News

Visit our online exhibition for Cambridge Festival

26 March 2021

As part of the 2021 Cambridge Festival, we curated a free online exhibition showcasing stunning photos from India. The festival may be over, but you can read about the exhibition below. Exhibition description Photographs are powerful storytelling tools. However, their meaning is often open to interpretation; an image can...

Actigraph: Insights from measuring food intake and energy expenditure in community-based research

19 March 2021

The relationship between food consumption and physical activity is an important one, particularly for researchers looking into food consumption patterns in relation to nutritional balance. Here, Flagship Project 1 Research Associate Astha Upadhyay from TIGR2ESS collaborator PRADAN shares her recent experience using activity monitors in the community she researches in Chakai, Bihar.

Reflections on Remote Research: Caveats and Capabilities

30 October 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic has posed many challenges for researchers. Those who usually work in the field have been particularly affected. Here, TIGR2ESS intern Ellie Brain shares her experience of carrying out research remotely. She outlines key principles used for evaluating development initiatives from afar, considering the caveats based on personal experience, but also remote research’s power to highlight research’s pre-existing limitations and what can be done to change them.

Is there a public goods case for public support to agriculture in India?

25 September 2020

Justifications for supporting India’s agricultural sector typically lack an environmental perspective. A solution to this could be to think of the benefits of farming as public goods. Here, Flagship Project 1 intern Anna Gardner discusses a public goods case for public support to agriculture in India.

Silver linings: The researchers who carried on working during lockdown

31 August 2020

Lockdown has stopped much research, not just for TIGR2ESS, but across the world. However, some of our researchers have been fortunate enough to continue their work. Here, Rob Jackson (NIAB, Cambridge) and Himanshu Sharma (Punjab Agricultural University) from Flagship Project 3 , describe how lockdown has affected their research.

Does the smallholder farmer have access to quality inputs?

5 June 2020

With the onset of Kharif (monsoon) in the southern states of India, the majority of farmers have started procurement of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers and pesticides. Amidst COVID-19 induced disruptions in input production and distribution, the state governments are making efforts to ensure timely distribution of inputs to farmers. Dr Ravi Nandi and Dr Nedumaran Swamikannu's recent field survey in Warangal rural district allowed them to investigate emerging issues around inputs. Here, they summarise their findings.

Living in interesting times: Keeping interdisciplinary research moving during lockdown

19 May 2020

There is a Chinese proverb that states: “May you live in interesting times”. It has become something of a running joke between my brother and I, usually in reference to the climate crisis. But now, having seen no friends, relatives or work colleagues for over six weeks, these words no longer represent a flippant comment to my sibling: we really are living in an interesting time, and certainly not a straightforward one.

Double burden of COVID-19: Declining livelihood opportunities and aspiration failure among poor people

6 May 2020

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only a health crisis but an economic crisis too. In particular, the anxiety and fear COVID-19 has created among the poor is unprecedented. It has also created a double burden for this group; loss of income now and loss of hope, or aspirations, for the future. Here, Dr Ravi Nandi and Dr S. Nedumaran from Flagship Project 1 at ICRISAT examine the evidence for policies to improve aspirations in times of crisis.

COVID-19 and women agricultural labourers: Field realities from Tamil Nadu

29 April 2020

Women’s role in agriculture is of the utmost importance not only for developing the rural economy but also in ensuring food security. During COVID-19 lockdown in India, women’s unpaid workload in both domestic chores and care for family has noticeably increased. Here, Dr Pratheepa and Dr Rengalakshmi from the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) describe the situation faced by agricultural labour families in their study area for TIGR2ESS Flagship Project 1 and how women are tackling the lockdown period.

COVID-19: Impacts on women working in the domestic sector in Hyderabad

27 April 2020

The recently extended lockdown in India, now in force until 3 May, is a necessary measure to slow the spread of COVID-19 and thereby save lives. India’s large population and the capacity of the health sector in the country to handle the pandemic means slowing the spread of infection is essential. But the impacts of the lockdown are not gender-neutral. Women are more vulnerable from both a health and economic perspective. Here, Padmaja Ravula from Flagship Projects 1 and 6 shares her insights into the impact of the lockdown on women who work as domestic help or in part-time occupations in urban and peri-urban Hyderabad.