Indian Famine Codes

Indian Famine Codes

The Indian Famine Codes, developed by the colonial British in the 1880s, were one of the earliest famine scales. The Famine Codes defined three levels of food insecurity: near-scarcity, scarcity, and famine. "Scarcity" was defined as three successive years of crop failure, crop yields of one-third or one-half normal, and large populations in distress. "Famine" further included a rise in food prices above 140% of "normal", the movement of people in search of food, and widespread mortality.

Further reading

* L. Brennan, ‘The development of the India Famine Codes: personalities, policies and politics’, in B. Currey and G. Hugo (eds), "Famine as a geographical phenomenon" (1984)


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