he matriculated at age 15. Right from childhood, he had interaction with farming and farmers; his extended family grew rice, mangoes and coconut, later expanding into areas such as coffee. He saw the impact fluctuations in the price of crops had on his family, including the devastation that weather and pest could cause to crops as well as incomes. His parents wanted him to study medicine. With that in mind, he took started off his higher education with zoology. But, when he witnessed the impacts of the Bengal famine of 1943 during the Second World War and shortages of rice throughout the sub-continent, he decided to devote his life to ensuring India had enough food. Despite his family background, and belonging to an era where medicine and engineering were considered much more prestigious, he chose agriculture. He went on to finish his undergraduate degree in zoology at Maharaja's College in Trivandrum, Kerala (now known as University College, Thiruvananthapuram at the University of Kerala). He then studied at University of Madras (Madras Agricultural College, now the Tamil Nadu Agricultural University) from 1940 to 1944 and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural science. During this time he was also taught by Cotah Ramaswami, professor of agronomy. In 1947 he moved to the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in New Delhi to study genetics and plant breeding. He obtained a post-graduate degree with high distinction in cytogenetics in 1949. His research focused on the genus Solanum, with specific attention to the potato. Social pressures resulted in him competing in the examinations for civil services through which he was selected to the Indian Police Service. However at the same time, an opportunity for him arose in the agriculture field in the form of a UNESCO fellowship in genetics in the Netherlands. He chose genetics. Netherlands and Europe He was a UNESCO fellow at the Wageningen Agricultural University, Institute of Genetics in the Netherlands, for eight months. The demand for potato during the second world war resulted in deviations in age-old crop rotations. This caused golden nematode infestations in certain areas such as reclaimed agricultural lands. Swaminathan worked on adapting genes to provide resilience against such parasites, as well as cold weather. To this effect, the research succeeded. Ideologically the university influenced his later scientific pursuits in India with respect to food production. During this time he also made a visit to Max