Pallavi Rajkhowa

I am an agricultural economist with over 14 years of experience advancing sustainable food systems and rural development. I am currently working as a researcher at the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), part of CGIAR. My research has been published in leading international peer-reviewed journals, including Food Policy, Food Security, Social Science & Medicine, and the Journal of Agricultural Economics, among others. Alongside academic research, I bring expertise in policy advocacy and program management.

Before joining IWMI, I worked as an Associate Research Fellow at the Tata-Cornell Institute (Cornell University) and at the Center for Development Research (University of Bonn). I hold a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Bonn, an MA in Economics from the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, and a BA (Honors) in Economics from the University of Delhi. In 2022, my doctoral research was recognized with the Excellence in Applied Development Research Award from the Development Economics Committee of the Verein für Socialpolitik and the KfW Development Bank.

Earlier in my career, I worked as a junior researcher with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER), and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). In these roles, I contributed to research on digital technologies and ICT for agriculture, farm mechanisation for rural development, the impacts of climate shocks on child nutrition, and the role of farmer producer organizations in linking smallholder farmers to markets.

At IWMI, my research focuses on advancing sustainable food systems and climate resilience in agriculture. I study how farmers’ perceptions of climate risks shape the adoption of sustainable practices, alongside broader work on water governance in irrigation management, wetland-based livelihoods, and innovative aquatic–agricultural systems. My work also examines the welfare impacts of integrated aquaculture–agriculture, financing gaps for drought resilience, water-related constraints on the adoption of sustainable practices, and the socio-economic and environmental effects of small-scale water management interventions such as water bunds.

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