The Ever-Green Pathway Revolution
25th Anniversary by 1986 World Food Prize Laureate M.S. Swaminathan
In my view, information and communication technology is proving to be transformational in all walks of human life, including within agriculture and food security. Remarkable progress in mobile telephony has helped carry the right information to the right people at the right time. Bridging the digital divide has also become a powerful tool for bridging the gender divide and empowering rural women. This updated technology provides them with up-to-date information on the monsoon and the market.
During the next 25 years, the most important breakthrough we need is environmentally friendly and climate resilient farming techniques, which can increase productivity without adverse ecological side effects. This is what I have been referring to as the “evergreen revolution”. We have to produce more food and agricultural commodities while per-capita arable land and irrigation-water availability diminish due to expanding biotic and abiotic stresses. To meet this challenge, we will have to harness all the tools of science, including recombinant DNA technology. By blending frontier technologies with traditional wisdom and ecological prudence, we can develop eco-technologies which can help us to achieve sustainable food security through the ever-green revolution pathway.