M.S. Swaminathan: Man of Science & Humanity

Why in the News?

The Father of Green Revolution of India, Dr.M.S. Swaminathan passed away recently.

Green Revolution (GR) in India:

1. M S Swaminathan worked closely with Norman Borlaug to usher in the Green Revolution in India in the mid-1960s.
2. India’s food insecurity in the 1960s:
   1. India was facing back-to-back droughts
   2. The country was termed as a “ship to mouth” economy, as it was importing 10 million tonnes from the US under P.L.480 scheme.
   3. The then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri gave a call to the nation to “skip a meal in a week”.
3. Swaminathan convinced the political leadership to import 18,000 tonnes of seeds of high-yielding dwarf wheat varieties, Lerma Rojo and Sonora-64, from Mexico. 
4. The new indigenised wheat varieties, Kalyan Sona and Sonalika, adapting to local conditions changed the agriculture paradigm of India.
5. Outcome of GR in India:
   1. India experienced a wheat and rice revolution. 
   2. India became self-sufficient in food production attaining food security in very few years, which later aided India’s export potential.
      1. In the last 3 years (2020-21 to 2022-23), India exported 85 million tonnes of cereals contributing to global food security.
      2. 40% of global exports of rice come from India.
6. He also recognised the adverse side effects of the Green Revolution.
   1. He acknowledged that the rapid replacement of locally adapted varieties with 1-2 high yielding strains in large contiguous areas can lead to poor soil fertility leading ultimately to the springing up of deserts, indiscriminate use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides and unscientific tapping of groundwater.
   2. He thus, proposed for a shift in converting the Green Revolution into an “Evergreen Revolution”, an improvement of productivity in perpetuity without ecological harm.

National Commission on Farmers (NCF) report:

1. NCF was chaired by Swaminathan and 5 reports were submitted.
2. One of the key recommendations was to have minimum support prices (MSP) for farmers based on the cost of production plus 50 per cent return. 
   1. The comprehensive cost can be interpreted as which includes not only out-of-pocket expenses of farmers (Cost A2) but also imputed wages of family labour (FL), imputed rent on owned land and imputed interest on owned capital. 
   2. This is known as the “Swaminathan formula”
   3. Currently, MSP of at least a 50% return over Cost A2+FL has been made operational.

About:

M S Swaminathan

1. He was a geneticist as well as an administrator. 
2. He headed the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
3. Later, became the Director General of the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines.
4. He was awarded the first World Food Prize in 1987, an award set up by Norman Borlaug as there is no Nobel Prize for Agriculture.
5. He was conferred the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan for his outstanding contributions.