Speakers at an event on Tuesday hailed the contributions made by noted agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan.
Releasing a book on Prof. Swaminathan, Tamil Nadu Governor K. Rosaiah said the country was proud of this great son of the soil, who was the guiding light of Indian agriculture. Prof. Swaminathan was internationally acclaimed for his outstanding contributions in ushering in the Green Revolution, and not only made the granaries overflow but also brought about a sea change in the lives of agriculturists of the country, he said.
N. Ram, chairman, Kasturi and Sons Limited, said, “I do not know anyone else who has, over such a sustained period, displayed excellence and contributed value to society.” Prof. Swaminathan made it a point to donate the prize money that came with awards to the foundation, Mr. Ram noted.
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In his acceptance speech, Prof. Swaminathan said he had moved to Chennai in 1989 to establish a research centre designed to link science and society and promote a pro-nature, pro-poor, pro-women orientation to technology development and dissemination. The work on conservation of the mangrove ecosystem had a positive impact not only in Tamil Nadu, where the forests provided relief to the coast during the tsunami, but also in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and the Sunderbans, he added.
R. Thandavan, vice-chancellor, Madras University, Sandeep Saxena, chief electoral officer, Tamil Nadu, N. Parasuraman, principal scientist, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation and author of the book, also spoke.