Remembering MS Swaminathan, the Chief Architect of India’s Green Revolution

It was with great sadness that we recently learned of MS Swaminathan’s passing at the age of 98.

A pioneer of agricultural research, MS Swaminathan was the chief architect of India’s Green Revolution, transforming one of the world’s chronically hungry nations into one of its largest food producers. As a geneticist, he devised new ways to optimise crop productivity by bringing high-yield wheat and rice seedlings varieties into farmer’s fields.

Born in Kumbakonam, Madras, in 1925, he first studied Zoology but later switched to Agriculture after taking stock of India’s war-time food shortages. He won a UNESCO fellowship to study plant engineering in the Netherlands and a Doctorate at Cambridge University. He completed his postdoctoral research in Wisconsin, where he met Norman Borlaug, the Nobel prize winner for Global food supply.

Back in India, he experimented with different strains of rice at the Central Rice Research Institute. He collaborated with Borlaug, experimenting with various seeds to create higher yields, rolling it out across a network of model farms.

In the 1970’s, he was awarded a senior role in government with a mandate to reform agriculture. By the next decade, India’s food production growth exceeded its population's.

He was appointed the first Asian DG of IRRI (International Rice Research Institute) in Manila. In the 1990s, he researched genetically modified rice and other crop varieties. From 2002-2005, he co-chaired the UN Millenium project on hunger.

MS Swaminathan’s legacy is immense – today, Indian farming produces surpluses, thanks largely to his efforts. However, problems persist – hunger and rural poverty remain, and while agriculture is productive, it is rarely sustainable.

At SRI Executive, we are proud to have supported IRRI since 2007 and offer our sincere condolences to MS’s colleagues and family.

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