M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation

The M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation has now completed 25 years, and at our Silver Jubilee celebration, the President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee saluted Dr. Swaminathan “for having created this outstanding institution using funds from the First World Food Prize.” He congratulated the scientists, scholars and staff on the work done over the last 25 years and hoped that “they will continue to play their part in achieving the dream of our founding father Mahatma Gandhi, who emphasised in Noakhali in 1946 that freedom from hunger should be the foremost priority of Independent India.” The Governor of Tamil Nadu, Dr. K. Rosaiah, in his address on the same occasion, cited Thomas Jefferson: “Agriculture is our wisest pursuit, because it will in the end contribute most to real wealth, good morals and happiness.” He noted
that India ranks second globally in terms of farm output but as importantly, agriculture “plays a
significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India”. MSSRF — with the support of friends, partners and donors — will continue to enlist science and technology to address the problems of hunger, poverty and sustainable agricultural and rural development.