Honoured to be called Yerarignar: MS Swaminathan

CHENNAI: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu on Sunday conferred the title “Yerarignar” on MS Swaminathan, the father of Indian Green Revolution. The Tamil title that loosely translates into “an expert on ploughing” was awarded to Swaminathan to honour his contribution to the country’s agriculture sector.  
The Tamil Scientific Agricultural Society, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University and Tamil Nadu Fisheries University have jointly instituted this title.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Venkaiah Naidu said Swaminathan had played a crucial role in shaping India’s agriculture when he was the adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture. “India registered a significant increase in agricultural production in 1960s consequent upon the adoption of new agricultural strategy and use of high-yielding variety seeds and chemical fertilizers.

The key pillars of this revolution were high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation facilities.  The programme was a major breakthrough and a turning point in the history of agricultural development in India,” said Naidu.

Concurring with Naidu’s statement, Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit said, “India is one of the leading exporters of rice, primarily because of MS Swaminathan.”

Swaminathan is known for his leadership programmes in agricultural reforms and sustainable  food production.  He has received 86 honorary PhD degrees from universities all over the world and has 1,200 papers to his credit.

Receiving the award, Swaminathan recalled an incident in which the royal family of Thailand had invited him to celebrate the beginning of the harvest season. “I was asked to use the symbolic silver plough to usher in the season. The plough is a powerful symbol of agriculture and I’m honoured to receive the title Yearignar,” he said. He added that his agricultural reforms materialised only because of the synergy between technology and policy-making.