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What Makes a Good Tomato? Unpacking Tomato Quality Attributes in South India
December 17, 2020
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…

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Bihar University Research Shows Impact of TCI Soil Health Project
December 15, 2020
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…

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TCI to Co-Host Series on Food, Nutrition, and Agriculture in India
December 9, 2020
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…

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Ending Open Defecation: My Sanitation Story
November 18, 2020
by Payal Seth
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…

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New TCI Study Shows Urbanization Increases Risk of Rural Obesity
November 13, 2020
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…

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New TCI Study Identifies Household Risk Factors for Mycotoxins
November 3, 2020
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…

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TCI Director Named Chair of ICRISAT Governing Board
October 30, 2020
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…

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TCI Welcomes Five New Scholars
October 29, 2020
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…

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Five TCI Scholars Earn PhDs
October 28, 2020
Five scholars from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) completed their PhDs over the past few months, despite restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Shiuli Vanaja, Anthony Wenndt, Kathryn Merckel, Fatma Rekik, and Rohil Bhatnagar each earned their doctorates over the course of the spring and summer. “These five scholars—the most we’ve had graduate in a single year—have done…

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TCI Alumnus Expands Research After Graduating
October 14, 2020
Naveen Sunder, who graduated from Cornell University with his PhD in economics in May 2019, didn’t join the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) until midway through his graduate studies, but nearly a year after graduating, he is still contributing to TCI’s research work. Now an assistant professor of economics at Bentley University, Sunder…