Is it possible to tackle malnutrition one child at a time? The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that nearly 870 million people of the 7.1 billion people in the world–or one in eight–were suffering from chronic undernourishment in 2010-2012. Nearly a third of them are in India. It’s a problem that seems insurmountable. But the Tata-Cornell Agriculture and Nutrition Initiative (TCi) is taking on the challenge. By promoting multi-disciplinary collaboration between Indian Universities, governmental and non-governmental organizations, and Cornell faculty and students, the research, development and education program links agriculture, food systems and human nutrition; including the impacts of economic policies on poverty and nutritional status. Founding director Prabhu Pingali, a professor in the Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management and a former Deputy Director for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will be outlining his vision for the new initiative at a special lecture hosted by CIIFAD, on Wednesday at 12:30 p.m.
As he writes in his blog, the solutions Pingali seeks are far from simple. TCi will focus on the most vulnerable populations facing malnutrition: rural women and children. Rural women of childbearing age (between 15-45) suffer micronutrient deficiencies at alarming rates. The result is not only reduced health and wellbeing of women; the potential and health of young children are also at stake. Children born from micronutrient deficient women and those who face malnutrition in the first two years of life can be left with diminished cogitative function and stunted growth throughout their life. Research undertaken by TCi fellows and scholars will look at the agricultural pathways that can catalyze dietary change for women and children, including opportunities to grow household income, micronutrient food availability, intra-household food distribution, and nutrient absorption and biological utilization through access to clean water and better sanitation.
Learn more about the program at its new web site, launched this week at www.tci.cals.cornell.edu.
