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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Op-Ed appears in The Economic Times

In the op-ed  “We’ll Be What We Eat,” Prof. Prabhu Pingali discusses what India will need to do to meet the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 (SDG 2) of ‘Zero Hunger’ by 2030.

To meet SDG2, India needs to reduce the number of its hungry by at least 200 million. Beyond access to sufficient food, SDG 2.1 specifically calls for access to nutritious food. Access to protein and micronutrient-rich food has been lagging compared to calorie-dense staples. While there are definite trends towards diet diversification, rising relative prices of non-staples limit the affordability of a nutritious diet.

Achieving progress on SDG 2 requires us to channel public, private and civil society resources and expertise. It also requires multi-sectoral coordination across ministries — agriculture, food, women and child development, health, water and sanitation, and rural development.