M.S. Swaminathan and March towards a hunger-free India
Jayanta Sthanapati
Introduction
Eradication of hunger throughout the world has remained as an unfinished agenda for over seven decades. One in eight people in today’s world goes to sleep hungry every night, and one out of four individuals suffering from hunger is an Indian. Hunger is a physical condition of discomfort induced by prolonged lack of food. An individual who is supplied with less than the minimum amount of food essential for maintaining sound health remains undernourished.
Seventy years ago, in 1943, during the Second World War, world's worst recorded food disaster, the Great Bengal Famine occurred in the state of Bengal (present-day Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal in India) in undivided India. It claimed the lives of an estimated three million people who suffered due to starvation.
Before our Independence, Mahatma Gandhi in 1946 said: “There are people in the world so hungry that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.” Considering the necessity of food security in Independent India, Prime Minister Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru remarked in 1947 that “Everything else can wait but not agriculture.”
India became self-sufficient in food production during the 970s and the 1980s due to Green Revolution. The situation was, however, reversed in the 1990s. Govt. of India initiated several measures in the new millennium to eradicate hunger from the country. But we are yet to achieve food security.
The year 2013 is important in Indian agricultural history because we have now initiated the world's largest social protection measure against hunger by proposing to introduce the National Food Security Bill.
Eminent agricultural scientist Prof M S Swaminathan, best known for spearheading India's Green Revolution, whose only mind since the Great Bengal Famine is how to achieve a hunger-free India. He believes that we need an Evergreen Revolution to meet the challenge of food security of our countrymen and rather than predicting the future, it is our job to shape it.
Photo 1. Prof M S Swaminathan explained that our country achieved a quantum jump in wheat production in 1968.
This article is based on a conversation of Prof Swaminathan with the present author on achieving a hunger-free India. It is appropriately supplemented by his views expressed in other interviews, meetings and publications during last ten years.
Some Important Global Missions to Eradicate Hunger
In 1943, Franklin D Roosevelt, President of the United States called for a Conference of the United Nations on Food and Agriculture at Virginia, where a decision was taken to establish a permanent organization for leading international efforts to defeat hunger. As a result, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN was formed in 1945 in Quebec City of Canada. [1]
The Committee on World Food Security (CFS) of the FAO was set up in 1974, as an intergovernmental body to serve as a forum in the United Nations to review and follow-up policies concerning world food security including production, as also physical and economic access to food. According to the CFS, “Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food which meets their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.”[2]
In 1996, the U.N. World Food Summit was convened in Rome where a global commitment was made at the highest political level to eliminate hunger and malnutrition by achieving sustainable food security for all people. It was remarked “We consider it intolerable that more than 800 million people throughout the world and particularly in developing countries, do not have enough food to meet their basic nutritional needs. This situation is unacceptable.” [3]
The Rome Declaration called for attention and action to eradicate hunger in all countries, with an immediate view to reducing the number of undernourished people to half their present level by the year 2015. Policy makers from 185 countries attended the summit, including Head of the State or Governments of 82 countries. Shri H.D. Deve Gowda, the then Prime Minister of India, concluded his speech at the summit by declaring that “There can be no peace in the world if hunger is not eradicated……On behalf of the people and the Government of India, I pledge our total support to the fight against hunger at the global, regional and national levels. In India, I will lead the anti-hunger drive myself.” [4]
Cuban President Fidel Castro, while appearing before the plenary of the said Food Summit described the goal as 'shameful' because of its modest scope, the aim of reducing from 800 million to 400 million the number of poor in the world by the year 2015. He had remarked, "What cosmetic cures are we going to apply so that within 20 years there are 400 million instead of 800 million hungry? This goal is, just for its modesty, a shame."[5]
The Millennium Summit of the United Nations was held at UN headquarters in New York City from 6 to 8 September 2000, to discuss the role of the UN at the turn of the 21st century. As a part of United Nations Millennium Declaration, following eight Millennium Development Goals, set by the United Nations, was signed jointly by 189 countries: [6]
Goal 1 – Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger
Goal 2 – Achieving universal primary education
Goal 3 – Promoting gender equality and empowering women
Goal 4 – Reducing child mortality
Goal 5 – Improving maternal health
Goal 6 – Combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Goal 7 – Ensuring environmental sustainability
Goal 8 – Developing global partnership for development
To attain these eight goals, eighteen targets were set as quantitative benchmarks. Following are the targets in respect of goal 1 to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger:
Target 1. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people whose income is less than one dollar a day.
