This article presents a review of TCI research from the 2025–26 academic year related to climate change and sustainable agriculture. For more TCI research, download the 2025–26 annual report. Cultivating carbon-neutral, highly productive food systems Two of the thorniest challenges facing India today are climate change and persistent hunger and malnutrition. The shift to a…

This article presents a review of TCI research from the 2025–26 academic year related to agriculture transformation, food systems and nutritional transformation. For more TCI research, download the 2025–26 annual report. Supporting climate-resilient and nutrition-sensitive food systems The heavy dependence on paddy cultivation in India’s rice bowl state, Chhattisgarh, highlights several environmental and nutritional concerns….

Agrivoltaics was still at an early stage of development in India when the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyaan (PM-KUSUM) was launched to increase farmer incomes, solarize agricultural operations, de-dieselize agriculture and reduce grid load. Since then, research, demonstration projects and field experience have strengthened the evidence base for agrivoltaics. By combining solar…

Registration for the 2026 edition of the annual Delivering for Nutrition (D4N) in South Asia Conference is now open. The hybrid conference will be held November 30 through December 3, 2026, in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Registration for in-person attendance will remain open while spots are available. Virtual registration will remain open until the conference begins….

A new challenge at Cornell University’s Food Hackathon will ask students to rethink how underutilized grains like sorghum and millet can be promoted to create value for farmers, manufacturers and consumers. Scheduled for November 6–8 this year, the Food Hackathon tasks undergraduate and graduate students with addressing one of four challenges related to food systems….

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) has published its 2025–26 Annual Report. The report offers an in-depth look at the full range of TCI’s research and other activities, including grant-funded projects like the FPO-Led Small Farm Market Access Models project and field research performed by TCI scholars pursuing graduate degrees. The 2025–26 Annual Report is available…

Across a village in southern Bihar, cropping calendars collapse into a handful of critical days. Missing the planting window by even a couple of days can reduce yields enough to affect a household’s livelihood. Everyone needs the same machine at once, but most smallholders cannot afford to own a tractor or combine harvester themselves. Instead,…

Rice and wheat comprise the bulk of India’s diet, making them crucial crops for the country’s food system. However, the rice-wheat cropping system that dominates agriculture in states like Bihar damages soil quality. Rising temperatures and decreasing groundwater supplies further threaten to reduce yields, posing significant challenges for India’s food security. New research from the…

The Transforming Food Systems Forum, a new webinar series from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), will start on Monday, September 14, with an examination of sustainable technologies for smallholder farmers. The series will feature insightful, data-driven discussions about topics relevant to Indian food systems, such as climate and sustainability and markets and…

Installing a solar-powered pump is only the beginning. What comes next—figuring out how people share it—is a more complex challenge. During my summer internship with the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), I spent my first week visiting solar irrigation sites and the water user groups that managed them across Bihar, Jharkhand and Uttar…