Co-authors
from
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute
for
Agriculture
and
Nutrition
and
the
Dyson
School
have
published
a
new
book,

Transforming
Food
Systems
for
a
Rising
India,
as
a
reflection
of
the
institute’s
key
intellectual
results
and
research
works
undertaken
within
the
past
five
years.

This
article
originally
appeared
on
the
Dyson
BusinessFeed.

Photo credit: Maina Dhital

At
a
glance

Book title

Transforming Food Systems for a Rising India

Published
by
Palgrave
Macmillan,
2019

Co-authors

• Prabhu Pingali,
  professor
  of
  applied
  economics
  at
  Dyson
  and
  founding
  director
  of
  the
  Tata-Cornell
  Institute
• 
  Anaka
  Aiyar,
  post-doctoral
  associate
  with
  the
  Tata-Cornell Institute
• 
  Mathew
  Abraham,
  assistant
  director
  of
  the
  Tata-Cornell
  Institute
• 
  Andaleeb
  Rahman,
  post-doctoral
  associate
  at
  the
  Tata-Cornell
  Institute

Disciplines
represented

Agricultural
Economics,
Food
Policy,
Health
and
Nutrition,
Sustainability

About
the
book

Transforming
Food
Systems
for
a
Rising
India
explores
the
relationship
between
India’s
economic
development,
agricultural
production,
and
nutrition
through
the
lens
of
a
“food
systems
approach.”
The
authors
investigate
the
paradoxical
story
of
India’s
growth
where
regional
inequality,
food
insecurity,
and
malnutrition
still
exist
within
economic
progress.

By
collecting
the
latest
data
and
scientific
evidence
from
the
country,
the
authors
examine
the
challenges
and
opportunities
for
achieving
a
nutrition-secure
future.
The
book
offers
potential
solutions
along
with
political
and
institutional
interventions
needed
to
alter
the
future
of
India’s
food
system.

“This
book…
brings
together
high
quality
research,
real
world
pragmatism
and
an
understanding
of
the
politics
of
Indian
food
systems.”
—
Lawrence
Haddad,
Executive
Director,
GAIN
and
2018
World
Food
Prize
Laureate

“Using
a
broad
food
systems
approach,
this
book
presents
[a]…
comprehensive
analysis
of
the
Indian
food
and
agricultural
system
and
its
interaction
with
climate
change,
nutrition
and
health.”
—
Per
Pinstrup-Andersen,
Professor
Emeritus,
Cornell
University
and
2001
World
Food
Prize
Laureate

Insights
from
the
authors

The
Tata-Cornell
Institute
celebrated
the
launch
of
the
book
in
May
2019
with
a
panel
discussion
featuring
the
authors
and
an
introduction
from
Christopher
Barrett,
the
Stephen
B.
and
Janice
G.
Ashley
Professor
at
Dyson.
During
the
event,
the
co-authors
shared
key
takeaways
from
their
respective
chapters.

Prabhu Pingali

Prabhu Pingali,
professor
of
applied
economics
at
Dyson
and
founding
director
of
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute

• India
  has
  solved
  its
  hunger
  problem
  to
  some
  extent,
  but
  problems
  like
  under-
  and
  malnutrition
  still
  exist.
  Despite
  India’s
  characterization
  as
  an
  emerging
  economy,
  significant
  segments
  of
  the
  rural
  population
  still
  live
  in
  poverty
  and
  suffer
  from
  illness
  and
  malnutrition.
• There
  is
  a
  big
  opportunity
  to
  invigorate
  India’s
  rural
  economy
  through
  diversifying
  the
  food
  system.
  For
  nutritional
  security,
  poor
  people
  should
  have
  better
  and
  affordable
  access
  to
  micro-nutrient
  rich
  foods.
• Food
  system
  diversity
  can
  help
  manage
  India’s
  nutrition
  challenges.
  The
  staple
  grain-focused
  policies
  and
  weak
  market
  infrastructure
  for
  non-staple
  foods
  hinder
  the
  diversification
  of
  India’s
  food
  system.
• Mitigating
  climate
  impacts
  on
  nutrition-rich
  food
  crops
  is
  significant
  for
  poor
  people.
  Inter-state
  and
  inter-country
  learnings
  about
  India’s
  rural
  growth
  are
  worth
  sharing.

