Madhura Swaminathan

Economist | Poverty and Inequality | Agrarian Studies | Women and Work

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Nominations open

[Soumya Swaminathan @doctorsoumya]

Delighted to announce this new Prize (Achievement grant) in Food Science, honouring Prof MS Swaminathan who was a founding member of @TWASnews. Please do apply and spread the word. @icarindia @CGIAR @CGIAR_EMD @AgriGoI @FAO @AASciences @insa_academy @MLJat10 @CSEINDIA @TNAU_coimbatore @IFAD

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Well put! How can AI work for food security and nutrition? Listen in.

[HLPE-FSN @hlpe_cfs]

🆕 OUT NOW!

HLPE-FSN Steering Committee member Evan Fraser just presented the new HLPE-FSN note on AI, digitalization and data governance for food security and nutrition at the @UN_CFS High-Level Forum.

📄https://t.co/o0ln53r8Ye
@Feeding9Billion

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Adding two more villages to the PARI database

[Foundation for Agrarian Studies @fasagristudies]

On June 9, 2026, the Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS) commenced household listing for the West Godavari Round of the Project on Agrarian Relations in India (PARI). Following the completion of household listing training, field investigators began the exercise in the study village of Panduvva before moving on to Yendagandi.

Here are a few glimpses from the field…

Know more: https://t.co/aq0FrnP5Yh

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Governments must invest in digital infrastructure to address inequalities of access.

[Foundation for Agrarian Studies @fasagristudies]

Sandipan Baksi ( @SandipanBaksi ), Director, Foundation for Agrarian Studies (FAS), Sai Chandan Kotu ( @sai_kotu ), Senior Research Assistant, FAS, and Tapas Modak ( @tmodak89 ), Joint Director, FAS, recently published an article in The Hindu Business Line titled “Digital agriculture in India: Problems of inclusion.”

Read the article here: https://t.co/QkDkl35NjN

The article highlights the need to improve digital infrastructure and digital literacy among farmers to improve access to farm schemes and advance digital agriculture in rural India.

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

A useful warning about the limits of a " demographic dividend"

[Review of Agrarian Studies @reviewagrarian]

India’s fertility rate is declining. What does this mean for the country’s growth? Read the piece by K. S. James (@newcombinst, @Tulane ), @AnitaRajNewcomb, and @SrinivasGoli1 (@IIPSMumbai ) to understand how India reached a TFR of 1.9 and whether it brings a demographic dividend: https://t.co/6N5RMpcB9N.

[HLPE-FSN @hlpe_cfs]

Join us on 30 June as @Feeding9Billion Evan Fraser, Member of the HLPE-FSN Steering Committee, shares key messages from the HLPE-FSN background note at the @CFS High-Level Forum.

Register⤵️
✉️In person: [email protected]
🌎Online: https://t.co/GG2LpQt70F

🔗https://t.co/4EcCYDtW35

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Luciano has captured Brazil's complex agrarian history in this article.

[Review of Agrarian Studies @reviewagrarian]

Brazil’s experience offers crucial insights for understanding agrarian change in tropical economies. Read the article by @LucianoRezende1 (Federal Institute of Rio de Janeiro (IFRJ)) to know more: https://t.co/gm9IkrXTP7.

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

A very timely an useful summary by V. Sridhar in RAS

[Review of Agrarian Studies @reviewagrarian]

How is the Iran war affecting global fertilizer supplies? What implications does it have for global food security and livelihoods? Read the piece by @sritara (formerly @frontline_india) in RAS 16,1 to know more: https://t.co/c37lxeb9dM.

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Highlights importance of income enhancement

[Review of Agrarian Studies @reviewagrarian]

What policy measures can support Asia's 130 million rice farmers? Cao Duc Phat looks at income from rice in Asia. Read the article here: https://t.co/HnSQ0M5DKd.

[N. Ram @nramind]

Don’t miss this podcast by D. Suresh Kumar, The Hindu’s Deputy Resident Editor, Tamil Nadu: “Vijay, TVK and the rise of fake political narratives | Focus Tamil Nadu”: https://t.co/c1T5NMkCWs via @YouTube

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Do send in comments

[HLPE-FSN @hlpe_cfs]

⚠️ Which issue matters most for food security & nutrition?

