Chennai: M S Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) founder Professor M S Swaminathan was awarded the first World Agriculture Prize at the 11th Global Agriculture Leadership Summit in New Delhi on Friday.
Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu gave away the award to Swaminathan at the event hosted by the Indian Council of Food and Agriculture (ICFA).
In his acceptance speech, Swaminthan said, “The financial amount associated with this prize will be used for creating fellowships at MS Swaminathan Research Foundation at the post-graduate level, to convert Goal 2 (End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture) of UN Sustainable Development Goals into field-level accomplishments. It will also promote linkages among agriculture, nutrition and health through a Farming Systems for Nutrition (FSN) programme, among other priority areas.”
On the occasion, MSSRF announced the introduction of the M S Swaminathan Junior Research Fellowship from 2019. The fellowship will provide an opportunity for young scholars to contribute to addressing some of the burning issues of our time, including the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) of eradicating hunger, addressing climate change, and preserving biodiversity for posterity.
The national-level programme is open to Indians and to scholars working or studying in India. The amount of the fellowship will be Rs 25,000 per month and limited travel expenses, a press release said.
The areas considered for the fellowship are the UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 of Zero Hunger, Farming System for Nutrition (FSN), Genetic garden of bio-fortified crops and halophytes, Bio-valley for curative and culinary diversity and Eco-technologies for Eco-enterprises.
Research scholars who are interested in undertaking study in any of the above five areas can submit their applications to the Executive Director, MSSRF, at [email protected], by 30 November, 2018.