The broader entitlements approach proposed by Dreze and Sen does not specify a particular cause of famine, just a framework that identifies it as a w idespread failure of entitlements for a substantial part of the population. The causes are diverse, including droughts, floods, general inflationary pressure, sharp recessionary loss of employment, war, and can occur even without a decline in food output or availability per head. Food production is not only a source of food supply, but for large sections of the population it is also the main source of livelihood.