The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), established in 1975, provides evidence-based policy solutions to sustainably end hunger and malnutrition and reduce poverty. The Institute conducts research, communicates results, optimizes partnerships, and builds capacity to ensure sustainable food production, promote healthy food systems, improve markets and trade, transform agriculture, build resilience, and strengthen institutions and governance. Gender is considered in all of the Institute's work. IFPRI collaborates with partners around the world, including development implementers, public institutions, the private sector, and farmers' organizations, to ensure that local, national, regional, and global food policies are based on evidence.

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The study has analysed the changes in structure of rural credit delivery and inclusiveness of rural credit flow across states and social groups, along with identification of factors that influence the choice of credit source. The study is based on the unit level data of Debt and Investment Survey carried out by NSSO during 1992 (48 th round), 2003 (59 th round) and 2013 (70 th round). The structure of credit system has been assessed in terms of access of rural households to different credit outlets, share of formal credit institutions, availability of credit, and interest rate. The determinants of rural households' choice for credit sources have also been studied. The study has found that the structure of credit market has changed over time and the share of institutional credit has increased. The initiatives taken by the government have paid off and the flow of institutional credit to rural areas has increased significantly even in real terms. The indicators of financial inclusion have shown a sign of improvement. However, regional disparity and presence of informal agencies in the disbursement of rural credit is still persistent. Rural households' access to institutional credit is influenced by a number of socioeconomic , institutional and policy factors. In our analysis, the education, caste affiliation, gender and assets ownership have been found to influence the rural households' access to institutional credit significantly. A concerted effort and appropriate policy reform are required to make rural households' access to institutional credit neutral to caste, class and regions.

Using farm‐level data from dairy farmers in India's Bihar state and the two‐stage residual inclusion method, this study investigates the impact of the adoption of food safety measures (FSMs) on milk yield and profitability of smallholder dairy farms. This study reveals that herd size and experience in dairy farming have a significant effect on the number of FSMs smallholders adopt. An additional FSM increases milk yield by about 1% and profitability by about 2.3%. An extra year of education increases yield and profits by about 3.8% and 4.9%, respectively. The government could design and incentivize policies that help increase herd size and promote better housing conditions for animals, thus promoting the uptake of FSMs and increased milk yield and profitability. [EconLit Citations: Q12, Q16, Q18].

The linkage between agriculture and nutrition is complex and often debated in the policy discourse in India. The enigma of fastest growing economy and yet the largest home of under-and mal-nourished population takes away the sheen from the glory of economic achievements of India. In this context, the study has examined the food consumption patterns, assessed the relationship between agricultural production and dietary diversity, and analysed the impact of dietary diversity on nutritional intake. The study is based on a household level panel data from 12 villages of Bihar, Jharkhand and Odisha in eastern India. The study has shown that agricultural production diversity is a major determinant of dietary diversity which in turn has a strong effect on calorie and protein intake. The study has suggested that efforts to promote agricultural diversification will be helpful to enhance food and nutrition security in the country. Agricultural programmes and policies oriented towards reducing under-nutrition should promote diversity in agricultural production rather than emphasizing on increasing production through focusing on selected staple crops as has been observed in several states of India. The huge fertilizer subsidies and government procurement schemes limited to a few crops provide little incentives for farmers to diversity their production portfolio.

This study examines patterns of snack food consumption (SFC) in the rural-urban-slum transect (RUST) of a large city Pune and its precincts (population 10 million) in India. The transect structure aims to mimic a representative survey for the location capturing differences by age, gender, urbanicity, and socio-economic levels. Dietary data from 1405 individuals were used to describe snacking patterns and other food consumed at different frequencies; extent of physical activity; and Body Mass Index (BMI) and waist circumference of children, adolescents, and adults. Our results indicate high incidence of SFC across all population age groups, gender, socio-economic levels, and locations. A distinctive finding in relation to studies in high income countries is the prevalence of hunger snacking with 70% identifying hunger as the primary reason for SFC. Apart from hunger, particularly for adolescents, peer influence and social interactions played a significant role in SFC. Dietary behaviors of slum dwellers were characterized by three-quarters of them having SFC together with family members at home. SFC supplemented calories for low-income consumers and complemented calorie intake for high income ones. No significant association with BMI is possibly due to obesogenic SFC being likely offset by lower consumption of non-snack food and higher physical activity among poor and slum dwellers. Promoting awareness about diets and lifestyles, improving physical and economic access to healthier snacks and nutrient dense foods can improve diet quality in a large and heterogeneous population such as Pune.