Ethiopia honours city professor

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A year ago, Ambo University in Ethiopia introduced a post-graduation programme in Aquaculture and Fisheries. It was for the first time in the country that such a course was being included in the curriculum. Within a year, four other major universities also joined the league to introduce the same subject. The year also saw nationwide training programmes, international conferences and seminars on aquaculture. The massive campaign on aquaculture also invited the aid from Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) and UNESCO to organise more and more training programmes in the country.  The man who sparked off a revolution in aquaculture in an African nation is a city-based, sixty-seven-year-old retired professor who calls himself a mix of Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Three months ago, P Natarajan, who is now the Professor and Director of Environmental Sciences, Ambo University, was honoured with the lifetime achievement award. The professor received the gold medal from the President of Ethiopia for his contributions in the field of science and technology and for his affiliation to various international organisations. It was during a seminar held in CUSAT, a few years back, that Natarajan was invited to Ethiopia by the president of Ambo University. Now on leave, Natarajan tells City Express over the phone from Chennai that his mission was completely unintentional. Landing in Ethiopia, he was struck deeply by a strange contradiction about Ethiopia. It was a country cursed with severe poverty and blessed by immense reserve of freshwater bodies. ‘’The surprising thing was that the country had never thought about utilising the freshwater reserves to attain food security,’’ says Natarajan. Natarajan, who is credited with more than 27 research projects on backwaters, including his studies on Veli backwaters, set off with his new project in Ethiopia within six months of his arrival. He moved around the nation, preparing a detailed survey of the freshwater bodies. His proposal, which revealed a potential connection between freshwater reserves and food production, was immediately approved first by the University and later by the government. In two years, the University set up an aquaculture centre in the nation for the first time and introduced a PG programme on the subject. The entire curriculum was prepared by Natarajan. His mission did not end there. All around the nation, he engaged in  capacity-building programmes, organising training programs on aquaculture for the local farmers. He has also been facilitating research projects for the Ethiopian students in Indian institutions. ‘’When I went there, I felt that I could benefit that nation with what I have learnt. Today, the project is pacing ahead well and FAO has also shown great interest in the project,’’ says Natarajan, who has been requested to continue his work in Ethiopia as long as he wishes.