Target 2. Halve, between 1990 and 2015, the proportion of people who suffer from hunger.
Rio+20, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 20 to 22 June 2012. UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon launched the 'Zero Hunger Challenge,' with following five major objectives: [7]
- Make sure that everyone in our world has access to enough nutritious food all year long. They should be able to buy it, grow it or get it through a safety net.
- End childhood stunting.
- Build sustainable food system.
- Double the productivity and income of smallholder farmers, especially women.
- Prevent food from being lost or wasted.
Further, on 27 September 2012, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, while addressing in a high-level event on 'Water and Food security: Innovations for a Changing Climate', in New York, opined that ending hunger will mean climate-smart, climate-resilient agriculture; policies that are water-smart, energy-efficient and that promote inclusive green growth. [8]
The State of Global Food Insecurity in 2012
In last twenty years, the number of undernourished people in the world has reduced by about 130 million – from 1000 million in 1990-1992 to 868 million in 2010-2012. The prevalence of undernourishment during this period has fallen from 19% to 12%. Table 1 depicts world population, number of undernourished persons and prevalence of undernourishment during 1990-2012. [9]
Table 1. World Population, number of undernourished persons and prevalence of undernourishment during 1990-2012.
Year
|
World Population
[average] (million) [10]
|
Number of undernourished persons (million) [11]
|
Percentage of undernourished people (%)
|
||
Global
|
Developing countries
|
Global
|
Developing countries
|
||
1990-1992
|
5360
|
1000
|
980
|
19
|
23.3
|
1999-2001
|
6080
|
919
|
901
|
15
|
18.3
|
2004-2006
|
6461
|
898
|
885
|
14
|
16.8
|
2007-2009
|
6755
|
867
|
852
|
13
|
15.5
|
2010-2012
|
6915
|
868
|
852
|
12
|
14.9
|
Food situation in India during first two decades after independence
In an interview with the present author at the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation, Prof Swaminathan recollected, “India became independent in 1947, with the backdrop of the Great Bengal Famine. The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, therefore, gave enormous stress on the development of infrastructure for scientific agriculture. He started irrigation-cum-power projects, fertilizer and pesticide factories and established agricultural universities, agricultural research institutes etc. In spite of all these efforts between 1947 and 1957, agricultural production of the country was little. Meanwhile, our population was growing at a faster rate.
In 1958, the Govt. of India organized Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) to get best out of the irrigation investment made after independence. A few districts like Burdwan in West Bengal, Krishna and Godavari in Andhra Pradesh, Thanjavur in Tamilnadu, where there was enough water, were chosen for introducing a whole package of good seeds, good fertilizer, some amount of pesticides for farming. In IADP districts some improvement was seen, but still, our population growth was higher than the food production growth rate. The Govt. of India was compelled to import more and more food grains from abroad, particularly under PL480 program of the United States. In fact, in 1966 the import went up to 10 million tonnes of food grains, largely from PL480 countries. There was a book called 'Famine 1975! America's Decision: Who Will Survive?' published by Little Brown & Co., Boston in 1967, wherein the authors, William and Paul Paddock said the Indians and others in developing countries will go to death like sheep going to slaughterhouse out of hunger.[12]
Green Revolution makes India self-reliant in food production
The term Green Revolution to signify radical improvements in crop production in several Asian countries, including India, in the1960s, was coined by William S Gaud, Administrator of the Agency for International Development, Department of State of the United States. Transformation of such agricultural practices began in 1945. Mexico imported half of its wheat 1943, but it became self-sufficient in 1956 due to Green revolution.
While discussing the history of green revolution in India, Prof M S Swaminathan narrated, “Green Revolution was a revolutionary progress in Indian agriculture. The country achieved a big quantum jump in wheat production, from about 10 to 12 million tonnes to 17 million tonnes, in 1968. Mrs Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India released a special stamp to commemorate this great achievement of our farmers and scientists and called it a Wheat Revolution. Later the Rice Revolution also came. The revolution then went to potato, to maize, to sorghum and to many other crops in our country.”
Photo 2. Smt. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, released a special postage stamp to commemorate the wheat revolution.
