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Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition

Tag: Markets & Value Chains

Bags of grain on display at a market

Q&A: What Are Value Chains and How Can They Improve Indian Diets?

In May 2025, the Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) announced its newest project, Promoting Value Chains for Climate Resilience and Nutritious Diets. TCI researchers will map and analyze the value chains for key nonstaple food groups in India—coarse…
A farmer winnowing millet

TCI Researchers Offer Plan to Reduce Environmental Impact of PDS

India can reduce the negative environmental impact of the Public Distribution System (PDS) by replacing some of the rice and wheat procured for the program with millets and including more states in the procurement process, researchers from the Tata-Cornell Institute…
Sriramulu Modadugula, Bharath Chandran C, and Elie Ntakirutimana

Selecting the Best AI Search Tool for the FPO Platform for India

When I first heard about the Tata-Cornell Institute’s FPO Platform for India, I wasn’t entirely sure what to expect. I knew it had something to do with farmer producer organizations (FPOs) and helping improve agricultural value chains, but I kept…
Bags of grain are distributed from a truck

PDS Leakage Is Down, but There’s a Catch

India’s massive food program, the Public Distribution System, provides subsidized grain to more than 800 million people each year, but not all of it reaches consumers. In 2011–12, about 42% of the 51.4 million metric tons of grain distributed through…
Men standing in front of a truck loaded with bags of pulses

New Project Promotes Diverse Food Value Chains in India

In a food system, growing crops isn’t the end of the story; it’s not even the beginning. Before crops can be grown, seeds and other inputs must be purchased. After the harvest, crops may be processed or refined before moving…
A farmer tending to blue agave plants

Conference to Support FPOs in Latin America

The Tata-Cornell Institute for Agriculture and Nutrition (TCI) is co-organizing and cosponsoring a hemispheric conference in support of farmer producer organizations (FPOs) in Latin America. “Smallholder Producer Organizations as Business Entities in Latin America: Scope, Challenges and the Road Ahead”…
Oil palm trees

Weighing the Price of Oil Palm in Nagaland

David (name changed) is one of the few Naga farmers who actually works his farm, where he grows oil palm. Most other landowners appoint “caretakers” to look over their land. David is also a part-time social worker and a grassroots…
A delivery worker sitting on his motorcycle and looking at his phone

Behind the App: Life as a Gig Worker in India

“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…

Making Supermarkets Profitable for India’s Small Farms

This policy brief presents the results of a study examining the impact of supermarkets on smallholder farmers in India. Using field survey data collected from 795 farm households across four states representing India’s varied agroclimatic and socioeconomic regions, researchers found that farmers who sold to...

TCI Publishes 2023–24 Annual Report

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…