From Green to Evergreen Revolution


Book Description

Despite efforts by the central and state governments, India remains home to the largest number of malnourished children and adults in the world. Authored by M. S. Swaminathan, a world scientist of rare distinction, this book holistically considers the problem of food production in India. Arguing for the use of environmentally sustainable agriculture--referred to as the "evergreen revolution"--this compilation addresses a number of ways to attain a hunger-free India, such as monsoon management, safeguarding biological diversity, and food security.




50 Years of Green Revolution


Book Description

The green revolution in India about 50 years ago transformed India's image then as begging bowl to bread basket. This transformation during the 1960s took just about 4 years. The yield increases achieved in wheat and then in rice which occurred in just about half decade is far in excess of the yield increases during the preceding 4000 years. This remarkable feat was achieved with the leadership of the author using the dwarf wheat types which had been produced by Norman Borlaug in Mexico. The research and development of green revolution of wheat and rice at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi was led by the author along with his team of students and co-workers. He has published over 100 papers on green revolution and the ever-green revolution which is a refinement of the former. This book is a compilation of just about 40 of his numerous research papers, monographs and books published by him on this subject. The papers in this book bring out the scientific basis of the modification of the plant type so as to be responsive to exogenous addition of chemical fertilizers and irrigation. The ideal plant type enables capture of adequate sunlight and using the chemical fertilizers added to the soil, produce substantial photosynthetic starch. And because the plants have short and thick culm, they are able to withstand enormous amounts of grains in their ears. This indeed was the basis of breaking the yield barriers associated with native varieties. The book also brings out that green revolution had established the food security at the national level but not at the individual household levels of millions of resource-poor rural small and marginal farming, fishing and landless families. Further green revolution was commodity-centric and the manner of its practice led to environmental degradation and social inequities. This author realized as early as 1972 that system of agriculture in India should be designed to fight both the famines of food and rural livelihoods. In pursuit of it, this author further designed an evergreen revolution with systems approach. What this means is providing concurrent attention to ecological foundations of agriculture and the livelihoods of the rural people. The book also brings out that green revolution was a team effort involving scientists, policy makers, administrators, farmers and students. This book is an outstanding example of green revolution providing a breathing space by putting the cereal grain production rate ahead of the population growth rate and then when food security has been adequately established, the system is changed to achieve productivity in perpetuity without causing environmental and social harm.




M.s. Swaminathan: Legend In Science And Beyond


Book Description

This unique volume is not just an in-depth analysis of Professor Swaminathan's brilliant contributions to basic cytogenetics, radiation biology, mutagenesis and genomic affinities of cultivated potato and its wild derivatives, but also the application of the new knowledge gained to improve the productivity of agricultural crops, as also to enhance their resistance to a variety of biotic and abiotic stresses. No other earlier biographies of Professor Swaminathan bring out these salient dimensions of his scientific achievements made at the Wageningen University, The Netherlands, Cambridge University, UK, and Wisconsin University, USA as well as Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi. This biography is also unique for its revelation that Professor Swaminathan's contributions par excellence have been in contemporary areas of crop improvement for productivity and resistance to pests and diseases.This volume is also unique in bringing out that Professor Swaminathan, Father of India's Green Revolution, wanted to use this chemically intensified system only to gain 'breathing space' and went on to propose a 'systems approach' — based evergreen revolution in order to 'achieve productivity in perpetuity' through various pathways of ecoagriculture, and also integrated it with avenues for on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. Towards this goal, he made innovative uses of ecotechnologies in a 'biovillage' paradigm and modern information and communication technology (ICT) in Village Knowledge Centres (VKCs) to provide skill and knowledge empowerment respectively of the resource-poor rural women and men towards sustainable management of the natural resources for creating income-generating on-farm and non-farm livelihoods. This volume also brings out how Professor Swaminathan elegantly combined intellect and labour (hard work), and professional zeal with compassion for the poor. He is always open to new ideas, and new technologies without of course, compromising the values of traditional knowledge and ecological prudence of the rural and tribal people. This volume nicely captures how Professor Swaminathan with a deep and comprehensive understanding of the threats to the ecological foundations of agriculture and sustainable rural development, environmental degradation, social inequities and the climate change risks, has also harnessed science and technology to convert challenges into opportunities. This volume is written in a manner to serve also as a text book, going beyond the scope of just a biography. That should benefit generations of students on one hand, and sustain an interest in the book for many years on the other.




