New Delhi, Jul 20 (PTI) India should share its success story of effective food safety-net programmes as the lessons learnt from them can guide other nations in achieving food security, according to a senior UN official.

United Nations World Food Programme's (WFP) Executive Director David Beasley, who concluded his visit to India on Monday, described India as a "shining example" of how effective social protection can play a critical role in achieving food security especially at a time when the world faces an unprecedented global hunger crisis.

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In a statement, the WFP said that Beasley during his three-day visit met the Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, Minister of Agriculture Narendra Singh Tomar and Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog Suman Bery. He also met the Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Piyush Goyal.

"With the world's largest food safety-net programs, India is a shining example of how effective social protection can play a critical role in achieving food security - especially now as the world faces an unprecedented global hunger crisis.

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"Lessons learned from India can guide other nations and I encourage India to share its success story with the world,” said WFP Executive Director David Beasley.

In New Delhi, Beasley visited a school meal preparation facility that provides hot meals to 25,000 students in government schools in the capital.

Working closely with the government, WFP is pioneering multi-micronutrient fortification of school meals, building capacities of staff preparing the meals and supporting the scale-up of ration production units.

Beasley also visited a public food distribution centre in New Delhi that provides subsidised rations to vulnerable families.

"The scheme currently covers 800 million people throughout the country and WFP partners with the government to support its largest social safety net by improving efficiency and effectiveness," the statement said.

Under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), also known as food law, Indian government provides 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kg to around 800 million or 80 crore people.

WFP said it is also working with the government on innovations like automated grain dispensers, and SMART warehouses that are more efficiently managed and capable of being remotely run.

The WFP has been working in India since 1963, with work transitioning from food distribution to technical assistance since the country achieved self-sufficiency in cereal production.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)