Abstract :
Food Security exists when all the people at all times have physical, social and economic access to
sufficient, safe and nutritious food preferences for active and healthy life (FAO,1996). Mapping of food
security is often a challenging task as the spatial pattern of food secure and insecure areas are often
intertwined with each other especially in a country like India. Food security mapping at the 'district'
level is often complex due to its dependence on regional factors. Though Maharashtra is one of the
developed states in India, some of the districts perform poorly in addressing the problem of hunger and
malnutrition. One of the hilly-forest districts of Maharashtra lying between Western Ghat and the
Arabian Sea is Palghar which is carved out of Thane district in 2014. It falls in the category of low food
secure districts of Maharashtra. The final Food Security Index (FSI) based on three dimensions namely
food availability, accessibility and absorption ranges from 0.46 to 0.14. As per the current study,
Dahanu is the only tehsil that it is most secure. Talasari, Vada and Palghar fall into the moderate
category of food secure while Vasai, Vikramgad falls in the low category. Mokhada and Jawhar are the
least food secure tehsils in Palghar district. Average food security index of Palghar district is 0.32
which is the lowest in the state. The present study suggests policy recommendation on the basis of
composite mapping of food security for Palghar district so that coherence in safety net programme takes
place accordingly.
Keyword :
Food Availability Food Accessibility Food Absorption Food Security Index (FSI