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Who we are

With research staff from more than 60 countries, and offices across the globe, IFPRI provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.

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researcher spotlight

Samuel Benin

Samuel Benin is the Acting Director for Africa in the Development Strategies and Governance Unit. He conducts research on national strategies and public investment for accelerating food systems transformation in Africa and provides analytical support to the African Union’s CAADP Biennial Review.

Where we work

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Where we work

IFPRI currently has more than 600 employees working in over 80 countries with a wide range of local, national, and international partners.

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Research by country and region

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experts

Natural Resources and Resilience

Vartika Singh

Senior Research Analyst

Bio

Vartika Singh is Senior Research Analyst in the Natural Resources and Resilience Unit, where she is working on the Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) project. In a previous stint at IFPRI, she worked on large-scale behavioral economic experiments with farmers across South Asia on willingness to adopt new agricultural technology.

Prior to rejoining IFPRI in 2017, Vartika worked as Research and Training Manager with Evidence for Policy Design (India) at Harvard University and IFMR LEAD where she worked with policymakers from the Ministry of Rural Development and the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on complex policy problems in India. She has also worked with EPoD India on the capacity building of senior administrators to use research evidence for smart policy design. Vartika holds a master’s degree in Development Studies from Tata Institute of Social Sciences in Mumbai, and a bachelor’s degree in Economics from Hindu College at Delhi University.

Languages spoken: English, Hindi, Oriya

Publications

Publications

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Journal Article

Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security

2024Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; Villholth, Karen G.
Details

Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security

Groundwater development is key to accelerating agricultural growth and to achieving food security in a climate crisis. However, the rapid increase in groundwater exploitation over the past four decades has resulted in depletion and degradation, particularly in regions already facing acute water scarcity, with potential irreversible impacts for food security and economic prosperity. Using a climate–water–food systems modelling framework, we develop exploratory scenarios and find that halting groundwater depletion without complementary policy actions would adversely affect food production and trade, increase food prices and grow the number of people at risk of hunger by 26 million by 2050. Supportive policy interventions in food and water systems such as increasing the effective use of precipitation and investments in agricultural research and development could mitigate most negative effects of sustainable groundwater use on food security. In addition, changing preferences of high-income countries towards less-meat-based diets would marginally alleviate pressures on food price. To safeguard the ability of groundwater systems to realize water and food security objectives amidst climate challenges, comprehensive measures encompassing improved water management practices, advancements in seed technologies and appropriate institutions will be needed.

Year published

2024

Authors

Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; Villholth, Karen G.

Citation

Perez, Nicostrato; Singh, Vartika; Ringler, Claudia; Xie, Hua; Zhu, Tingju; Sutanudjaja, Edwin H.; and Villholth, Karen G. Ending groundwater overdraft without affecting food security. Nature Sustainability. Article in press. First published online June 14, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01376-w

Keywords

Agriculture; Food Security; Groundwater; Climate Change Adaptation

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-024-01376-w Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Journal Article

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Data Paper

FABLE Scenathon 2023: Pathways for food and land-use systems in India

2024Saha, Ankit; Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Joshi, Aditi; Jha, Chandan Kumar; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Stevanović, Miodrag; Lotze-Campen, Hermann
Details

FABLE Scenathon 2023: Pathways for food and land-use systems in India

Our food and land-use systems are critical for staying within our planetary boundaries and the Earth’s system resilience. Among the six Transformations required to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the fourth Transformation—focusing on food, land, and water—is crucial. This Transformation is key to achieving SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production), SDG 13 (Climate Action), SDG 14 (Life Below Water), and SDG 15 (Life on Land). Moreover, it significantly supports the remaining SDGs, underscoring its crucial role in fostering a sustainable future. In this document, we present the results of the 2023 ‘Scenathon’, a modelling exercise by the FABLE Consortium exploring three alternative futures for national and regional food and land-use systems. The term ‘Scenathon’ stands for ‘a marathon of scenarios’ and refers to FABLE’s iterative process for ensuring that national and regional pathways have coherent trade assumptions and align with global sustainability targets (see the 2024 Sustainable Development Report for more information).

