G’nY talks with Nafees Meah, Regional Representative, International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) to solicit his views on issues pertaining to India’s food production, the impact of climate change and possible policy interventions.

Food systems are at the heart of the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. However, the current food system in South Asia is dysfunctional and needs transformation to deliver benefits to people and the planet. Achieving this requires both an evidence base for radical new policies and the adoption of innovations across the food value chain at scale.

Food systems are at the nexus of food security, nutritional health, ecosystems, climate change, and prosperity. Agricultural policies have focused on increasing food production, but may have neglected the negative externalities on nutrition, natural capital, and biodiversity. A new paradigm on food system transformation is emerging using the concept of ‘planetary boundaries’ in defining the ‘safe operating space’ for stability of the earth system and human health.