M S Swaminathan - The scientist who brought hope to distressed Kuttanad bowl

Eminent agricultural scientist M S Swaminathan, who passed away on Thursday, had his family roots in Kuttanad in Kerala’s Alappuzha district.

He had made comprehensive suggestions for flood mitigation and addressing the agrarian distress of Kuttanad, the region popularly known as the ‘rice bowl of Kerala’. He also played a key role in promoting the medicinal rice variety ‘Navara’.

Swaminathan, who hailed from a traditional family at Mankombu (which is also part of his official name) in Kuttanad, had maintained a special bond with the region, say the people of Kuttanad.

It was based on a request by the Ministry of Agriculture in 2006 that the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) initiated a comprehensive study on the ecological problems and agrarian distress of the Kuttanad region. After a detailed study under the leadership of Swaminathan, an all-encompassing report was submitted in 2007.

It suggested around 15 major tasks for flood mitigation, sanitation, biodiversity conservation and salinity intrusion prevention. The project with a total outlay of Rs 1,840 crore later came to be officially referred to as Kuttanad Package.

Even though many of the suggestions given by Swaminathan were put into practice, they failed to deliver the desired results owing to improper implementation and lack of proper coordination among various departments. A review report of the Kerala State Planning Board following the major floods that hit Kerala in 2018, too, noted this and he was vindicated.

“A key issue in the implementation of the Kuttanad Package was lack of unified focus. Various departments designed and implemented schemes with no engagement with each other even on works of similar nature,” said the report.

M V Antony, secretary of Save Kuttanad Forum, a forum working for Kuttanad’s development, told DH that though Swaminathan had put in a lot of efforts to address issues of Kuttanad, the government’s lack of commitment made those efforts futile and led to rampant corruption.

Even though Swaminathan spent most of his life outside Kerala, except for a few years in college, he always had a special bond with Kuttanad.

“Swaminathan had been a much familiar name even among the kids of Kuttanad and many youngsters who went to Chennai used to visit him,” said Antony.

Swaminathan’s efforts in promoting Kerala’s medicinal rice variety ‘Navara’ were widely praised.

The MSSRF initiated the promotion of ‘Navara’ rice with the support of the National Medicinal Plant Board in 2005. It received the GI (Geographical Indication) tag in 2007 and is being widely used in Ayurveda and other traditional healing practices.