Tackling the obesity crises in urban and rural India will require a push for healthier behaviors anchored by policy changes designed to improve access to diverse, nutritious foods, say researchers at the Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI). Writing in the Financial Express, TCI Director Prabhu Pingali, gender and nutrition specialist Shubh Swain, and postdoctoral associate Andaleeb Rahman warn that new data from…

Strong farmer producer organizations (FPOs) are necessary if India’s small farmers are to take full advantage of a new set of laws liberalizing the country’s agricultural markets, say Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) Director Prabhu Pingali and Assistant Director Mathew Abraham. In an op-ed appearing in The Times of India, Pingali and Abraham write that the recently passed Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement…

In this blog post, TCI Scholar Jocelyn Boiteau explores the various attributes different supply chain actors used to judge the quality of tomatoes. Walking into a daily vegetable market in Madanapalle, Andhra Pradesh, tomato vendors sit next to neatly organized pyramids of their produce. Some are red-ripe and ready to eat that day. Others are a bit…

Investments in soil health infrastructure have boosted efforts by the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) to promote a holistic approach to soil health in India. Two doctoral candidates trained by TCI at a special lab at the Dr. Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University (DRPCAU) in Bihar recently presented studies using the comprehensive soil…

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), together with the Coalition for Food & Nutrition Security, and BAIF Development Research Foundation, is hosting a special, web-based policy discussion series on food, nutrition, and agriculture in India. The first event, “India Achieving Zero Hunger by 2030,” was delivered by TCI Director Prabhu Pingali on December 17. With around 200…

Out of the 892 million people across the world who practice open defecation, the majority live in India. Most reside in the country’s rural areas. Inadequate sanitation is one of the leading causes of fatal diarrhea and infant mortality in India, and is known to cause severe, long-term health repercussions like low height-for-age, sub-optimal cognitive…

For developing countries like India, the growth and expansion of cities brings economic opportunities to those living in impoverished rural areas. But those opportunities come at a price. According to a new study from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), the urbanization of rural areas in India is closely associated with a rise in rural…

A new study co-authored by researchers at the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) identifies household risk factors for exposure to mycotoxins—harmful chemicals produced by fungi—that can be targeted in food safety interventions. The study focuses on aflatoxin, a particularly harmful mycotoxin that plays a role in numerous adverse health and nutrition outcomes, including cancer. Published…

Prabhu Pingali, director of the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), has been named chair of the governing board of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). ICRISAT is an international organization that conducts development-related scientific research focused on reducing hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation in the dryland tropics. It is one of…

Five new scholars joined the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) at the start of the 2020-21 academic year: Kiera Crowley, Shivranjani Baruah, Sonali Uppal, Shree Saha, and Chanchal Pramanik. “I am thrilled to welcome five talented new students into the TCI scholars program,” said Prabhu Pingali, director of TCI. “With their diverse set of…