TAAS Awards 2024: Suresh Prabhu and Soumya Swaminathan Emphasise Farmer-Centric Approach

The prestigious TAAS Award Ceremony 2024 was held on December 20 at the iconic Pusa Institute campus in New Delhi. Hon’ble Shri Suresh Prabhu, Former Union Cabinet Minister, graced the event as the Chief Guest, with Dr. Soumya Swaminathan, Chairperson of MSSRF, Chennai, presiding over the ceremony. Dr. Raj Paroda, Chairman of TAAS and Former Secretary, DARE & DG, ICAR, delivered the welcome address and outlined the event’s objectives. The gathering was attended by around 100 distinguished agricultural experts.  

In his keynote address, Shri Suresh Prabhu emphasized the critical need for innovative and intensive research to ensure food, nutritional, and environmental security, advocating for farmer-centric approaches. His address, which provided actionable strategies for sustainable agriculture, received widespread appreciation from the audience. Dr. Soumya Swaminathan highlighted the importance of solving farmers’ challenges, connecting them to markets, delivering timely inputs, and addressing human nutrition and health concerns.  

The event also celebrated the legacy of the “Dr. MS Swaminathan Award for Leadership in Agriculture,” instituted in 2004 by the Trust for Advancement of Agricultural Sciences (TAAS) to honor the lifetime contributions of eminent individuals in agriculture with a focus on food security and sustainability. The annual award includes a trophy, a citation scroll, and a cash prize of ₹1 lakh.  

Since its inception, the award has been presented to 15 prominent figures, including Nobel Laureate Dr. Norman E. Borlaug, World Food Prize laureates Dr. Gurdev Khush and Dr. SK Vasal, and other luminaries such as Prof. Rattan Lal, Dr. Sanjay Rajaram, Dr. MC Saxena, Dr. William Dar, Dr. Thomas Lumpkin, Dr. Uma Lele, Dr. John Dixon, Dr. Shenggen Fan, Dr. Adel Beltagy, Dr. Suri Sahgal, Dr. Kamal Bawa, and Dr. BM Prasanna. These awards have been conferred by Presidents, Prime Ministers, and Union Cabinet Ministers.  

In 2024, TAAS introduced two new accolades: the Dr. Norman E. Borlaug Innovative Farmer Award and the Dr. SK Vasal Award for Excellence in Hybrid Crop Research.  

This year’s recipients of the Dr. MS Swaminathan Award were Dr. Kamal Bawa, FRS, founder of the Ashoka Trust, for 2023, and Dr. BM Prasanna of CIMMYT, for 2024, in recognition of their outstanding contributions to agricultural science and sustainability.