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Cornell University

Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Tag: Leslie Verteramo Chiu

Jute sacks of soybeans

How Soybean FPOs Can Use Futures Contracts to Manage Risk

Price volatility affects all members of the agricultural value chain, but smallholder farmers in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to adverse prices. In general, price hedging mechanisms for smallholder farmers are limited and, in many cases, not used. With appropriate…
A soybean warehouse in Latur

Soybean Value Chains and Market Efficiency: Lessons from a Field Visit to FPOs in Latur

In a recent visit to Latur, a district in Maharashtra, India, we gained an understanding of the marketing channels and infrastructure available for local soybean producers. In India, Latur is a significant agricultural hub for soybean cultivation, with the second-highest…
A man harvesting coffee beans

A Tale of Two Aggregation Models: FPO Promotion in India and Mexico

This is the first in a series of blog posts exploring the experiences of farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and FPO promotion in India and Latin America. The next post will examine soy bean value chains and FPOs in Maharashtra, India.…
Students and mentors interacting at the Digital Ag Hackathon

TCI Scholar Wins ‘Most Market Ready’ at Digital Ag Hackathon

Tata-Cornell Institute (TCI) Scholar Shree Saha and her team took home the award for market readiness at the 2023 Cornell Institute for Digital Agriculture Hackathon on March 20. Saha’s team developed a platform, called TransportX, that would help smallholder farmers…
A woman harvesting strawberries

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

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.…