage explicitly identifies that "Supply-demand balance is always an inescapable prerequisite for warding off hunger and starvation" for the world as a whole. This directly supports the idea that balancing food demand and supply is fundamental to mitigating hunger.
  • Statement 3: The passage notes that global food availability does not guarantee movement to deficit countries if they "lack purchasing power." It attributes global hunger to "empty-pock hungry mouths" and highlights the importance of "price-affordability by the poor in the developing world." Consequently, increasing the purchasing power of the poor is a direct mechanism to address these issues and reduce hunger.

Incorrect Options:

  • Statement 2: Increasing imports of food. While the passage acknowledges that an "open, and growing economy, which has adequate exchange surplus to buy food abroad" might not face a food supply constraint, it also emphasizes that food will not "automatically move from countries of surplus to countries of deficit if the latter lack purchasing power." Therefore, simply increasing imports is not presented as a standalone solution for reducing hunger in developing economies, as it does not address the fundamental issue of affordability and access for the poor.
  • Statement 4: Changing the food consumption patterns and practices. The passage does not discuss or propose any alterations to food consumption patterns or practices as a strategy to reduce hunger and starvation. Its focus is primarily on supply-demand dynamics, affordability, and the purchasing power of the vulnerable populations.