Who is swaminathan

Monkombu Sambasivan Swaminathan". Farmers in India had long suffered from a lack of food security. In the s, it was widely predicted by demographers and economists that population would outstrip food production in developing nations, leading to famine in India and throughout the rest of Asia.

At the time, massive shipments of imported grain were the only means by which the continent was averting famine. The two scientists worked side by side to develop wheat varieties that would yield higher levels of grain as well as develop stalk structures strong enough to support the increased biomass.

In addition to participating in this scientific breakthrough, Swaminathan also created new methods to teach Indian farmers how to effectively increase production by employing a combination of the high-yielding wheat varieties, fertilizers, and more efficient farming techniques. In , Swaminathan set up thousands of demonstration and test plots in the northern region of India, showing small-scale producers that the new, genetically superior grain could thrive in their own fields. Not only did agricultural yields improve, but also scientific advances in agriculture were introduced and used by the producers themselves.

Swaminathan later worked with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to establish agricultural policies and programs that would maintain long-term self-sufficiency across the country.

Swaminathan became chair of numerous prestigious international conferences, including the United Nations World Food Congress in Rome. As an advocate of scientific collaboration, he influenced renowned organizations and research centers such as the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, and the International Federation of Agricultural Research Systems for Development — serving as its Director General from to Swaminathan served as Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Agriculture in and Swaminathan was selected as the first World Food Prize Laureate, receiving the award in Swaminathan Research Foundation, in Chennai, India, in In , Swaminathan was elected President of the Nobel Peace Prize-winning Pugwash Conferences on science and world affairs, which brings global leaders and thinkers together with the goals of reducing the danger of armed conflict and cooperatively solving global problems.

He was the first citizen of a developing country to hold this post. Pedro Sanchez as a Hunger Task Force coordinator for the United Nations Millennium Project, which in early developed clear targets and a practical plan for reducing poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental degradation, and discrimination against women, to be achieved over the following decade.

Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award in The International Association of Women and Development conferred on him the first international award for significant contributions to promoting the knowledge, skill, and technological empowerment of women in agriculture and for his pioneering role in mainstreaming gender considerations in agriculture and rural development. He has received 84 honorary doctorate degrees from universities around the world.

He also Chairs the Task Force set up by the Ministry of External Affairs to oversee the projects undertaken in Afghanistan and Myanmar in the field of agriculture. He is also the recipient of World Agriculture Prize Living Legends in Indian Science. Zero Hunger is Possible. Skip to main content. Search form Search.