Chennai, November 12, 2018: Shri Radha Mohan Singh, Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, paid a brief visit to MSSRF on Monday, November 12, ahead of gracing a function held mid-morning by Tamil Nadu Agriculture University to felicitate Professor M S Swaminathan on his receiving the World Agriculture Prize recently.

Dr N Anil Kumar, Executive Director (In Charge) and other senior staff welcomed the minister and explained to him the work done by the Foundation using a science-based approach to sustainable rural development.

Shri Radha Mohan Singh visited the laboratories of MSSRF and was shown the ongoing lab-to-land anticipatory research, of which Dr G Hariharan, Director, Biotechnology gave an overview.

Following the lab visit, the minister met other senior staff, including Dr RV Bhavani, Programme Manager of LANSA (Leveraging Agriculture for Nutrition in South Asia), a consortium led by MSSRF, and Dr R Rengalakshmi, Director, Ecotechnology for a discussion at the committee room.

Dr Anil Kumar made a presentation on the Foundation’s mission and vision and the projects under different programme areas. The focus was MSSRF’s work among small and marginal farmers, particularly the Farming System for Nutrition project, which aims at meeting the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2 – Achieving Zero Hunger.

The Minister expressed the government’s support for the work being done by MSSRF. He explained that the government was now laying emphasis on an integrated farming systems’ approach to enhance farm income. The Minister was requested to also include a nutrition focus to the approach.