ISB and Dept of Agriculture, Govt. of Odisha ink collaboration to strengthen Agriculture – Nutrition linkages for improving nutrition outcomes
Indian School of Business (ISB) and Department of Agriculture & Farmers’ Empowerment (DA&FE), Government of Odisha signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) today in the presence of the Hon’ble Minister for Agriculture, Govt. of Odisha, Shri Ranendra Pratap Swain. The collaboration has two objectives – a) to improve nutrition outcomes through strengthening agriculture-nutrition convergence with a focus on fruits & vegetables and animal-source foods and, b) to establish a climate resilience support cell that will facilitate the building of sustainable and climate resilient agriculture pathways.
Indian School of Business will support DA&FE for improving nutrition outcomes amongst low-income households from increased availability, accessibility, and affordability of nutrient-dense foods, i.e., fruits and vegetables and animal-source foods. ISB will provide the responsive research and technical support for using agriculture-nutrition convergence, policy, markets, and technology for alleviating nutrition outcomes.
DA&FE will anchor this collaboration at the Govt of Odisha and will enable coordination of policies and programmes amongst different and related government stakeholders and departments for the objective of improving nutrition in the underserved geographies in the State.
In addition, ISB and DA&FE will jointly establish a climate resilience support cell. ISB will undertake research for identifying and understanding factors that affect resilience of crops, farmers, and rural livelihoods in Odisha towards climate variability. ISB will support DA&FE in identifying policy innovations and pathways for a climate-resilient agriculture roadmap for Odisha.
Prof Ashwini Chhatre, Executive Director of ISB’s Bharti Institute of Public Policy, at the MoA signing said, “An enhanced focus on markets, building on new and emerging technologies, must be brought to bear to improve nutrition outcomes, particularly amongst low-income consumers in underserved geographies. ISB’s collaboration with DA&FE will strive to harness opportunities and address challenges in agriculture-nutrition convergence for delivering improved nutrition outcomes.”
ISB’s Bharti Institute of Public Policy will also undertake research to produce a comprehensive report and case study on the Odisha Millets Mission, a large-scale, first-of-its kind initiative by the Government of Odisha to promote millets and to create awareness on nutritional aspects and health benefits of millets.