Science and Sustainable Food Security


Book Description

Section I. Food security and economic development - how science is applied to solve problems of poverty, drought and famine. 1. Key to third world prosperity / Swaminathan, M.S. 2. Changing nature of the food security challenge : implications for agricultural research and policy / Swaminathan, M.S. 3. Bridging the nutritional divide - building community centred nutrition security systems / Swaminathan, M.S. 4. Africa's rainbow revolution / Swaminathan, M.S. 5. Hunger in Africa : the link between unhealthy people and unhealthy soils / Sanchez Pedro, A. and Swarninathan, M.S. 6. Cutting world hunger in half / Sanchez Pedro, A. and Swaminathan, M.S. 7. Can science and technology feed the world in 2025? / Swarninathan, M.S. 8. Effects of climate change on food production / Parry, Martin L. and Swaminathan, M.S. 9. Sustainable food security in Africa : lessons from India's green revolution / Swaminathan, M.S. 10. Sustainable food and water security / Swaminathan, M.S. -- Section II. Science and food security - how science is used to generate efficient and optimal agricultural outputs. 11. Science and sustainable food security / Swaminathan, M.S. 12. Indian agriculture at the crossroads / Swaminathan, M.S. 13. Magnitude of hybrid vigor retained in double haploid lines of some heterotic rice hybrids / Bui Ba Bong and Swaminathan, M.S. 14. Development of monosomic series in an Indian wheat and isolation of a nullisomic lines / Swaminathan, M.S. [und weitere]. 15. Consanguineous marriages and the genetic load due to lethal genes in Kerala / Kumar, S., Pai, R.A. and Swaminathan, M.S. 16. The experimental manipulation of genes / Swaminathan, M.S. 17. Nature of polyploidy in some 48-chromosome species of the section Tuberarium Genus Solanum / Swaminathan, M.S. 18. Overcoming cross-incompatibility among some Mexican diploid species of solanum / Swaminathan, M.S. 19. Polyploidy and radiosensitivity / Swaminathan, M.S. and Natarajan, A.T. 20. Disomic and tetrosomic inheritance in a Solanum hybrid / Swaminathan, M.S. 21. The green revolution in Indian agriculture from an environmentally sound technology point of view / Swaminathan, M.S. 22. Science and shaping our agricultural future / Swaminathan, M.S. -- Section III. Food security and ecological balance - how the gains of green revolution are impacted by climate change, how science will be helpful in ensuring sustainable food security, green revolution to ever-green revolution - a roadmap. 23. An evergreen revolution / Swaminathan, M.S. 24. Agriculture and food systems / Swaminathan, M.S. 25. Managing extreme natural disasters in coastal areas / Kesavan, P.C. and Swaminathan M.S. 26. Ecological security - a prerequisite for food and livelihood security / Swaminathan, M.S. 27. Genetic conservation : microbes to Man. Presidential addres / Swaminathan, M.S. 28. Monsoon management in an era of climate change




In Search Of Biohappiness: Biodiversity And Food, Health And Livelihood Security


Book Description

This book describes how an era of biohappiness, based on the conservation and sustainable and equitable use of biodiversity, can be launched. It deals with all aspects of conservation such as in situ, ex situ and community conservation, and also covers conservation issues relating to mangroves and other coastal bioresources, whose importance has grown with the emerging possibility of sea-level rise from global warming. The book includes concrete examples of how local tribal families have taken to the establishment of gene, seed, grain and water banks in villages, thus linking conservation, cultivation, consumption and commerce in a mutually-reinforcing manner.




Combating Hunger and Achieving Food Security


Book Description

The issues that need to be addressed in combating hunger and achieving food security are highlighted in this book by a great Indian geneticist. It also discusses the major causes of chronic and hidden hunger and emphasises the need to redesign the farming system based on nutritional considerations. The role of an effective monsoon management programme to maximise its benefits is examined. There are chapters that analyse the importance of biodiversity conservation and enhancement and farmer skill development. Important issues to increase agricultural production including investment by financial institutions in agriculture and rural development, women's role in agriculture and youth employment in rural livelihoods are discussed in great detail in the text. The book concludes that there must be synergy between scientific knowledge, political will and farmers' active participation to achieve the goal of overcoming chronic and hidden hunger in the populations of developing countries.




