He was speaking at the diamond jubilee celebrations of the CFTRI organised in the city.
Swaminathan, the Chairman of Research Council of CFTRI and a Rajya Sabha member said according to the global health index 45 per cent of the kids are undernourished. The CFTRI that has maintained its distinctiveness as a premier institute has to devise a technololgy to take care of both the mother and the kid in the first 1000 days ( from 0 to two years) in the first phase and two to three years onwards in the second phase.
Secondly, though there is an increase in food production, the rate of spoilage is high, despite heavy investment on storage facilities. According to an estimate the target of food production in India is put at 300 million tonnes.
Citing an example of Anand, a place where Shiksha Dairy Project is commissioned to teach people both milking the cow and selling the milk, he said it is akin to the trainers programme. Moreover, women self-help groups could be involved in the training the rural women.
‘For every natural malady, there is a horticultural remedy,’ said Swaminathan.
He said price volatility is the primary reason for hunger in the world.
He quoted India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru: “We cannot depend on imports and have to strive for self sufficiency in food.”
Union Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan said there is no dearth of funds for food security.
Director General, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) Prof Samir K Brahmachari also spoke on the occasion.