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Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Tag: Climate Change & Sustainable Agriculture

Solar panels powering irrigation pumps on a paddy field

Ambitious Initiative Aims to Achieve Zero-Hunger, Zero-Carbon Food Systems

A new initiative at the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) will chart a path for reducing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with agriculture while meeting the nutritional demands of growing populations. The two-year research project will develop accurate…
A man watches smoke from a crop fire in India

Crop Diversification Can Curb Farm Waste Fires

A trio of TCI researchers writing in The Print argued that the farm waste fires contributing to dangerously high air pollution in North India can best be addressed by incentivizing farmers in the region to grow less rice. Director Prabhu…
Oil palm trees

TCI Researchers Urge India to Rethink Palm Oil

India’s plan to increase domestic production of palm oil could have detrimental effects on the environment and farmer livelihoods, argue Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) researcher Payal Seth and Associate Director Bhaskar Mittra in a Financial Express op-ed.…
A bus at a gas station

Sowing Trouble: The Beginnings of an Alcohol Problem?

On June 2, 2021, the Indian government announced a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for several key sectors of the economy. Under this scheme, the fuel companies will be required to sell gasoline containing up to 20 percent ethanol by 2023, with the view to reduce dependency on oil imports and lower carbon dioxide emissions in cities. (Ethanol adds extra oxygen to petrol which lowers the emission of harmful gases and is shown to significantly reduce air pollution.) This target implies that India will need 1,000 crore liters of ethanol against the nation’s current capacity of 684 crore liters.
Gas station

Op-Ed Warns Increased Ethanol Production Could Affect Nutrition Security

The Indian government’s plan to incentivize sugarcane production to boost the supply of fuel-grade ethanol could hurt efforts to improve nutrition outcomes in the country, according to researchers from the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI). In an op-ed…
A man on a ladder staring at the sea

TCI Sponsors Virtual Screening of Indian Climate Change Film

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI), Cornell Cinema, and the Cornell University South Asia Program are co-sponsoring a virtual screening of Kalira Atita (Yesterday’s Past), an acclaimed film exploring the human impact of climate change in India. Members…
A burning field

Project Aims to Curb Farm Waste Burning

The haze of pollution that settles over Delhi, India, has many sources directly in the city, such as the more than 10 million cars that drive on its roads. But some of the smog comes from hundreds of miles away,…
bins of tomatos

Blistering in the Sun: Climate Change Worsens Food Loss for India’s Tomato Farmers

In this blog post, TCI scholar Jocelyn Boiteau details how rising temperatures and unreliable rainfalls are contributing to food loss among India’s tomato farmers. Standing in a lush, green field of tomato plants surrounded by swaying trees and rocky hills,…
two people pushing food cart

Tackling India’s Food Systems Challenges in the Era of Climate Change

In this blog post, TCI postdoctoral associate Anaka Aiyar and former communications and outreach manager Jessica Ames present the “technology-plus” approach for dealing with India’s food systems challenges in the midst of climate change, as proposed in the TCI’s book, …