The Hindu : National : Swaminathan moots ‘ever-green revolution’

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Swaminathan moots ‘ever-green revolution’

Special Correspondent

Stress on blending traditional knowledge with modern science; a grave crisis developing in food security

‘Ever-green revolution can be ushered in thorough organic farming’

Says India should expand its food basket

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Agriculture scientist M.S. Swaminathan said here on Friday that “the path towards sustainable food security is ‘ever-green revolution,’ which will help increase productivity in perpetuity without the associated ecological harm.”

He was inaugurating a national conference on traditional knowledge, organised by the Amity Institute for Herbal and Biotech Products Development (AIHBPO) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Dr. Swaminathan said the technologies that could help usher in such an ‘ever-green revolution’ are organic farming or green agriculture. Both involved the blending of traditional knowledge with modern science.

“It is only such a blend that will empower us in the area of meeting the challenges posed by climate change and transboundary pests, as well as shrinking per capita land and water availability and expanding biotic and a-biotic stresses,” said Dr. Swaminathan, the architect of Green Revolution, which helped the nation tide over food scarcity in the decades after Independence.

He said a grave crisis was developing in the world in the matter of food security, the main reason being the rising cost of energy. Western agriculture practices were energy-intensive and food was bound to become costlier. India had an enormous number of farm animals as a huge repository of renewable energy, which could be intelligently used to fuel the ‘ever-green revolution,’ he said.

Dr. Swaminathan said India now needed to think of expanding its food basket. No new variety of plant had been added to the food basket during the 20th century. Malnutrition was already a serious problem in the country.

In a country like India that is rich in traditional knowledge and bio-diversity, the answer to this problem could be found in the plants.

Ashok K. Chauhan, president of AIHBPO, presided over the inaugural session of the conference.

Health Minister P.K. Sreemathy; Director-General of AIHBPO P. Pushpangadan; Vice-Chancellor of Thiruvalluvar University in Vellore, L. Kannan; the former Vice-Chancellor of Kerala Agricultural University, K.V. Peter and Executive Vice-President of the Kerala State Council for Science, Technology and Environment E.P. Yeshodharan spoke.

Honoured

The conference honoured J. Hareendran Nair, Chairman of the Pankaja Kasturi Group of Institutions, with an award in recognition of his contributions in the field of Ayurveda.

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