Arcus Policy Research, founded in 2021, is a policy and research organization focusing on economic, gender, social, and technological issues related to agriculture and its linked sectors. Structured as a think tank, we offer expert consultancy services, blending rigorous research with practical solutions for governments, non-profits, philanthropies, and private companies. Our specialized agricultural teams provide unparalleled insights, making us the preferred choice for major consultancy firms.We bridge the gap between academic research and practical implementation, empowering clients, including farmer producer organizations, traders, research institutions, and governments, to transform research into actionable strategies. Committed to delivering timely, impactful recommendations, we support a diverse range of stakeholders in achieving their larger policy goals.
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Based on extensive analysis of secondary and primary data, often with a high level of granularity, Arcus seeks to provide the factual foundation that supports sound policy making to ensure sustainable development and resilience in agricultural value chains, improve livelihoods and economic opportunities for all stakeholders, including small and marginal farmers, women, youth and vulnerable communities, and enhance economic and social welfare not only in India but in other developing countries in Asia and Africa as well. Our work has round the following:
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- Conducting critical analyses of policies to assess the extent to which they are able to deliver the outcomes sought to be achieved, identifying gaps in both design and implementation when results are suboptimal, and providing policymakers with insights that help calibrate policies to improve outcomes.
- Providing on-demand, strategic support to our clients in designing interventions, policies, and implementation strategies.
- Conducting landscaping studies of both microeconomic and macroeconomic environments to help clients adjust their roadmaps to achieve desired outcomes.
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Our data driven approach, using rigorous econometric analysis and based on a solid foundation of factual information, enables us to provide independent, objective and accurate analysis that are needed for informed policy making. This includes the development of analytical frameworks and metrics needed to measure the effectiveness of policies and programmes. Besides, we use ethnographic surveys, focus group discussions and other methods to understand opinions and/or experiences, which help policy makers tailor policy measures and programmes to take account of local conditions and voices.
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Central to the work we do is a talented team of analysts and consultants, led by Dr. Shweta Saini, an agricultural economist of repute, who has years of experience working with central and state governments to suggest policy changes and design focused roadmaps to improve farmer income, nutritional outcomes, gender inclusion, and farmer productivity. She is assisted by a network of consultants that includes former policy makers with hands on experience in implementing various programmes.
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We are fortunate to have central and state government ministries and departments such as the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, the Department of Food and Public Distribution and State Government of Telangana, international organisations like the World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Asia Group, industry associations like the UP Distillers’ Association, non-government organisations, other think tanks and corporates as our partners.
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OUR CEO
Shweta Saini is CEO at Arcus Policy Research (Private Limited). She is an agriculture economist and has led/co-led various policy research and evaluation studies ranging from impact of various programs on farmer productivity, income and access to market. She has led cross-geography policy work with central government and state governments to suggest policy changes and design focused roadmap to improve farmer income, nutritional outcomes, gender inclusion, and farmer productivity. She has co-authored three books and several research papers. She is leading author of many papers published in various national and international journals, reports, and policy documents. She contributes opinion pieces regularly to reputed national dailies. She is an alumnus of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), Delhi.
Our work
Aligning public health and agri-food policies on unhealthy food ingredients sugar: The aim was to assess the scope for realignment of agriculture and health public policies related to the production and consumption of unhealthy food in India in the sugar sector. Under the project, a detailed and a critical analysis of the current state of sugar policies in India was conducted. In addition, a cost-benefit analysis was done to assess the impacts of free sugars on the economy, health and environment. Link to the paper.
Agriculture Transformation in Telangana: The aim of the project was to identify implementable policy-level interventions to promote a high growth, sustainable and profitable agricultural sector in the state of Telangana. Link to report.
Feasibility of E-20 blended petrol in India: The project makes an assessment of the availability of surpluses in these three crops and about their sufficiency to meet the ethanol (for fuel blending) target of E20 by 2025-26. Link to the report.
Evaluation of farm loan waiver policies: Arcus team delivered a report on “Farm Loan waivers: Assessing motives, challenges and impact on farmers in selected Indian states”. Apart from a secondary data analysis of government finances, level of indebtedness and incomes of farmers, this Project involved a primary survey of 3000+ farmers. Link to the report.
Assessing farmer sale and marketing patterns patterns: A survey of Gram and Mustard farmers was undertaken in 2023 in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. The aim was to profile farmer behaviour regarding their storage and sale pattern of their crops upon harvest. Link to the report.
Evaluation of FPOs: The team is creating an evaluation framework to evaluate farmer producer organizations in 5 key agrarian states.
Livelihood assessment using Living Income Benchmarks: we are dedicated to ensuring sustainable livelihoods for all individuals and their families. This is why we draw inspiration from the concept of a living incomes and are actively engaged in researching and applying the concept of a living income benchmark with a specific focus on Indian farmers. We have completed livelihood gap assessments vis a viz LIBs in Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh for psyllium and mint farmers in respectively.
Ongoing
Understanding agricultural commodity markets: the Arcus Team is undertaking an intensive study of the value-chains of selected Indian agricultural commodities to develop price prediction models which demonstrate high level of accuracy and scalability for agile and future-oriented policy making to maximise returns for both consumers and farmers.
Livelihood assessments:
In-house research: As part of our in-house research, Arcus team is digging deeper into state agrarian policies and estimating Producer Support Estimates for two of the most important agricultural states of Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. In addition, we are working on Government of India’s surveys related to farmer incomes, household consumption expenditures to understand
Arcus’s research team have published opinion editorials in national dailies, online portals and magazines such as The Indian Express, India Today, Hindu Business Line, East Asia Forum of Australian National University, Financial Express, and Ideas for India.
Our Partners
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