The Father of India’s Green Revolution in the 1960s, when the country faced what was pejoratively described as ‘ship-to-mouth existence’, is no more. A visionary farm scientist with extraordinary passion for lifting the fortunes of the farming community, Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan — MSS as he was often referred to — was a legend in his lifetime.

His stellar contribution to the country’s food security, especially in boosting rice and wheat production, is an awe-inspiring and a highly motivating lesson for today’s young farm scientists.

MSS was someone who could clearly foresee the emerging situation even as he promptly worked on strategic plans to address the myriad challenges faced by Indian agriculture. Central to all his initiatives was the farmer, as he firmly believed, ‘for India to survive, Indian agriculture must survive’.

More than 20 years ago, in the early 2000s, Swaminathan headed the National Commission of Farmers.

Indeed, it came to be known as the Swaminathan Committee that made several path-breaking recommendations designed to motivate farmers, raise their incomes, improve yields and quality of crops and ensure food security.

Minimum support price

It is on Swaminathan’s strong recommendation that successive governments have been announcing higher levels of Minimum Support Price for several crops. He was among a clutch of doyens who turned Indian agriculture around.

Starting his research career at the National Rice Research Institute in Cuttack, Orissa, MSS did remarkable work in inter-breeding of Indica and Japonica varieties. His contribution to the promotion of Basmati varieties is well known. Today’s Basmati rice exporters owe gratitude to this committed researcher for their business.

An ardent promoter of Evergreen Revolution based on ecological principles, MSS all the time talked about sustained growth in sustainable ways.

While he was focused on his developmental activities, positions and awards came seeking him.

Among the numerous national and international awards he was decorated with was the prestigious World Food Prize, the foremost international award recognising individuals who have increased the quality, quantity, or availability of food in the world.

Genial and supportive of youngsters, MSS was often mobbed by inquisitive young scientists wherever he went. This writer carries some pleasant memories of a few interactions with the genius 15-20 years ago in India and outside.

Visit to his facilities at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation was always highly educative. We were together at the University of Guelph in Canada where he made a fervent appeal for advancement of global food security.

Sometime early to mid-2000, this author wrote an editorial in this newspaper suggesting that the policymakers must consider shifting agriculture from the State list to the Concurrent list in the Constitution. There was a pleasant surprise a few days later to read Swaminathan’s own take on the subject in the form of an Opinion piece supporting the idea.

All mortals have to move on; and so has MSS at the ripe old age of 98. He lived a full life, made extraordinary contribution to the farm sector, to the society, to the country and to the world at large. He was a truly global citizen whose larger-than-life persona will linger for a long time. Let us celebrate his life. It would be most appropriate for the government to decorate MSS with ‘Bharat Ratna’ even if posthumously.

The writer is a policy commentator and agribusiness specialist. Views are personal

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