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Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

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A woman tends to a field of rice
NEWS

Study Reveals Complex Links Between Soil and Human Health

August 23, 2022
Nutrition doesn’t depend only on the type of food you eat. It is influenced by a complex network of factors, including soil, according to new research from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI). In a study published in the journal Frontiers in Soil Science, TCI alumna Fatma Rekik and faculty fellow Harold van…
Two photos of people talking in a room
NEWS

TCI and ICRISAT Continue Partnership to Improve Access to Indian Food Systems Data

August 17, 2022
The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) are beginning a new phase of their partnership to expand and improve the District-Level Database for Indian Agriculture and Allied Sectors. The open-access platform database will feature more up-to-date data and additional variables related to nutrition,…
NEWS

TCI Publishes 2021-22 Annual Report

August 15, 2022
The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) has published its 2021-22 Annual Report. The report offers an in-depth look at the full range of TCI’s research and other activities, including a look back at its signature project, Technical Assistance and Research for Indian Nutrition and Agriculture (TARINA). The report also features a peek at new projects like…
Harold van Es speaking at a podium
NEWS

Times of India Reports on TCI’s Zero-Hunger, Zero-Carbon Food Systems Project

August 12, 2022
The Tata-Cornell Institute’s (TCI) efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of Indian agriculture garnered the attention of national news media this week, with the Times of India reporting on a recent workshop held in Patna, Bihar. Organized by TCI and the Asian Development Research Institute’s Centre for Studies on Environment and Climate, the workshop brought…
A woman harvesting strawberries
NEWS

FPOs or Bust: Farm Aggregation Review Finds Newer Models Are the Most Successful

August 4, 2022
As demand for high-value, diverse agricultural products rises throughout the developing world, smallholder farmers face pressure to either commercialize or exit the farm sector altogether. Farmers that can scale up their operations have a significant opportunity to improve their livelihoods. According to a study from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), a new…
A farmer sowing rice
BLOG

Maharashtra Leads the Way in FPO Promotion

July 11, 2022 by Ali Ilahi
This blog post is part of a series exploring India’s small farm aggregation landscape using TCI’s Database for Indian Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). Part of the FPO Hub within the TCI Center of Excellence, the first-of-its-kind database brings together comprehensive data on FPOs in India. The FPO Hub and this research were made possible through…
A composting toilet
BLOG

How Ecosan Can Improve Human Health and Agricultural Sustainability

June 7, 2022 by Whitman Barrett
As countries around the world have urbanized rapidly over the past fifty years, infrastructure construction, particularly in the Global South, has struggled to keep pace. Many urban dwellers rely on sanitation systems that fail to adequately treat human waste, harming the environment and placing significant economic burdens on low-income households, who must often pay for…
BLOG

Arsenic and Agriculture: Is Our Growing Dependence on Groundwater Irrigation Poisoning Our Water?

June 1, 2022 by Natasha Jha
A growing public health concern across Southeast Asia is groundwater contamination, specifically from heavy metals such as arsenic. Given the significant adverse health impacts, it is important from a policy perspective to determine the causes of such contamination. I am conducting research exploring a novel link between agricultural practices and groundwater arsenic contamination in India….
Biochar
BLOG

How Biochar Can Help Renew Degraded Tropical Soils

May 16, 2022 by Whitman Barrett
Agricultural soils around the world are under increasing pressure as urbanization covers once prime farmland with concrete and asphalt while intensified agricultural production degrades soil fertility. Yet even as their soils’ fertility declines, farmers around the world will be expected to feed more people than ever before as the global population grows to more than…
Indian farmers operate a peanut thresher
BLOG

Assessing India’s FPO Ecosystem

May 10, 2022 by Ekta Joshi
This blog post is part of a series exploring India’s small farm aggregation landscape using TCI’s Database for Indian Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs). Part of the FPO Hub within the TCI Center of Excellence, the first-of-its-kind database brings together comprehensive data on FPOs in India. The FPO Hub and this research were made possible through…