India has a surplus of food, yet 250 million people Indians are dying of hunger. It’s a problem of distribution and lack of political will to fix to the system. Excellent coverage by the NYTimes on an agricultural issue that will dominate ag-press in the coming years - distribution.

“The reason we are facing this problem is our refusal to distribute the grain that we buy from farmers to the people who need it,” said Biraj Patniak, a lawyer who advises India’s Supreme Court on food issues. “The only place that this grain deserves to be is in the stomachs of the people who are hungry.”

After years of neglect, the nation’s failed food policies have now become a subject of intense debate in New Delhi, with lawmakers, advocates for the poor, economists and the news media increasingly calling for an overhaul. The populist national government is considering legislation that would pour billions of additional dollars into the system and double the number of people served to two-thirds of the population. The proposed law would also allow the poor to buy more rice and wheat at lower prices.

A Failed Food System in India, NYTimes.