Azari Cardgame

Nandini Agarwal is a food systems researcher and practitioner working at the intersection of policy, urban governance, and climate-resilient agriculture. Her work centres on how public institutions, multi-stakeholder coalitions, and investment programmes can accelerate equitable transitions towards healthier, more sustainable food systems—connecting rigorous evidence with practical pathways for implementation.

Over the past several years, she has led and supported multi-partner research and programme delivery across India and Germany. As a German Chancellor Fellow researching urban food systems, she designed and carried out research in Berlin, Freiburg, and Cologne on the role and impact of Food Policy Councils, alongside convening exchanges between city actors and international organisations. She has helped build collaborations across India, Germany, Brazil, and the United Kingdom to advance action on urban food systems transitions and to explore how governance innovations can be adapted across contexts. During her Humboldt residency, she also created an interactive game to make food systems dynamics more accessible to wider audiences, particularly students who want to delve deeper into systems complexities in an engaging manner.

Previously, at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), she managed food and agriculture portfolios focused on scaling sustainable and regenerative practices, strengthening rainfed livelihoods, and informing policy processes. Her work has contributed to frameworks and policy outputs for national decision-makers, and she has co-authored publications on topics including sustainable agriculture initiatives, millet value chains, and circular economy linkages within food systems.

She presently works as Business Development Specialist, adelphi consult & SEEK Development.