FAO awards Agricola Medal to India’s Prime Minister

The Director General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, QU Dongyu, on Tuesday presented Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India with the FAO Agricola Medal, the Organization’s highest award, during a ceremony at FAO headquarters in Rome.

The award recognizes Prime Minister Modi’s contribution to advancing agrifood systems, rural development and food security, as well as his support for FAO’s mandate to combat hunger and poverty and advance the Sustainable Development Goals.

Presenting the award, the FAO Director General highlighted initiatives introduced during Prime Minister Modi’s tenure to enhance agricultural productivity, strengthen food security and improve farmers’ livelihoods. He also commended India’s efforts to promote nutrient rich millets globally through the International Year of Millets 2023 in partnership with FAO.

The FAO Director General further highlighted India’s food based social safety net supporting 800 million people since the COVID 19 pandemic, direct income support for more than 110 million farmers, and initiatives promoting regenerative and natural farming.

He also praised India’s efforts during its G20 Presidency to position digital public infrastructure as a global public good aimed at expanding access to digital technologies in developing countries and improving service delivery.

Accepting the award, Prime Minister Modi said the recognition belonged to millions of Indian smallholder farmers and to the country’s scientific and research community for their contribution to national and global food security.

The Prime Minister reaffirmed India’s partnership with FAO and praised the Organization’s longstanding efforts to eradicate hunger and poverty worldwide.

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