Year published

2024

Authors

Saha, Ankit; Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Joshi, Aditi; Jha, Chandan Kumar; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Stevanović, Miodrag; Lotze-Campen, Hermann

Citation

Saha, Ankit; Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Joshi, Aditi; Das, Prantika; Jha, Chandan Kumar; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; et al. 2024. FABLE Scenathon 2023 Pathways for food and land-use systems in India. Paris: Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11548491

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Asia; Southern Asia; Land Use; Policies; Resilience; Sustainable Development Goals

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open AccessCC-BY-4.0

Links

https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.11548491 Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Data Paper

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Poster

A Healthy, Inclusive, and Sustainable Food Systems Approach for India

2023Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Jha, Chandan; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Popp, Alexander
Details

A Healthy, Inclusive, and Sustainable Food Systems Approach for India

The urgency of India’s food system transformation is more pronounced than ever. Despite high economic growth and rising per capita incomes, approximately 194 million people in India remain undernourished and there is a high prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies, particularly among women and children under 5 years. Agri-food systems in India employ more than 50% of the workforce and engage nearly 82% of smallholder farmers. Therefore, ensuring inclusive growth and reduced poverty necessitates new and enhanced livelihood and employment opportunities in the agri-food sector. We use an integrated suite of models to create macro policy scenarios for India until 2050. These scenarios are centered around equitable livelihoods by ensuring minimum wages for agricultural labor, and inclusive development through reduction in income inequalities and wage gaps. Our results suggest that multiple livelihood-enhancing measures, such as minimum wages and capital investments, when combined, have a weakening effect on inclusion outcomes. Employment levels significantly decline, affecting 19 million people. This has higher negative effects on women whose agricultural employment has been found to reduce disproportionately with increased capital investments. However, livelihoods improve from higher wages and lower economic costs of production. Transformative actions encouraging agricultural labor engagements can potentially increase the share of labor requirements to 73.5% by 2050, compared to 67% in the baseline, thereby enhancing employment opportunities for nine million individuals. Our integrated Food Systems Development Pathway, which integrates multidimensional policy measures, reports strong trade-offs with the goals of inclusion as the largest decline in employment is observed in this scenario following an increase in wages and labor productivity

Year published

2023

Authors

Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Jha, Chandan; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Popp, Alexander

Citation

Singh, Vartika; Das, Prantika; Jha, Chandan; Ghosh, Ranjan Kumar; Stevanovic, Miodrag; Lotze-Campen, Hermann; Popp, Alexander. 2023. A Healthy, Inclusive, and Sustainable Food Systems Approach for India. Poster. Presented at the CGIAR GENDER Conference ‘From Research to Impact: Towards just and resilient agri-food systems’, New Delhi, India, 9-12 October 2023. International Food Policy Research Institute

Country/Region

India

Keywords

Southern Asia; Asia; Gender; Agriculture; Research

Language

English

Access/Licence

Open Access

Source

Source record

Project

NEXUS Gains

Record type

Poster

Blogs

Experts identify policy gaps in fertilizer application in India
IFPRI Blog
 | 
January 03, 2019

Experts identify policy gaps in fertilizer application in India

By Vartika Singh and Dakshinamurthy Vedachalam

Innovation in the fertilizer industry and in reaching farmers with best practices and knowledge are key to improving fertilizer application and crop health in India.

Designing a better Soil Health Card for farmers in India
IFPRI Blog
 | 
March 19, 2018

Designing a better Soil Health Card for farmers in India

By Vartika Singh and Sujata Ganguly

The government of India has distributed 100 million cards to help farmers monitor soil health. But many are finding them overly technical and difficult to use.

Events

From Research to Impact: Towards just and Resilient Agri-food Systems
IFPRI Program/Country Event

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October 9 to 12, 2023

From Research to Impact: Towards just and Resilient Agri-food Systems

Conference: October 09, 2023 – 9:00 AM to October 12, 2023 – 6:00 PM IST. IFPRI is participating in the 2023 annual CGIAR gender research conference will take place in New Delhi, India.

31st International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE)
IFPRI at External Event

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August 17 to 31, 2021

31st International Conference of Agricultural Economists (ICAE)

Virtual Event: AUG 17, 2021 – 08:00 AM to AUG 31, 2021 08:00 PM EDT. IFPRI is participating in the 31st Conference of Agriculture Economists organized by the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE). 

2019 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting
IFPRI at External Event

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July 21 to 23, 2019

2019 Agricultural & Applied Economics Association (AAEA) Annual Meeting

IFPRI is participating in the 2019 AAEA Annual Meeting. The AAEA is a not-for-profit association serving the professional interests of members working in agricultural and broadly related fields of applied economics. Members of the AAEA are employed by academic or government institutions, as well as in industry and not-for-profit organizations, and engage in a variety […]

News

June 14, 2024 | Press Release

New study emphasizes tradeoffs between arresting groundwater depletion and food security

A new study published today in Nature Sustainability, reaffirms the world’s growing dependence on depleting groundwater systems.

March 19, 2023 | In the News

MC explains | Maharashtra’s onion crisis: The reasons and the repercussions (Money Control) 

“Maharashtra’s onion farmers, the star producers of India’s perennial kitchen staple, are staring at huge losses. This is likely to have a serious impact on onion harvest going ahead,” writes Money Control in a story on onion prices. Farmers are demanding the lifting of the ban on onion exports. There have also been reports of […]