---

Anaka Aiyar

Anaka
Aiyar,
post-doctoral
associate
with
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute

• Despite
  India’s
  decrease
  in
  malnutrition
  across
  the
  country
  in
  the
  past
  30
  years,
  undernutrition
  and
  micronutrient
  deficiency
  persists,
  especially
  in
  economically
  lagging
  states
  like
  Bihar,
  Uttar
  Pradesh,
  and
  Madhya
  Pradesh.
  Still,
  38
  percent
  of
  all
  children
  in
  India
  under
  the
  age
  of
  five
  are
  stunted.
• On
  the
  other
  hand,
  issues
  like
  overweight
  and
  obesity
  have
  appeared
  as
  big
  challenges,
  especially
  in
  more
  urbanized
  states.
  Overall,
  the
  population
  of
  overweight
  people
  has
  doubled
  during
  the
  past
  10
  years.
• India
  needs
  to
  refocus
  its
  public
  policy
  to
  transform
  the
  food
  system
  and
  address
  the
  triple
  burden
  of
  malnutrition.
  Diversifying
  diets,
  increasing
  income,
  and
  improving
  people’s
  access
  to
  food
  safety
  nets
  are
  vital
  for
  reducing
  malnutrition.

---

Mathew Abraham

Mathew
Abraham,
assistant
director
of
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute

• Shifts
  towards
  high-value
  agriculture
  products
  can
  provide
  opportunities
  for
  diversifying
  and
  accessing
  markets.
  But
  these
  opportunities
  have
  not
  translated
  into
  benefits
  for
  small
  agricultural
  producers.
  Effective
  aggregation
  models,
  such
  as
  producer
  group,
  can
  help
  reduce
  high
  transaction
  costs
  of
  small
  farms
  accessing
  urban
  food
  value
  chains.
  The
  major
  issues
  are
  limited
  access
  to
  markets,
  credit,
  inputs,
  and
  production
  technologies.
• There
  is
  a
  need
  for
  adaptation
  and
  mitigation
  strategies
  to
  cope
  with
  the
  impacts
  of
  climate
  change
  in
  agriculture.
  Future
  climate
  change
  policies
  should
  enable
  the
  diversification
  of
  environment-friendly
  food
  systems
  as
  well
  as
  improve
  the
  nutritional
  value
  of
  foods
  produced
  and
  increase
  affordable
  access
  to
  food.
  Region-specific
  approaches
  are
  needed
  to
  address
  the
  issues.
• Technology
  will
  play
  an
  important
  role
  in
  increasing
  smallholder
  productivity
  and
  competitiveness.
  States,
  especially
  lagging
  ones,
  need
  to
  go
  beyond
  staple
  grains
  and
  use
  appropriate
  technologies
  for
  promoting
  a
  more
  diverse
  food
  system.

---

Andaleeb Rahman

Andaleeb
Rahman,
post-doctoral
associate
at
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute

• The
  one-size-fits-all
  approach
  does
  not
  work
  for
  India
  when
  developing
  and
  implementing
  policies,
  given
  the
  state-level
  differences
  in
  economic
  growth,
  agricultural
  production,
  cultures,
  and
  environments,
  among
  other
  factors.
• Initial
  investments
  in
  agricultural
  productivity
  kicked
  off
  different
  trajectories
  in
  economic
  growth.
  For
  instance,
  agriculture-led
  growth
  states
  like
  Punjab
  and
  Haryana
  invested
  heavily
  in
  paddy
  cultivation
  while
  urbanizing
  states,
  like
  Kerala
  and
  Tamil
  Nadu,
  prefer
  cash
  crops
  and
  non-ag
  sectors
  like
  industry
  and
  tourism.
  However,
  several
  states
  in
  east
  India
  are
  primarily
  smallholder
  agriculture
  systems.
• India
  has
  witnessed
  a
  low
  rate
  of
  migration
  in
  recent
  years.
  As
  villages
  are
  coming
  closer
  to
  small
  towns,
  people
  are
  commuting
  to
  work
  rather
  than
  migrating
  to
  urban
  areas.
  This
  allows
  new
  growth
  opportunities
  for
  rural
  Indians.
• Safety
  nets
  have
  been
  an
  essential
  component
  of
  poverty
  reduction
  policies
  in
  India,
  providing
  income
  and
  nutrition
  assistance
  across
  different
  stages
  of
  life.
  However,
  the
  objectives
  and
  design
  of
  India’s
  safety
  net
  programs,
  whether
  food
  or
  cash
  based,
  need
  to
  evolve
  with
  economic
  growth
  and
  the
  changing
  nutritional
  needs
  of
  marginalized
  populations.

---

About
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute

The
Tata-Cornell
Institute
(TCI)
was
founded
with
the
generous
support
of
Ratan
Tata
’62
(AAP),
former
chairman
of
the
Tata
Group
of
India.
Through
the
Tata
Education
and
Development
Trust,
Tata
provided
$25
million
to
Cornell
University
to
support
a
long-term
research
initiative.
TCI
conducts
research,
provides
thought
leadership,
and
engages
stakeholders
working
in
agriculture,
nutrition,
and
food
policy.
TC
I
is
part
of
the
College
of
Agriculture
and
Life
Sciences
and
hosted
by
the
Charles
H.
Dyson
School
of
Applied
Economics
and
Management.

Learn
more
about
the
Tata-Cornell
Institute
and
how
to

read
their
new
book
here.