“It happened due to the cultivation of high-yielding varieties of wheat, rice, sorghum, pearl millet and maize etc. These high-yielding varieties or hybrids were developed by scientists from all over India at the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, where I was working. What we did was, we tried to produce semi-dwarf varieties which can take more nutrients and water, and do not fall down, technically called lodging. These semi-dwarf varieties helped farmers to get over 5 tons to 6 tons of wheat and rice, where they were getting only 1 to 2 tons earlier. Several thousand demonstrations were arranged for the farmers to show that a new era of opportunities was available to them,” said Prof Swaminathan.
“The green revolution was triggered by four essential elements – the technology, the services, the public policy and the farmers' enthusiasm. However, many of the achievements green revolution came at the cost of adverse environmental effects in areas subjected to intensive farming,” said Prof Swaminathan.
“By 1971, there was a lot of criticism of the so-called green revolution. One set of critics was on economic side as the cost of fertilizer and pesticides went up due to rise in the price of petroleum products. Environmentalists were even more critical because Rachel Carson's book 'Silent Spring' had already been published in the United States. People were becoming conscious of the use of pesticides, chemical fertilizers, groundwater contamination and so on.”
“In the 1970s and 1980s, the average rate of agricultural growth was over 3%. It was much above the rate of growth of population. Unfortunately, from the 1990s, we experienced a deceleration in the growth rate; it had come down to 1.5%. This has been called a fatigue of Green Revolution, in other words, there is a tapering of the effect of the Green Revolution. The reasons for such fatigue were mainly related to environmental causes, like salinization, over irrigation, excessive use of pesticides, as also for a wide variety of causes including remunerative pricing, a wide range of marketing factors or management factors or other kinds of environmental factors.”
India needs an Evergreen Revolution leading to an improvement in productivity
For a population rich but land-hungry country like India, food production must go on increasing, but in ways which are environmentally safe, economically viable and socially sustainable. This is why Prof Swaminathan in 1996 had put forward the following concept of evergreen revolution – improvement of productivity in perpetuity without associated ecological or social harm. He explained, “What nations with small farms and resource-poor farmers need is the enhancement of productivity in perpetuity, without associated ecological or social harm. The green revolution should become an ever-green revolution rooted in the principles of ecology, economics and social and gender equity.” [13]
To achieve evergreen revolution the country needs to practice a system of agriculture that involves sustainable management of natural resources and progressive enhancement of soil quality, biodiversity and productivity. Various farming systems or methods that can help to produce more from the available land, water and labour resources without either ecological or social harm to trigger the evergreen revolution have been identified. These include: [14]
l Organic agriculture – cultivation without any use of chemical inputs like mineral fertilizers and chemical pesticides.
l Ecoagriculture 2003 – cultivation based on conservation of soil, water, and biodiversity and the application of traditional knowledge and ecological prudence.
l Green agriculture – ecologically sound practices like conservation farming with the help of integrated pest management, integrated nutrient supply and integrated natural resource management. Hybrid or genetically modified food varieties can come under this category.
l Effective microorganisms based agriculture – system of utilization of beneficial microorganisms for sustainable agriculture without application of chemical fertilizers.
l White agriculture – a system of agriculture based on substantial use and microorganisms, particularly fungi.
l One-straw revolution – system of natural farming without ploughing, weeding, chemical fertilizers and chemical pesticides.
Indian Missions to attain Food Security since 2000
The Government of India announced its first ever National Agriculture Policy on July 28, 2000. The goals of the policy were to achieve green revolution, white revolution and blue revolution to provide food and nutrition for more than a billion people of the country. [15]
The policy aimed at attaining the following during the period from 2000 to 2020:
l A growth rate more than of 4 percent per annum in the agriculture sector;
l Growth that is based on efficient use of resources and conserves our soil, water and
biodiversity;
l Growth with equity, i.e., growth which is widespread across regions and farmers;
l Growth that is demand driven and caters to domestic markets and maximizes benefits from exports of agricultural products in the face of the challenges arising from economic liberalization and globalization;
l Growth that is sustainable technologically, environmentally and economically.
