-Down to Earth Report released by US-based non-profit indicates that 2 billion people in the world suffer from hidden hunger, affecting their health and productivity India has improved its ranking in the new Global Hunger Index report released by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), a Washington-based global non-profit. The country has been ranked at 55 among 76 countries, above Bangladesh (ranked 57) and Pakistan, (also ranked 57). But Nepal and...

-Financial Chronicle The United Nations declared 2014 as the International Year of Family Farming (IYFF) to recognise the importance of family farming in reducing poverty and improving global food security. According to the UN, the IYFF aims to promote new development policies at national and regional levels that will help small holder and family farmers eradicate hunger through small scale sustainable agricultural production. Family farming involves about 500 million families consisting...

-The Economic Times The rationale for embedding nutrition-specific and nutrition-sensitive programmes in a development agenda is compelling. And yet, strangely, it has been ignored. Planning and implementation of such programmes require collaborative, consistent and aligned effort across multiple sectors. Currently, we have a myopic vision to pursue narrow agendas. Transformational change requires tackling one of the most obdurate challenges: malnutrition. This blight has a large human impact and a larger economic impact...

-The Hindu     Aberrations in monsoon behaviour are not uncommon. What is new is the difficulty in forecasting caused by factors coming under the generic title, ‘Climate change.' Forecasts by the South Asian Climate Outlook Forum and the India Meteorological Department indicate that the south-west monsoon rainfall may be deficient. Also, there is a possibility of the evolution of an El Niño event during June to September. There is a 45 per cent...

-The Hindu But it won't address hunger and malnutrition, and protein and micronutrient deficiency: eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan Bangalore: The national Food Security Act marks an important first step in the fight to eliminate hunger in India, but much more remains to be done, eminent agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan has said. Addressing the ninth edition of the Nutra India Summit organised by the International Society for Nutraceuticals, Nutritionals and Naturals, Prof. Swaminathan...