Professor M.S. Swaminathan on 'Keys to the next Greener Revolution'
Date: Monday 14 February 2011 Download the lecture Time: 5.30-6.30pm Venue: The Spot, corner Pelham and Berkeley Streets, Carlton - closest to tram stop 10 on Royal Parade. Map (reference Q13). Enquiries: Lyn Spokes
Professor Swaminathan coined the term 'Evergreen Revolution' to highlight the pathway of increasing production and productivity in a manner such that short and long term goals of food production are not mutually antagonistic. He wants to produce more from less, less land, less pesticide, less water to achieve sustainable agriculture.
In support of this revolution he worked on better disease crops, better soil health and fertility without having to resort to chemical fertilizers and the use of biological controls to reduce damage caused by pests.
Without the advantages of technology, capital and subsidies, his answer is to pursue a knowledge revolution by getting the right information out to people at the right time where it can be combined with local understanding to produce valuable knowledge.
Biography
Professor M.S. Swaminathan is considered the ‘father’ of the Green Revolution in Asia. He has been acclaimed by TIME magazine as one of the twenty most influential Asians of the 20th century and one of the only three from India, the other two being Mahatma Gandhi and Rabindranath Tagore.
He has been described by the United Nations Environment Programme as “the Father of Economic Ecology” and by Javier Perez de Cuellar, Secretary General of the United Nations, as “a living legend who will go into the annals of history as a world scientist of rare distinction”.
He was Chairman of the UN Science Advisory Committee set up in 1980 to take follow-up action on the Vienna Plan of Action. He has also served as Independent Chairman of the FAO Council and President of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources.