A renowned expert on Indian policy visited the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in October to join discussions on how to best repurpose policies for a sustainable and nutritious future in the world’s most populous country.

Ashok Gulati, the Distinguished Professor at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), former Director at the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), and former member of the Economic Advisory Council of Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is renowned for his deep involvement in policy analysis and advice in India. 

Gulati is also a longtime collaborator with faculty at Illinois, most recently publishing a book Reducing Postharvest Losses in India in conjunction with the ADMI Institute for Prevention of Postharvest Loss, housed in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences (ACES). Additional authors include Raya Das, who accompanied Gulati on the recent visit to the U. of I., and Alex Winter-Nelson, who retired from the College of ACES and as director of ADMI earlier this year. 

“We are proud to see this important work come out in press that builds on the previous work of ADMI,” noted Paul McNamara, director of ADMI and professor in agricultural and consumer economics. 

While on campus, Gulati and Das participated in meetings with students and faculty and two public events that allowed for robust discussion and questions. 

Two Illinois faculty, Madhu Khanna and Atul Jain, joined Gulati and Das in an enlightening panel discussion “India Sustainability Policy Forum: Agriculture, Environment, and Climate in Today’s India.” 

“Bringing together four experts with different perspectives, all with personal ties to India, the discussion was informative for all in the room, and we left with more to think about and ideas for building on the panel’s discussions around the current critical aspects of India’s subsidy policies for agriculture and how those affect the natural resources, environment, and climate,” said Mary Arends-Kuenning, associate dean for ACES International. 

Gulati also presented the annual ACES International Distinguished Lecture “Re-purposing Indian Agri-Food Policies for a Sustainable and Nutritious Food System” that was attended by students from various colleges and departments who had many questions for the speaker.

Gulati noted that although India currently produces enough food for its population, given the challenges of climate change and malnutrition there is a need for the country to repurpose its subsidies towards creating a climate resilient and climate smart system as well as more nutritious agriculture. He suggested that digitalization of the food system can help achieve the goal with fewer resources and closed the lecture by emphasizing the importance of closing the gender gap in Indian education.  

The visit was hosted and coordinated by the ACES Office of International Programs and the ADMI Institute for the Prevention of Postharvest Loss. 

The study, “Reducing Post-Harvest Losses in India: Farmer-Level Interventions and Grain Management Strategies” by Ashok Gulati, Raya Das, and Alex Winter-Nelson is available on the ADMI website.

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