Tamil Nadu - Chennai

Swaminathan suggests cultivation of tubers in flood affected areas

Special Correspondent

Says a similar programme in Orissa after the super cyclone was successful ``The biodiversity contingency plan should also have some method to get seeds."

THINK TANK: V.P. Kamboj, president, National Academy of Sciences, P. Pushpangadan, Director, National Botanical Research Institute and M.S. Swaminathan, Chairman, M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at a seminar in Chennai on Tuesday. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan has suggested cultivating sweet potato and other tubers in areas where the crop has been lost due to floods.

In two or three days the floodwaters will drain and planting can be taken up soon, he said. A similar programme of planting life-saving crop was undertaken in parts of Orissa after the super cyclone and yielded good results.

While compensation for the damaged crop needs to be given, a crop, which will take about two months to mature, should form part of a contingency plan to ensure food security, he said. ``The biodiversity contingency plan should also have some method to get [the requisite amount of] seeds. Otherwise we will have a plan without seeds.''

In Orissa, the cuttings required (about one million) were made available by Edison, who was then with the Kerala Central Tuber Crop Research Institute, he said.

Addressing a national symposium on `Biodiversity, agriculture and nutritional security' sponsored by the National Academy of Sciences and the M. S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, he said prompt action was needed to procure the seedlings.

``... Unless it makes a difference to people's life, any amount of preaching the importance of biodiversity will not suffice," he said. Otherwise it would end up as just another seminar.

Dr. Swaminathan said the tsunami had a positive fallout: protection of mangroves. Many wanted to cut down the mangroves and raise aquaculture. The bio shields — mangroves or casuarina plantations — acted as speed breakers during the tsunami and during the super cyclone. The symposium was dedicated to the memory of scientist T.N.Khoshoo.

National Academy of Sciences general secretary Promod Tandon said 20 satellite seminars were being organised all over the country as part of the platinum jubilee celebrations of the Academy. P.Pushpangadan, director, National Botanical Research Institute, gave an overview on access and benefit sharing at a time when Intellectual Property Rights had gained in importance.

V.P. Kamboj, president, National Academy of Sciences, chaired the session on biodiversity and livelihoods.

© Copyright 2000 - 2009 The Hindu