Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist of the organization Food and Agriculture Organization of UN (FAO) in Nový Dilli, September 9, 2025. Photo Credit: SHASHI SHEKHAR KASHYAP
About 40.4% of the Indian population (approximately 60 people crore) cannot afford healthy food, Maximo Torero Cullen, chief economist, food and agricultural organizations (FAO) UN said.
When he talked to the Hindu, Dr. Cullen said that the number was a significant decline compared to the FAO evaluation in 2023 that 74.1% of the Indian population could not afford a healthy diet in 2021. He said India must start investing more in acceleration of food production.
Dr. Cullen said India played a key role in achieving the goals of sustainable development of zero hunger by 2030 due to the level, size and population of the country.
“Reduction of hunger in India affects the world and, of course, affects South Asia. So India, I think, must play a huge role. That’s why we believe it is so important that they continue and speed up transformation. India must move to a higher level – this is an access to a healthy diet, which is now 40.4% of the population.
“The Green Revolution has played its role, but now it’s time to do more. So don’t forget it, but do more. We have to do more,” Dr. Cullen.
To evaluate the FAO in 2023 that 74.1% of the Indian population could not afford a healthy diet in 2021, he said that in 2024 there was a percentage of a population that could not afford healthy food, 40.4.
“The methodology is improved. So yes, there is an important decline. So the number that needs to be compared is basically to look at the state of food and nutrition in the world (SOFI) this year to look at the number of previous years.
Dr. Cullen added that the immediate step that the Indian government should take to resolve the situation was diversification. “India must start investing more in acceleration of production diversification. To move from cereals to high -value commodities. Pulses could be possibilities because they are more nutritious.
Tatruff was
During the tariff war, he stated that the first problem of tariffs was inefficiency. “You will be more inefficient in the way you move commodities. Because before you optimized the world, the world is now segmented. A world that wants low tariffs but a world that now has high tariffs. The second problem is uncertainty.
Dr. However, Cullen said the impact of food uncertainty due to tariffs was not so high, but inefficiency would be high. “But let’s assume they get into a situation where you play tit-for-to-to, then it could be very dangerous. At this point, the Earth is not responding. We will see how it evolves, but uncertainty and ineffectiveness will certainly affect us that it will have more respect, especially it will have more interconnected. Farmers who will have a larger connection that will have more connected that will have a larger connection that will have a greater connection that will have a larger link that will have more connections that will have more interconnecting that will have more connections that will have more connections that will have more connected to have more connections to have more farmers to have more interconnects. But at the end it happens that you have a segmented trade instead.
In relation to the impact of Covid-19, the impact of Ukraine on food safety was significantly smaller, said Dr. Cullen. “The impact of Ukraine was only about 19 million people. The impact of Covid was 180 million people. A big difference,” he said, adding that there was a huge increase in food differences during Covid-19. “Now we see again a little increase, because food prices are influenced by more women. The authorization of women to greater access to assets is important to gain more access to resources. Reducing the inequality in the same skills is also important because they normally earn less than men, $ 0.8,” he said.
Published – September 2025 17:27