On 30 June 2008, Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India released the first National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). The Plan included eight National Missions such as on Solar Energy, on Enhanced Energy Efficiency, on Sustainable Habitat, on Conserving Water, on Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem, on creating a “Green India”, on Sustainable Agriculture and finally, on establishing a Strategic Knowledge Platform for Climate Change. [16]
The National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA), one of the said eight missions, was introduced with the primary objective of promoting sustainable agriculture in the country. The thrust areas as identified for NMSA are dryland agriculture, access to information, use of biotechnology and risk management. The plan aims to support climate adaptation in agriculture through the development of climate-resilient crops, expansion of weather insurance mechanisms, and agricultural practices. [17]
National Development Council of India approved the 12th Five-Year Plan on 27 December 2012, which has identified 'twelve strategy challenges' that require special attention. One of these challenges is 'Rural Transformation and Sustained Growth of Agriculture.' The Planning Commission report stated that “Rural India suffers from poor infrastructure and inadequate amenities. Low agricultural growth perpetuates food and nutritional insecurities, which also reduces rural incomes. How can we encourage and support our villages in improving their living and livelihood conditions in innovative ways?” [18]
The First National Science Policy, unveiled by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the then Prime Minister of India in 1958 had focused on the cultivation of science. Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister, while revealing the 4th National Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Document, during the 100th Indian Science Congress, held in Kolkata from 3-7 January 2013, said: “The transformation of agriculture must be the top priority of our public policies, including science and technology policies.” In this declaration, the term agriculture comprises crops, livestock, forestry and fisheries. [19]
Growth of Population and increase in food production in India since independence
In 1947, India's population was 350 million, but the number crossed one billion mark by the turn of the century. According to 2011 census, India is the home of 1.21 billion people, which is about 16.7% of the world population on 2.4% of the world's total land area. Table 2 depicts population growth, worldwide and in India, during 1951-2011. While during 1950-2011 the world population has grown 2.66 times, the population of India during the same period rose 3.35 times. India is the second most populous country in the world now. Our population is expected to become 1.53 billion by 2030, and we may surpass the projected 1.46 billion population of China by that time. [20, 21]
Photo 3. A crowd was waiting to board an overcrowded local train in Kolkata. An adverse impact of population explosion.
Table 2. Population growth worldwide and in India during 1951-2011 (in millions)
Year
|
1951
|
1961
|
1971
|
1981
|
1991
|
2001
|
2011
|
Increase during
1951-2011
|
World20
|
2593
|
3080
|
3783
|
4529
|
5360
|
6157
|
6916
|
2.66 times
|
India21
|
361
|
439
|
548
|
683
|
846
|
1028
|
1210
|
3.35 times
|
However, it is encouraging to note that the total fertility rate (TFR) – the average number of children born to a woman – in India has decreased considerably since 2000 [Table 3].[22]. The TFR in 2012 was 2.58 and India now aims for a fertility rate of 2.1 by 2017.
Table 3. Total Fertility Rate in India (2000-2012)
Year
|
2000
|
2001
|
2002
|
2003
|
2004
|
2005
|
2006
|
2007
|
2008
|
2009
|
2010
|
2011
|
2012
|
Total fertility rate (TRF)
|
3.11
|
3.04
|
2.98
|
2.91
|
2.85
|
2.76
|
2.73
|
2.81
|
2.76
|
2.72
|
2.65
|
2.62
|
2.58
|
India has attained self-sufficiency in production of food grains in the post-independence period. Statistics of production of food grains in India from 1950-51 to 2011-12 is presented in Table 4. [23]
While production of food grains in 1950-51 was 50.89 million tonnes, the annual foodgrains production in the fifties was 3.22 percent. Such sound output had resulted due to use of extensive areas of land for cultivation. Though food grains production in 1960-61 recorded higher value of 82.02 million tonnes, annual growth in the sixties recorded as low as 1.72 percent and India had to import food grains in larger quantity. However, the decade of the seventies was the turning point in India's food grains production. That was the period when Green Revolution ushered in India. From 108.42 million tonnes in 1970-71 the production increased to 129.59 million tonnes in 1980-81, and the annual growth rate rose to 2.08 percent. India became self-sufficient in food grains production in the eighties due to the continuance of green revolution, and annual growth was as high as 3.54 percent. Unfortunately, the trend was reversed in the nineties and the growth fell to 1.7 percent.
Table 4. Production of food grains in India (million tonnes)
Year
|
1950-51
|
1960-61
|
1970-71
|
1980-81
|
1990-91
|
2000-01
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
Food grains
|
50.89
|
82.02
|
108.42
|
129.59
|
176.39
|
196.80
|
244.49
|
259.32
|
Statistics of production of major crops in India during the 11th plan period (2007-2012) [24] is presented in Table 5. India achieved 3.7 percent growth per year in agriculture during the 11th Plan period (2007-2012), while the annual growth rate during the 10th plan period (2002-2007) was only 2.4 percent.
