Blog

Nov 28, 2025

It starts with a simple truth: food connects us all.

From the kitchen gardens in small villages to bustling city markets, from farmers’ fields to the plates in our homes, food is the thread that weaves us together. It shapes our health, carries our traditions, sustains our livelihoods, and connects us to the land we live on.

But today, that thread is fraying.

India stands at a unique crossroads. As a food-surplus nation, we have the capacity to nourish everyone, yet many still face challenges in accessing the right kind of nutrition. Undernutrition continues to affect millions, while lifestyle-related diseases such as obesity are also on the rise. At the same time, our farmlands, water resources, and food supply chains are under increasing pressure.

These aren’t isolated problems. They are pieces of one big puzzle: Our food system.

And to fix it, we must look at the whole picture.

In 2021, the world gathered for the UN Food Systems Summit to talk about how to feed people in ways that also care for the planet. For India, it was more than a conference – it was a turning point. The Food Future Foundation, with the support of BMZ / GIZ and CII-FACE, brought together voices from across the country – farmers, researchers, businesses, policymakers, and youth leaders

They shared one belief: real change can only happen when we act together.

From those conversations, the Coalition for Food Systems Transformation in India (CoFTI) was born – a space where different worlds meet. Government and grassroots. Science and tradition. Industry and community.

Because transformation begins with We. And We means shared power, shared learning, and shared responsibility.

CoFTI’s vision is simple in words but ambitious in scope:
A future where everyone in India has access to safe, nutritious, and affordable food without harming the planet or leaving anyone behind.

It’s not just about producing more. It’s about producing better. It’s about protecting biodiversity while feeding people. It’s about ensuring that farmers earn a fair price for their work. It’s about building resilience so that our food systems can weather climate change, economic shocks, and future crises.

Before you set out on a journey, you need a map. For CoFTI, that map is the India Food System Vision Report 2030.

This report isn’t just a stack of papers. It’s the collective voice of farmers, scientists, entrepreneurs, nutritionists, and community leaders from across the country. It outlines 32 actionable pathways that touch every part of the system from what we grow, to how we grow it, to how we eat it. And it recognises one vital truth: food security, environmental health, and economic prosperity are inseparable.

If the vision report is our map, the Action Labs are the engines driving us forward. They are spaces where ideas turn into pilots, pilots into models, and models into movements.

• Diets & Consumption – where we bring food literacy into schools so tomorrow’s adults make better choices today.
• Agroecology & Smallholder Farmers – for supporting the farmers who feed us, with sustainable practices that also sustain the planet.
• Food Businesses – Encouraging companies to reimagine their role in health and sustainability.
• Food Waste & Loss – Rescuing surplus food before it’s wasted and getting it to those who need it.
• Food Environments – Designing our markets, shops, and communities so healthy food is the easiest choice.
• Policy & Institutions – Strengthening the systems that shape what we eat and how it’s produced.
• Food Systems Leadership – Training the next generation of change-makers, from young leaders to visionary chefs.

Walk into a government school in Andhra Pradesh, and you might see children learning about millets – tasting them, cooking them, understanding why they matter for health and the environment. That’s CoFTI.

Come across a young entrepreneur developing climate-smart farming tools for smallholder farmers. That’s CoFTI.

See a chef reintroducing indigenous grains into gourmet menus, making them fashionable again. That’s CoFTI.

These stories are what the coalition is made of -different people, in different places, moving in the same direction. Food system transformation isn’t a solo act. It needs the farmer who grows the crop, the scientist who studies the soil, the policymaker who sets the rules, the business that moves the food, the school that teaches healthy eating, and the consumer who makes conscious choices.

It needs women farmers to have equal access to land and resources.
It needs young people to bring fresh energy and innovation.
It needs us - all of us to play our part.

CoFTI is more than a coalition. It’s a promise.
A promise that no one will be left out of the conversation about our food future. A promise that we will rebuild systems that nourish both people and the planet. A promise that when we say We, we mean everyone.

The road to a food-secure future is long. But with every new partner, every shared idea, every community-led solution, we are getting closer. Whether you are a policymaker, a farmer, a business leader, a student, or simply someone who cares about the food you eat, you are already part of this story.

Join us. Bring your skills, your ideas, your passion. Because the future of food is a shared table. And there’s a seat for you.