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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Author: Prabhu Pingali

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Toward an Integrated Approach to Nutritional Quality, Environmental Sustainability, and Economic Viability: Research and Measurement Gaps

Abstract Nutrition is affected by numerous environmental and societal causes. This paper starts with a simple framework based on three domains: nutritional quality, economic viability, and environmental sustainability, and calls for an integrated approach in research to simultaneously account for all three. It highlights limitations...
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Mainstreaming Nutrition Metrics in Household Surveys – Toward a Multidisciplinary Convergence of Data Systems

Abstract Since the 2008 food price crisis, food and nutrition security are back on the global development agenda, with particular emphasis on agricultural pathways toward improved nutrition. Parallel efforts are being promoted to improve the data and metrics for monitoring progress toward positive nutritional outcomes,...
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Agricultural Policy and Nutrition Outcomes – Getting Beyond the Preoccupation with Staple Grains

Abstract There is a growing disconnect between agricultural policy and contemporary nutritional challenges, the persistent problem of micronutrient malnutrition and child stunting, as well as the emerging challenges of overweight and obesity. Diversification of production systems and the market supply of enhanced diversity will only...
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The Hunger Metrics Mirage: There’s Been Less Progress on Hunger Reduction Than It Appears

Abstract As the timeframe for achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) came to an end in 2015, the United Nations lauded great progress, calling its MDG campaign the “most successful anti-poverty movement in history.” In its final progress report, the United Nations states that poverty...
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Transitioning Towards Nutrition-Sensitive Food Systems in Developing Countries

Abstract A nutrition-sensitive food system is one that goes beyond staple grain productivity and places emphasis on the consumption of micronutrient-rich nonstaples through a variety of market and nonmarket interventions. A nutrition-sensitive approach not only considers policies related to macrolevel availability and access to nutritious...
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The Bumpy Road from Food to Nutrition Security – Slow Evolution of India’s Food Policy

Abstract Food Policy, in much of Asia, has been slow to transition from its historic focus on staple grain self-sufficiency to a more integrated approach to nutrition security. Research and policy discussions continue to focus on hunger and calorie deficiency rather than on the need for a balanced diets to address chronic micronutrient malnutrition...
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Women’s Empowerment in Indian Agriculture: Does Market Orientation of Farming Systems Matter?

Abstract This paper studies the relationship between the Women’s Empowerment in Agriculture Index (WEAI) and market orientation of farm production in India. This is the first time that the WEAI has been used in an Indian agricultural context and the first time that it is...
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The Role of Agriculture in Women’s Nutrition: Empirical Evidence from India

Abstract In this paper, we establish a statistically important relationship between household agricultural income and women’s BMI using a five-year panel dataset of rural households drawn from 18 villages across five Indian states. Using within household variation over time, we estimate both the extent to...