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Non-PR, IFPRI1; DCA; CRP2; F Strengthening institutions and governance; Capacity Strengthening; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture; IFPRI-ICAR, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), This study tests the hypothesis that differences in public spending explain interstate variations in land productivity, income, and rural poverty. More important, it aims to comprehend the contribution of key social and economic public investments along with private (farm household) investment toward agricultural income and inclusive growth. We address the following four key issues. First, what has been the magnitude of public expenditure and private investment on key services in rural India from 1981 to 2013, and how do states compare? Second, has the composition of public spending within the social and economic categories/heads changed across the states? If yes, has it affected the capital intensity in agriculture and irrigation? Third, what is the impact of key investments and input subsidies on farm productivity, income, and poverty alleviation, and which investment yields higher marginal returns? Last, is there any nexus between efficiency and welfare objectives due to public expenditure at the disaggregate level, and how can it be addressed?

Non-PR, IFPRI1; C Improving markets and trade; D Transforming Agriculture, DSGD; SAO, This study reviews the evolution of tractor use in India in the past few decades, and supplements this with a panel model analysis using factors associated with state-level tractor density growth. Growth in tractor use in India, unlike that in the United States and Japan, has occurred at relatively low wage rates and with a substantial majority of the workforce remaining in the agricultural sector. Considerable growth in domestic manufacturing has contributed to growth in tractor densities. Tractor density across the 14 major states in India between 1982 and 2012 was positively affected by income per capita, cropping intensity, and the average size of farmland holdings. Tractor intensity grew at a fast pace even in low-wage regions of India, indicating that relatively lower labor wages might not have been a binding factor for diffusion of farm machinery and tractors among smallholding farmers in India.

Non-PR, IFPRI3; PIM; C Improving markets and trade, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Non-PR, IFPRI5, SAO

PR, IFPRI3; C Improving markets and trade; CRP4; TARINA, SAO; A4NH, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

PR, IFPRI3; CRP7; ISI; E Building Resilience, SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

PR, IFPRI3; ISI, SAO

PR, IFPRI4; Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1; DCA, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), Chapter 3 gives a detailed description of pulse production dynamics across regions and over time. It divides the history since 1960 into four time periods: pre– and early Green Revolution; advanced and post– Green Revolution; postliberalization; and post– trade spike. To study the spatial movement in pulse cultivation, states are grouped into five geographic zones: north, east, south, west, and central. The chapter formally establishes that pulse production has shifted from traditional to nontraditional areas over time, moving from north to south and from east to west and central regions, with Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh becoming the hub of pulses production.

PR, IFPRI4; Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), During the past decade, because of the persistent deficit in India’s pulse sector, the sharp rise in pulse prices has coincided with significant changes in the nature and extent of the pulse trade. Surprisingly, no systematic study has been done on the evolution of this trade, despite the fact that the role of trade in the price formation of pulses is becoming increasingly important. This chapter attempts to fill this research gap. Since exports of pulses from India are comparatively small, we focus on imports.

PR, IFPRI4; Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1; DCA, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), In this chapter we study the dynamics of consumption of pulses and assess pulses’ nutritional role with a focus on proteins. We note variations among different income strata, highlighting the higher protein deficiency among low-income groups and the higher price responsiveness of poorer consumers. We discuss the likely ineffectiveness of targeted consumer subsidies. Subsequently, using demand-system estimation, we make projections for the demand for pulses in India to 2030.

PR, CRP4; IFPRI1; Open Access; IFPRI-ICAR, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), India, a country with high concentrations of poor and malnourished people, long promoted a cereal-centric diet composed of subsidized staple commodities such as rice and wheat to feed its population of more than a billion. Today, however, dietary patterns are changing. Policy makers, researchers, and health activists are looking for ways to fight hunger and malnutrition in the country. As they shift their focus from calorie intake to nutrition, neglected foods such as pulses (the dried, edible seeds of legumes) are gaining attention. Pulses for Nutrition in India: Changing Patterns from Farm to Fork explores the numerous benefits of a diet that incorporates pulses. Pulses, including pigeonpeas, lentils, and chickpeas, are less expensive than meat and are excellent sources of protein. In India, people consume pulses and other legumes for protein intake. Pulses also benefit the ecosystem. Among protein-rich foods, pulses have the lowest carbon and water footprints. Pulses also improve soil health by naturally balancing atmospheric nitrogen in the soil; thus, growing pulses reduces the need for nitrogenous fertilizer. Pulses for Nutrition in India: Changing Patterns from Farm to Fork looks at the country’s pulses sector in light of agricultural systems, climate change, irrigation design, and how policies (including the Green Revolution) have evolved over time. To understand how pulses can help fulfill the objectives of India’s food policies, experts explore the role that pulse production plays in global trade; the changing demand for pulses in India since the 1960s; the possibility of improving pulse yields with better technology to compete with cereals; and the long-term health benefits of greater reliance on pulses. The analyses in Pulses for Nutrition in India: Changing Patterns from Farm to Fork contribute to the emerging literature on pulses and will aid policy makers in finding ways to feed and nourish a growing population.

