With the objective of improving food security, nutrition, climate resilience and livelihoods in India, the Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay will collaborate with the United Nations World Food Programme. To make this possible, as per the agreement, both IIT-B and UNWFP will work and coordinate to set up a comprehensive knowledge management system.

The agreement provides a collaborative framework between the two institutions to share the expertise and resources for advancing and promoting technological and programmatic solutions.

Sharing details about this, Sachin C. Patwardhan, Dean, Research and Development, IIT-B said: “These solutions will enhance existing systems and facilitate the effective utilisation of evidence in the critical areas of food, nutrition, climate, and livelihoods to benefit those most.”

To begin the collaboration will include a micro study to comprehend and know how the change in the climate affects food security, nutrition, and livelihoods of the vulnerable households. This study will be carried in a select geography in India.

Providing additional information, Elisabeth Faure, Representative and Country Director of the WFP in India, said that they will take the help and support of senior students of IIT Bombay in data quality monitoring work for a massive evaluation of the NITI Aayog. The WFP will provide technical support for the monitoring work.

As per the official statement the collaboration will aim to design and deliver training and capacity-building programmes for Government agencies, civil society organisations, and nutrition and food security stakeholders.

The agreement between IIT-B and UNWFP was signed today in the presence of K.V. Krishna Rao, Deputy Director of IIT-B, Abhay Kumar, Head, RAM and evaluation unit, WFP India, Anand B Rao, Head and Professor, Centre for Technology Alternatives for Rural Areas, IIT-B and Satish B. Agnihotri, Emeritus Fellow, CTARA, IIT-B.