Remember Your Humanity


Book Description

A well-known writer and speaker in forums all over the world, a list of Dr. Swaminathan’s writings and speeches goes to over 50 . This book collects together some of his more recent observations, edited for publication. It is evident from the range of issues discussed that the author’s mission in life is to foster a movement of hope and peace by eradicating hunger and poverty, for humankind to live in harmony with nature. Swaminathan stresses that sustainable development must be firmly rooted in the principles of ecology, social and gender equity, employment generation, and economic potential. Note: T&F does not sell or distribute the hardback in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. This title is co-published with NIPA.




Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security


Book Description

Orphan Crops for Sustainable Food and Nutrition Security discusses the issues, challenges, needs and opportunities related to the promotion of orphan crops, known also as neglected and underutilized species (NUS). The book is structured into six parts, covering the following themes: introduction to NUS, approaches, methods and tools for the use enhancement of NUS, integrated conservation and use of minor millets, nutritional and food security roles of minor millets, stakeholders and global champions, and, building an enabling environment. Presenting a number of case studies at the regional and country levels, the chapters cover different but highly interlinked aspects along the value chains, from acquisition and characterization of genetic diversity, cultivation and harvesting to value addition, marketing, consumption and policy for mainstreaming. Cross-cutting issues like gender, capacity building and empowerment of vulnerable groups are also addressed by authors. Representatives from communities, research for development agencies and the private sector also share their reflections on the needs for the use enhancement of NUS from their own perspectives. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of food security, sustainable agriculture, nutrition and health and development, as well as practitioners and policymakers involved in building more resilient food and production systems.




Sustainable Development at Risk


Book Description

Over the past half century, the idea of sustainable development has drastically evolved and rooted itself in the lexicon of international development. But what is it, really? Are development agencies truly committed to long-term sustainable solutions to development issues? Are we learning from our past successes and failures? This book takes an historical perspective on these questions. The analysis begins with the Atlantic Charter, the creation of the United Nations, its family of agencies, and the international development banks. It reviews recommendations from international commissions and conferences, from World Bank and UNDP Human Development Reports. It comments on governmental policies, human and industrial actions detrimental to the planetOCOs environment and natural resources. It studies the patterns by which biotechnologies essential to human survival and health have progressed over the past 6000 years, and the consequences of uncontrolled urban growth on food and health security. The author hopes that this book will be OC informative and helpful to all who care about human suffering and degradation of the EarthOCOs environment and resources, in particular to men and women who are newcomers to international, governmental, and nongovernmental aid and assistance programs.OCO"




Power Integrity Modeling and Design for Semiconductors and Systems


Book Description

The First Comprehensive, Example-Rich Guide to Power Integrity Modeling Professionals such as signal integrity engineers, package designers, and system architects need to thoroughly understand signal and power integrity issues in order to successfully design packages and boards for high speed systems. Now, for the first time, there's a complete guide to power integrity modeling: everything you need to know, from the basics through the state of the art. Using realistic case studies and downloadable software examples, two leading experts demonstrate today's best techniques for designing and modeling interconnects to efficiently distribute power and minimize noise. The authors carefully introduce the core concepts of power distribution design, systematically present and compare leading techniques for modeling noise, and link these techniques to specific applications. Their many examples range from the simplest (using analytical equations to compute power supply noise) through complex system-level applications. The authors Introduce power delivery network components, analysis, high-frequency measurement, and modeling requirements Thoroughly explain modeling of power/ground planes, including plane behavior, lumped modeling, distributed circuit-based approaches, and much more Offer in-depth coverage of simultaneous switching noise, including modeling for return currents using time- and frequency-domain analysis Introduce several leading time-domain simulation methods, such as macromodeling, and discuss their advantages and disadvantages Present the application of the modeling methods on several advanced case studies that include high-speed servers, high-speed differential signaling, chip package analysis, materials characterization, embedded decoupling capacitors, and electromagnetic bandgap structures This book's system-level focus and practical examples will make it indispensable for every student and professional concerned with power integrity, including electrical engineers, system designers, signal integrity engineers, and materials scientists. It will also be valuable to developers building software that helps to analyze high-speed systems.