Bengaluru: Prof M.S. Swaminathan, the architect of India’s Green Revolution, reiterated first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s remarks, “The future belongs to science and those who make friends with Science”, and advised scientists to keep in mind the impact of their ideas on the environment. At a lecture on “Science and the Future of Agriculture” at St. Joseph's College (Autonomous), here on Monday, Prof. Swaminathan said, “Scientists should think about increasing the productivity of crops without damaging the environment. One should not keep only good implications of development in mind.”
In 2013, India became one of only few countries to have given the right to food by passing the National Food Security Act, to provide food and nutritional security by ensuring access to adequate quantity of quality food at affordable prices. Prof Swaminathan commended the Act for recognising the role of women which states that the senior-most woman in the household will be designated as the head of the household from the point of view of food entitlements.
Prof Swamithan said that one of the important pathways to double the income of farmers is proper utilisation of the biomass. “We have the example of rice bio-park established by the government in Myanmar and we need more biomass utilisation through such parks," he said.
President of the All-India Kisan Sabha (peasants' movement) S. Ramchandran Pillai criticised the remarks of some Union ministers which go against scientific temper. "Mr Satyapal Singh and Chief Minister of Tripura Biplab Deb have made statements that show the current government's persistent attack on scientific temper. A broad movement by social scientists and scientists is needed to inculcate scientific temper," he said. The lecture was organised by the Department of Economics of St Joseph's College (Autonomous) and Foundation for Agrarian Studies.
