News

UK Global Challenges Research Fund – A cross GCRF UK-India workshop and satellite event of the 7th International Summit in Nutrition and Health in 2021

13 December 2021

From Agricultural Nutrition and Social Empowerment to Human Nutrition and Health in India – a workshop held on 24 July 2021. Organised by the NNEdPro Global Centre for Nutrition and Health, in partnership with the University of Cambridge TIGR2ESS GCRF Programme and the University of Surrey Maharashtra GCRF. Life course...

Understanding the field through diversity and distance

14 October 2021

During the Summer of 2021, I was fortunate enough to undertake a remote internship with Flagship Project 1 (FP1) START (Sustainable and Transformative Agrarian and Rural Trajectories) of the TIGR2ESS programme. For six weeks, I worked remotely to collate five detailed site profiles for each of the FP1 field sites, from the...

What does it take for plants to recover from drought?

12 October 2021

Plants need water to grow. An obvious but an often ignored fact when people contemplate agriculture. The simple reality is that if a crop doesn’t get the water it requires, yields will be reduced and, with climate change, a lot of crops now aren’t getting the water they need. Drought is therefore a serious problem facing...

TIGR2ESS wins the Vice-Chancellor’s Collaboration Award!

11 October 2021

The TIGR2ESS project, led by Professor Howard Griffiths, Head of the Department's Physiological Ecology Research Group , has won the Vice Chancellor's Collaboration Award. The Vice-Chancellor’s Research Impact and Engagement Awards recognise outstanding achievement, innovation and creativity in devising and implementing...

Site Profiles of the Sustainable Agriculture and Transformative Rural and Agrarian Strategies (START) Project

1 October 2021

‘Sustainable and Transformative Rural and Agrarian Strategies’ (START) is a flagship research project under the Transforming India's Green Revolution by Research and Empowerment for Sustainable food Supplies (TIGR2ESS) Programme, funded by the UK’s Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF). The research was undertaken...

Community Radio: an effective way to communicate in difficult terrain

20 September 2021

Located in the remote Kumaon valley, India, a community radio station called Kumaon Vani reaches out to 300,000 listeners spread across 500 villages in Uttarakhand state. Started by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) , the radio station raises awareness amongst local people on important issues. This blog focuses on...

Land degradation and coastal agriculture: history and restoration targets

28 August 2021

Environmental and anthropogenic factors have driven the degradation of agricultural land in a delta region of Tamil Nadu, India. Here, Dr Pratheepa and Dr Rengalakshmi of MSSRF and TIGR2ESS Flagship Project 1 describe the causes and effects of increased soil salinity on coastal agriculture and recent efforts towards land restoration.

Using the past to inform policy: How can crop diversification solve Punjab’s impending water shortage?

16 August 2021

The cultivation of primarily wheat and paddy in Punjab is increasingly depleting groundwater supplies in the region, and thus crop diversification is an important path to reducing water use. Here, archaeological research carried out by FP4 researchers Dr Cameron Petrie and Dr Adam Green which demonstrates the relevance of ancient agricultural practices to a modern water shortage is put in conversation with policy targets proposed by FP4 researchers Dr Shruti Bhogal and Dr Kamal Vatta to promote crop diversification in Punjab.

Why are aspirations of farming communities important to know in developing economies?

7 June 2021

Agriculture continues to play an important role in developing economies, yet with increasing rural-urban migration, ageing farm population, and waning interest of rural youth in agriculture, its sustainability is increasingly under threat. Here, Dr Ravi Nandi and Dr S. Nedumaran from ICRISAT and Flagship Project 1 shares results from a recent research paper with colleague Swamikannu Nedumaran, looking at aspirations amongst rural youth.

Employment diversification among farm labourers: Caste perspective

28 April 2021

Agriculture is the main source of income worldwide. However, in India there is a declining trend in the proportion of workforce employed in this sector, with many people seeking alternative employment. Here, Dr Pratheepa CM and Dr Rengalakshmi R from MSSRF and TIGR2ESS Flagship Project 1 describe the ability of two caste groups in rural Tamil Nadu to secure non-farm work.