THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in his condolence message that MS Swaminathan was an agricultural scientist who put forward fundamental agricultural theories to make India self-sufficient in agriculture and dedicated his life to its implementation.

"When we hear the term green revolution, Swaminathan, its chief architect, comes to mind. His research to increase the viability of seeds to produce large yields popularized the field of agriculture. His contributions helped to enable large-scale agricultural development in many parts of the world and to carry forward efforts to combat the scarcity of food. Swaminathan's slogan was the empowerment of the economy through agricultural prosperity," Pinarayi said.

"Swaminathan was always the pride of Kerala. He has worked in the highest positions, including the Indian Agricultural Research Institute, and received many national and international awards. The death of Swaminathan, who was the architect and flag bearer of the Green Revolution, is a loss to the nation," the CM added.