🌍Post-2030 agenda
🌡️ Climate
🌱Rio Conventions
🌐Geopolitics & polycrises
📦Trade
🏢Corporate concentration
💻Digital & AI
🐮One Health
🍽️Affordability
🗣️Agency

DEADLINE EXTENDED: 4 May⤵️
https://t.co/eODxjbtKE8

[HLPE-FSN @hlpe_cfs]

Women are central to agrarian economies, yet their labour remains widely undervalued, underpaid, and often invisible.

During the webinar @MadhuraFAS Swaminathan offered a compelling analysis of #women’s roles in agriculture, drawing on insights from village studies in #India📺⤵️

[Foundation for Agrarian Studies @fasagristudies]

Madhura Swaminathan ( @MadhuraFAS ), Trustee of the Foundation for Agrarian Studies and former Professor and Head, Economic Analysis Unit, Indian Statistical Institute, spoke at the policy dialogue “Evidence-Led Food Systems Transformation Policies in the Context of Viksit Bharat,” held on April 7, 2026, at the National Agricultural Science Complex (NASC), New Delhi.
In her remarks, she highlighted the importance of evidence-based policymaking and underlined how village studies offer unique and grounded insights into agrarian realities.

Know more about FAS village studies: https://t.co/iQGPBQKMl3

The dialogue was organised by the International Food Policy Research Institute ( @IFPRI ) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics ( @ICRISAT ) in collaboration with the Indian Council of Agricultural Research ( @icarindia ), with support from CGIAR Policy Innovations ( @CGIARPolicy ).

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Evidence based policy is needed but evidence has to be from diverse sources. Village studies provide unique insights, e.g., on forms of tenancy

[IFPRI South Asia @IFPRISAO]

#InauguralSessionHighlights #FoodSystems4ViksitBharat @MadhuraFAS

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Welcome comments on issues critical to food security and nutrition

[HLPE-FSN @hlpe_cfs]

HLPE-FSN invites inputs on the draft note on "Critical, emerging and enduring issues” (CEEI) to inform the MYPoW 2027–2030 of the Committee on World Food Security.

📝 Share your views: https://t.co/eODxjbtKE8
⏰ Deadline: 24 April 2026

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Look forward to the event

[IFPRI South Asia @IFPRISAO]

📢#JoinUs in person for the policy dialogue “Evidence-Led Food Systems Transformation Policies in the Context of Viksit Bharat.”
📅7 April 2026 |📍NASC, New Delhi
Organized by @IFPRI & @ICRISAT in collaboration w/ @icarindia, w/ support from @CGIARPolicy
#FoodSystems4ViksitBharat

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Statistics are available in the Kerala Development Report 2026

[N. Ram @nramind]

Kerala is India’s standout State by every indicator of social progress and human development. Dr V. K. Ramachandran, economist and Vice-Chairperson of the Kerala State Planning Board, shows how it presents to the country and the world “a democratic, socially inclusive, participatory, high-growth, and sustainable alternative development policy” — and, I would add, model — over the past decade.

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Very lively discussion

[Foundation for Agrarian Studies @fasagristudies]

Professor Madhura Swaminathan ( @MadhuraFAS ), former Professor and Head of the Economic Analysis Unit at the Indian Statistical Institute, spoke on the significance of women’s participation and contributions to agricultural activities in rural India, emphasising the importance of recognising their work, which continues to be invisibilised.

The event was chaired by Divya Pradeep, Associate Professor, Department of Economics, CHRIST (Deemed to be University).

(2/2)

[Madhura Swaminathan @MadhuraFAS]

Ordinary people across the world are suffering

[Maximo Torero @MaximoTorero]

Hormuz disruption is hitting fertilizer -- and agrifood systems next. Sri Lanka is cut off from suppliers. Egypt’s bread subsidy is under strain. Latin America faces over 7% cereal income losses. Stabilize markets, reroute trade, support farmers and import-dependent nations.

[Foundation for Agrarian Studies @fasagristudies]

#yearofthewomenfarmer

Meet Our Speakers

In our upcoming webinar on ‘UN International Year of the Woman Farmer: Some Perspectives from Village Studies in India’, chaired by Dr. Divya Pradeep, Professor Madhura Swaminathan ( @MadhuraFAS ) will situate the contributions of Indian women in agriculture within the broader context of the UN’s declaration of 2026 as the International Year of the Woman Farmer.

📅 Thursday, March 26, 2026.

⏰ 4 PM IST

Here is a brief introduction of the speakers.

Know more and register: https://t.co/eSxNNbDCyM