In any case, if I grow hybrid maize or hybrid pearl mallet or any hybrid, I have to sow fresh seed every year. I cannot keep the seed of the same plant. If I keep the seed of the same plant, yield will be much less and there will be a wide variation in the field, like maturity period, quality and so on.

M. S. Swaminathan

Hybrids have become an important method for improving productivity or yield in many crops including the self-pollinated crop like rice.

M. S. Swaminathan

You can classify farmers into two major groups. One who saves seeds for the next crop and the other who purchases seeds from the market. Most of the commercial farmers like the US farmers are people who purchase seeds.

M. S. Swaminathan

Rain harvesting should be made mandatory and should be made more systematic to ensure that every drop of rain is preserved.

M. S. Swaminathan

In the current scenario of climate change, predictions of extreme weather events are becoming difficult.

M. S. Swaminathan

In India, unlike in the United States and Australia, agriculture is not just a food producing enterprise but also the backbone of the livelihood security of nearly 60 per cent of the population.

M. S. Swaminathan

The rain-cum-solar energy centre functioning in Chennai is a source of credible public information on rainwater harvesting and solar energy use. Such centres need to be replicated in all our cities, towns and block headquarters.

M. S. Swaminathan

Famines were frequent in colonial India and some estimates indicate that 30 to 40 million died out of starvation in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Bengal during the later half of the 19th century.

M. S. Swaminathan

Looking ahead, the bright spot in Indian agriculture is the availability of a large untapped production reservoir.

M. S. Swaminathan

One of India's major blessings is the rich store of experience and knowledge available in the rural and tribal areas.

M. S. Swaminathan

The future of food security will depend on a combination of the ecological prudence of the past and the technological advances of today.

M. S. Swaminathan

In spite of the dominant role played by women in both farming, they are denied credit as they lack land titles. Only a small percentage of Kisan Credit Cards goes to them.

M. S. Swaminathan

A number of non-banking finance companies have entered the rural microcredit market. Many microcredit agencies have been charging interest rates not very dissimilar to those charged by moneylenders. Borrowing then becomes more to meet pressing consumption needs, rather than for farming or small-scale enterprises.

M. S. Swaminathan

A life cycle approach to food security will imply attention to the nutritional needs of a human being from conception to cremation. The most vulnerable but neglected segment is the first 1,000 days in a child's life - the period from conception to the age of two, when much of the brain development takes place.

M. S. Swaminathan

Denying a child even at birth an opportunity for the full expression of its innate genetic potential for physical and mental development is the cruellest form of inequity.

M. S. Swaminathan

The loss of land for food security has to be measured not only in quantitative terms but also in respect of land use.

M. S. Swaminathan

Contract farming can be promoted if it is structured on the basis of a win-win situation both for the producer and the purchaser.

M. S. Swaminathan

To ensure food security for all, we should be clear about the definition of the problem, the precise index of measuring impact and the road map to achieve the goal.

M. S. Swaminathan

India's future has to be built on the foundation of social protection of the economically and socially handicapped sections.

M. S. Swaminathan

Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Drought induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the small islands will be the worst victims.

M. S. Swaminathan

M. S. Swaminathan Quotes

Hybrids have become an important method for improving productivity or yield in many crops including the self-pollinated crop like rice.

You can classify farmers into two major groups. One who saves seeds for the next crop and the other who purchases seeds from the market. Most of the commercial farmers like the US farmers are people who purchase seeds.

Rain harvesting should be made mandatory and should be made more systematic to ensure that every drop of rain is preserved.

In the current scenario of climate change, predictions of extreme weather events are becoming difficult.

In India, unlike in the United States and Australia, agriculture is not just a food producing enterprise but also the backbone of the livelihood security of nearly 60 per cent of the population.

The rain-cum-solar energy centre functioning in Chennai is a source of credible public information on rainwater harvesting and solar energy use. Such centres need to be replicated in all our cities, towns and block headquarters.

Famines were frequent in colonial India and some estimates indicate that 30 to 40 million died out of starvation in Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Bengal during the later half of the 19th century.

Looking ahead, the bright spot in Indian agriculture is the availability of a large untapped production reservoir.

One of India's major blessings is the rich store of experience and knowledge available in the rural and tribal areas.

The future of food security will depend on a combination of the ecological prudence of the past and the technological advances of today.

In spite of the dominant role played by women in both farming, they are denied credit as they lack land titles. Only a small percentage of Kisan Credit Cards goes to them.

Denying a child even at birth an opportunity for the full expression of its innate genetic potential for physical and mental development is the cruellest form of inequity.

The loss of land for food security has to be measured not only in quantitative terms but also in respect of land use.

Contract farming can be promoted if it is structured on the basis of a win-win situation both for the producer and the purchaser.

To ensure food security for all, we should be clear about the definition of the problem, the precise index of measuring impact and the road map to achieve the goal.

India's future has to be built on the foundation of social protection of the economically and socially handicapped sections.

Floods will become more serious and frequent in the Indo-Gangetic plains. Drought induced food and water scarcity will become more acute. South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and the small islands will be the worst victims.