PR, IFPRI4; Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), Chapter 8 concludes, drawing lessons from the studies in the preceding chapters to provide policy suggestions for the way forward.

Non-PR, CRP4; IFPRI1; B Promoting healthy food systems; B.3 Food and water safety; ReSAKSS, SAO; A4NH, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), The demand for compliance with food safety measures (FSM) at farm level, an integral component of food security, is increasing. Yet, literature on the assessment of FSM at the farm level is scarce, especially for developing countries. To bridge the gap, this study investigates the status, estimates the cost, identifies the determinants, and analyzes the impact of compliance with food safety measures (FSM), using cross-sectional data from a survey of 684 dairy farmers in India. We use an ordinary least square (OLS) regression to examine the drivers of FSM adoption and we use the dose response function (DRF) technique to estimate the impact of FSM adoption on milk yield and profitability. The empirical results reveal that compliance with FSM at the farm level is low, with wide variations among milk producers. Drivers of FSM adoption include education, income, training, herd size, landholding, proportion of self-consumed milk, and households' perception of food safety. The DRF estimates reveal the positive impact of FSM adoption on milk yield and milk profitability.

Non-PR, Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), What will it take for India, with a burgeoning population of well over a billion, to meet its food needs in the coming years? If the country is to speed progress in reducing hunger, malnutrition, and food insecurity, it must first revisit its food policy framework and level the playing field for nongrain crops. In Pulses for Nutrition in India: Changing Patterns from Farm to Fork, leading researchers consider the role that pulses can play in improving food security and nutrition as well as the changes necessary in production practices to accomplish these goals.

PR, IFPRI3; DCA; ISI; CRP2; CRP4; Capacity Strengthening; F Strengthening institutions and governance, SAO; DGO; PIM; A4NH, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

PR, IFPRI3; CRP2; ISI, PIM; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

PR, IFPRI3; IFPRI-ICAR, SAO

PR, IFPRI3; Policy Reform Initiative Project (PRIP); CRP2; 3 Building Inclusive and Efficient Markets, Trade Systems, and Food Industry, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Programs on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

PR, IFPRI3; Capacity Strengthening; B Promoting healthy food systems; C Improving markets and trade, SAO; A4NH; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM); CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

PR, ISI; IFPRI3; CRP2, SAO; MTID; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Non-PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; F Strengthening institutions and governance, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), A goal of agricultural policy in India has been to reduce farmers’ dependence on informal credit. To that end, recent initiatives have been focused explicitly on rural areas and have had a positive impact on the flow of agricultural credit. But despite the significance of these initiatives in enhancing the flow of institutional credit to agriculture, the links between institutional credit and net farm income and consumption expenditures in India are not very well documented. Using a large national farm household–level dataset and instrumental variables two-stage least squares estimation methods, we investigate the impact of institutional farm credit on farm income and farm household consumption expenditures. Our findings show that in India, formal credit is indeed playing a critical role in increasing both the net farm income and per capita monthly household expenditures of Indian farm families. We also find that, in the presence of formal credit, social safety net programs such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) may have unintended consequences. In particular, MGNREGA reduces both net farm income and per capita monthly household consumption expenditures. In contrast, in the presence of formal credit, the Public Distribution System may increase both net farm income and per capita monthly household consumption expenditures.

PR, IFPRI1, DGO; CPA; WCAO; DSGD; SAO; PHND; LAC, 2016 saw important developments with potentially wide repercussions for food security and nutrition in individual countries and regions. This section offers perspectives on food policy developments across the major regions: Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. Urbanization trends and related impacts on food security and nutrition are presented for each region. The individual regional sections cover many other critical topics: Acceleration of cooperation and investment in Africa to improve food security in the face of climate challenges and low commodity prices; Continuing conflict in the Middle East and North Africa, while some countries begin to face policy reform needs and realities of low oil prices; Central Asia’s promotion of agricultural diversification and regional integration to increase economic resilience; South Asia’s rapid growth and new investments and policies in the agriculture sector; Urbanization, changing diets, and regional growth in East Asia Recession in major economies of Latin America and the Caribbean along with El Niño’s effects on regional prospects.

PR, IFPRI4; Open Access; CRP4; IFPRI1, A4NH; SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH), The remainder of this chapter presents some facts that form the background motivation for this book: the production and consumption patterns of India’s pulse sector, the global context of trade in pulses and the position of India therein, the nutritional and environmental characteristics that make pulses a salient crop in meeting human needs, and the different initiatives for the pulses sector taken up by the government of India.

PR, IFPRI3; ISI, SAO

PR, IFPRI3; DCA; B Promoting Healthy Food Systems, SAO

PR, IFPRI3; DCA; B Promoting healthy food systems, SAO

PR, IFPRI4; DCA, SAO

Non-PR, IFPRI5; CRP7, SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

PR, IFPRI5, SAO

PR, IFPRI4; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture; IFPRI-ICAR, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Non-PR, IFPRI5; CRP2; CRP4; DCA; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; F Strengthening institutions and governance; G Cross-cutting gender theme, SAO; PIM; A4NH, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH); CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM)

Non-PR, IFPRI1; CRP7; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture; E Building Resilience; F Strengthening institutions and governance, SAO, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS), Zero tillage (ZT) for wheat is one of the most widely adopted resource-conserving technologies in the rice-wheat systems in northern India. In areas of Haryana with rice-wheat systems, 36.5 percent of all farmers practice ZT on 35 percent of their wheat area. Yet the literature measuring the impact of ZT on farmers’ fields is scarce. This study fills this gap by using the data collected from a random sample of 717 farmers from 50 villages in 10 districts of Haryana. It applies the difference-in-differences method to five-year recall data on wheat yields in ZT and conventionally tilled plots of land to quantify the crop loss due to unseasonal rains right before wheat harvests in March 2015. The results reveal significantly lower wheat yield losses in the ZT plots than in the conventionally tilled plots. On average, farmers suffered yield losses ranging between 3.73 and 4.53 quintals per hectare in 2015 due to unseasonal rains. The loss was lower by 1.05–1.10 quintals per hectare in ZT plots. The analysis clearly shows that adoption of ZT helped in reducing crop loss in wheat by 24–28 percent, valued at 1,523–1,595 Indian rupees (Rs.) per hectare (approximately US$22.50 per hectare). The loss avoided due to ZT is nearly equal to the prevailing rental rate of the ZT machine (Rs. 1,500 per hectare) in Haryana. Climate models suggest that the incidence of short-duration acute hydro meteorological events is likely to increase in years to come. Such events are hard to predict and prepare for, and dealing with them hinges mainly on disaster relief. However, our results show that adoption of ZT is one possible way to reduce potential loss from some of these weather events and that ZT is therefore well characterized as a climate-smart technology.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; CRP2; A Ensuring Sustainable food production; D Transforming Agriculture, SAO; PIM, CGIAR Research Program on Policies, Institutions, and Markets (PIM), Food safety is the most vital component of food security. One option to ensure food safety is through enhancing compliance at the farm level. This study investigates the status, estimates the cost, identifies the determinants, and assesses the impact of compliance with food safety measures in milk production in Nepal. The study is based on cross-section primary data collected at the farm level from six districts of Nepal. These districts are known for milk production and capture the geographical and institutional diversity of milk production in the country. The study shows that the status of compliance with food safety measures at the dairy farm level is not very encouraging. The intensity with which food safety practices are adopted shows wide inter- and intra-district variations. This intensity depicts a positive relationship to herd size. The additional cost of compliance with food milk safety measures reveals an inverse relationship with herd size. The factors associated with the adoption of food safety measures are caste, number of children and elderly people in a family, household labor size, herd size, access to information, inspection for conformity with the safety and quality standards in dairy farming, perception of households about food safety assistance provided by milk buyers, and market outlet types. We also provide evidence of the impact of food safety measures on farm-gate prices and farmers’ profitability.

Non-PR, IFPRI1; C Improving markets and trade; TARINA; IFPRI-ICAR, MTID; SAO, Rising prices and declining consumption of pulses cause concern in terms of both nutrition and food inflation in India. This paper outlines policy strategies to increase the availability of pulses at affordable prices in India and also points out limitations of some of the most common recommendations for achieving these objectives. There seems to be no option but to increase domestic production of pulses in India. The global supply of pulses is limited compared with India’s needs, and sizable imports by India are bound to increase world prices. Domestic production of pulses in India is most likely piecewise inelastic, meaning that small price increases do not translate into a significant supply response. Because farmers face both production and marketing risks, they increase pulse area and intensify production only when there is a large increase in expected prices that covers the risk premium. Droughts, too, are a major risk for pulses. Access to one or two protective irrigations during the growing season can possibly lead to sizable increases in pulse production and reduce the production risk. The har khet ko paani (assured irrigation) initiative under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) program should give priority to pulse-producing areas. The minimum support price (MSP) for pulses, without direct government procurement, helps traders more than farmers because it acts as a focal point for tacit collusion among traders. Farmers will benefit from the MSP only if it is raised substantially from its current levels. The increase in farmgate prices due to a higher MSP will not necessarily lead to an increase in the retail price of pulses because much of the wedge between farmgate prices and consumer prices is traders’ margin. Including subsidized pulses in public distribution systems can save households some money, but it has only a small effect on total consumption of pulses and almost no effect on total protein intake. We suggest, as more potent soluti

Non-PR, IFPRI3; CRP4; B Promoting healthy food systems, NDO; A4NH, CGIAR Research Program on Agriculture for Nutrition and Health (A4NH)

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI5, NDO, 244 Pages

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

Non-PR, IFPRI5, NDO, CGIAR Research Program on Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security (CCAFS)

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI4, NDO

PR, IFPRI4, NDO