Table 5. Production of major crops in India during recent years (million tonnes/bales)
Major crops
|
2007-08
|
2008-09
|
2009-10
|
2010-11
|
2011-12
|
2012-13 #
|
Food grains
|
230.78
|
234.47
|
218.10
|
244.49
|
259.32
|
250.15
|
Rice
|
96.69
|
99.18
|
89.10
|
95.98
|
105.31
|
101.80
|
Wheat
|
78.75
|
80.68
|
80.80
|
86.87
|
94.88
|
92.30
|
Coarse cereals
|
40.75
|
40.03
|
33.55
|
43.40
|
42.04
|
38.47
|
Pulses
|
14.76
|
14.57
|
14.66
|
18.24
|
17.09
|
17.57
|
Oilseeds
|
29.75
|
27.72
|
24.88
|
32.48
|
29.80
|
29.46
|
Sugarcane
|
348.19
|
285.03
|
292.30
|
342.38
|
361.04
|
334.54
|
Cotton*
|
25.88
|
22.28
|
24.02
|
33.00
|
35.20
|
33.80
|
Jute & Mesta**
|
11.21
|
10.37
|
11.82
|
10.62
|
11.40
|
11.13
|
# Advance Estimates. * Production in a million bales of 170 kg each. ** Production in a million bales of 180 kg each.
The state of poverty and undernourishment in India in 2012
According to a recent World Bank Report titled “The state of the Poor: Where are the poor and where are the poorest?”, India is the home of thirty-three percent of the world's 1.2 billion poor people.25 It is needless to say that hunger is a consequence of poverty and therefore, the rate of increase of extreme poverty needs to be checked.
In 1981, India had 429 million poor people, about 60% of its population. After three decades, in 2010, the country had a population of 400 million poor, which was 33% of the total population [Table 6]. Although the above figures show a decrease in the number of poor, in reality, if we compare those figures with the poor people of the world, we see a shocking picture. While in 1981, India had 22% of world's poor people, in 2010 it was the home for 33% of world's poor people. During the same period poverty in China has come down from 84% to 12%. [25]
Table 6. Number of extremely poor in India and China (1981-2010) (million)
Year
|
1981
|
1990
|
1999
|
2010
|
India
|
429
|
448
|
473
|
400
|
China
|
835
|
683
|
446
|
156
|
Population and hunger statistics of India during 1990-2012 is presented in Table 7. The number of undernourished people in India in last twenty years has reduced by about 23 million – from 240 million in 1990-1992 to 217 million in 2010-2012. The prevalence of undernourishment during this period has fallen from 27% to 18%. [26]
Table 7. Population and hunger statistics of India during 1990-2012
Year
|
Total population
(million)
|
Number of undernourished persons (million)
|
Percentage of undernourished people (%)
|
1990-1992
|
891.9
|
240.0
|
27
|
1999-2001
|
1,053.8
|
224.0
|
21
|
2004-2006
|
1,140.0
|
238.0
|
21
|
2007-2009
|
1,190.9
|
227.0
|
19
|
2010-2012
|
1,241.5
|
217.0
|
18
|
Photo 4. We have the food, but people need to have the capacity to buy it.
|
Table 8. Hunger statistics of India and some of its neighbouring countries (2010-2012)
Country
|
Total population
(million)
|
Number of undernourished persons (million)
|
Prevalence of undernourishment (%)
|
Bangladesh
|
150.5
|
25.0
|
17
|
China
|
1,378.4
|
158.0
|
12
|
India
|
1,241.5
|
217.0
|
18
|
Nepal
|
30.5
|
5.0
|
18
|
Pakistan
|
176.8
|
35.0
|
20
|
Closing the gender gap in agriculture for food security
‘Promoting gender equality and empowering women’ was the Millennium Development Goal No. 3 of the United Nations. The State of Food and Agriculture Report 2010-2011 of the FAO, titled “Women in Agriculture: Closing the Gender Gap for Development” has drawn our attention towards the critical and vital role women play in agriculture and advocated for women's access to agricultural resources. The report strongly suggested following actions: [28]
1. elimination of discrimination against women in access to agricultural resources, education, extension and financial services, and labour markets;
2. investment in labour-saving and productivity-enhancing technologies and infrastructure to free women’s time for more productive activities; and
3. facilitating the participation of women in flexible, efficient and fair rural labour markets.
