“Is this Ms. Sunita speaking?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady. After her quick confirmation, I explained that I was outside with her order—somewhere near the intersection of her residential colony, though the app’s location marker danced uncertainly on my screen. Minutes ticked by as I scanned the quiet streets in the dark….

As India intensifies efforts to fight hunger and malnutrition, the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) are helping Indian policymakers with evidence-based strategies to include millet in the Public Distribution System (PDS) which provides food subsidies to low-income families. Known as “smart foods,”…

India has made enormous progress against hunger by incentivizing the production of staple grains like rice and wheat. Yet, as climate change advances, the country’s dependence on rice is becoming a burden due both to its large environmental footprint and its vulnerability to the climatic shifts forecast for India in the future. In a new…

On January 9 at the India Habitat Centre in New Delhi, the Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) brought together a group of researchers interested in food-based safety nets to discuss future pathways for India’s Public Distribution System (PDS). Welcoming the group, TCI Director Prabhu Pingali highlighted the critical connection between agriculture, food, and nutrition in reducing poverty….

Along India’s eastern coastline in late January, the small coastal communities of Odisha are busy with preparations for the upcoming shrimp farming season. I recently interviewed around 625 shrimp farmers across five districts in the state, gaining insights into their practices, the challenges they face, and their strategies for survival. The conversations revealed a world…

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) has published its 2023–24 Annual Report. The report offers an in-depth look at the full range of TCI’s research and other activities, including projects like Zero-Hunger, Zero-Carbon Food Systems, and field research conducted by TCI scholars pursuing graduate degrees. “As ever, I am immensely proud of the work we are…

When supermarkets first began spreading across India, they brought hope that smallholder farmers could make more money by selling them fresh, high-quality produce. Decades later, has that benefit materialized? New research from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) shows that selling to supermarkets does increase the incomes of farmers, but not all are…

It was the middle of July, and I sat on a concrete floor covered in woven carpet, joined by many women wearing brightly colored saris. Each woman was a member of a farmer producer organization (FPO) called the Mahila Umang Producers Company, or Umang. Umang is a women-only business selling jams, knit sweaters, and other…

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) is deeply saddened by the passing of Mr. Ratan N. Tata ’59, BArch ’62, whose vision and generosity made the creation of TCI possible.  A preeminent businessman and dedicated philanthropist, Mr. Tata has had a profound impact on both India and Cornell. His support for education and…

India is betting big on farmer producer organizations (FPOs) to boost its agricultural sector and improve the livelihoods of smallholder farmers, but its efforts would be enhanced by the creation of a centralized system of tracking FPOs, according to the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), a research institute based at Cornell University. In…