The report suggested that reducing the gender gap in agriculture by increasing women's access to land, livestock, education, financial services, extension, technology, and rural employment would significantly boost agricultural production, food security, economic growth, and social welfare.
The agricultural sector in India employs 80% of all economically active women, either as self-employed farmers or as farm labours. They make an enormous contribution to agricultural production, yet suffer greatly due to gender inequality existing in the country. In 2011, Prof M.S. Swaminathan tabled a Private Member Bill entitled 'The Women Farmers' Entitlement Bill' in the Rajya Sabha, that aimed at conferring legal entitlement to women farmers, to make possible sustainable livelihood opportunities for women in agriculture and enhancement of food security. The bill, however, could not be discussed in the Rajya Sabha on two occasions due to disruption of the proceedings.
Right toFood – the National Food Security Bill
One of the significant resolutions taken in the World Food Summit 1996 held in Rome was on the human right to food – everyone should have safe and nutritious food. Govt. of India has recently taken a significant step to ensure food and nutritional security of about two-thirds of our 1.2 billion population by proposing the 'National Food Security Bill'. It entitles up to 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population, to get 5 kg food grains per month at highly subsidized prices of Rs. 3, Rs. 2, Rs. 1 per kg. for rice, wheat, coarse grains respectively under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). [29]
However, we must remember that to achieve food and nutrition security for the people of India, we need to overcome three major challenges of their under-nutrition, protein hunger and hunger caused by the deficiency of micro-nutrients. Suffering from under-nutrition can be reduced if proposed measures of the National Food Security Bill are implemented effectively. There is widespread protein hunger in India due to inadequate consumption of pulses and milk by vegetarians and eggs, fish and meat by non-vegetarians. Further, large numbers of Indians suffer due to dietary deficiency of micro-nutrients such as vitamin A, vitamin B12, iron, zinc and so on. [30]
Photo 5. Dr Jayanta Sthanapati interviewed Prof M S Swaminathan at M S Swaminathan Research Foundation in Chennai.
Our march towards a hunger-free India is on.
"We shall overcome someday” -- the most powerful song of the 20th century, [31] inspires us to believe:
Someday we shall be free,
Someday we shall all be free,
Someday we shall be free from hunger.
Prof M S Swaminathan, after going through the manuscript of this article wrote, “I agree with you that ‘we shall overcome someday’ the problem of hunger and poverty.” [32]
References
[1] FAO: its origins, formation and evolution 1945-1981. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/009/p4228e/P4228E04.htm
[2] Committee on World Food Security (CFS) of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/cfs/cfs-home/en/
[3] World Food Summit, 13-17 November 1996, Rome, Italy. Retrieved from http://agriculture.kzntl.gov.za/portal/Portals/0/Documents/worldfoodsummit.pdf
[4] World Food Summit, 13-17 November 1996, Rome, Italy. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/docrep/003/x0736m/rep2/india.htm
[5] Fidel Castro stars at World Food Summit. Transfer News Collective <nyt@blythe.org> Retrieved from http://www.hartford-hwp.com/archives/28/040.html
[6] United Nations Millennium Declaration. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/millennium/summit.htm
[7] Rio 20+ Zero Hunger Challenge. Retrieved from http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=42304#.Ua2TykA3C70
[8] Water and Food security: Innovations for a Changing Climate – Speech of UN Secretary General. 27 September 2012. Retrieved fromhttp://www.un.org/sg/statements/index.asp?nid=6330
[9] ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World’. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/infographics/pdf/FAO-infographic-SOFI-2012-en.pdf
[10] World Population: 1950-2050. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved from http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/worldpopgraph.php
[11] ‘The State of Food Insecurity in the World’. FAO, WFP and IFAD 2012. Retrieved from http://www.fao.org/hunger/en/
[12] M.S. Swaminathan. Interview with J Sthanapati. 20 January 2004.
13. M.S. Swaminathan. “Sustainable Agriculture: towards an evergreen revolution” (1996). (Konark Publishers, New Delhi).
[14] P.C. Kesavan and M.S. Swaminathan. “Strategies and models for agricultural sustainability in developing Asian countries” Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. Vol. 363. p877-891. (2008).
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Note: This paper was published in Science and Culture 79 9-10 (2013) 347-355, without images 1 and 5.
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