Conferment of the Agricola Medal to His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India Statement

Your Excellency, Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India,

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Dear Colleagues,

Namaste.

Today is a day of profound honour and deep symbolism.

We gather not merely to bestow an award, but to recognize the convergence of personal vision with global imperative.

Today, it is an honour and a privilege for me to present the Agricola Medal - the highest honour conferred by the FAO Director-General - to His Excellency Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of the Republic of India.

Prime Minister Modi is the third Prime Minister of India to visit FAO Headquarters here in Rome, in the Organization’s more than 80 years of history.

The first was Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who delivered the McDougall lecture in this Plenary Hall to the FAO Ministerial Conference in November 1981.

The second was Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, who attended the World Food Summit in November 1996.

There have also been three previous recipients of the Agricola Medal from India:

• Former Director-General, Binay Ranjan Sen, in 1978 – the only FAO Director-General to receive this award; including for having established the World Food Programme (WFP) in 1963;
• Indian Statesman Narayan, in 1979; and
• Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in 2008.

A testament of India’s long and steadfast contribution to agriculture over many years.

The Agricola Medal has a unique history. For decades, it recognized achievements in agrifood systems;

Then, in 1977 - almost 50 years ago - the FAO Ministerial Conference redefined the purpose of the award as a symbol of the highest political and moral commitment towards the attainment of global food security.

Since then, it has been awarded to heads of state and government who have demonstrated an unwavering political will to defeat hunger, and in support of rural development.

To receive the Agricola Medal is to enter a fellowship of leaders who have understood that agriculture is not a sector, but the foundation of civilization.

Prime Minister Modi has been a symbol of hope for India’s rural masses; he envisioned a dawn of self-reliance when the darkness of food insecurity still loomed over millions.

Your Excellency,

Your journey from a humble tea-seller to the leader of the world’s most populous nation is a testament to the dignity of labour, and the power of grassroots understanding.

By the way, tomorrow is International Tea Day – established in 2020 in recognition of the overall importance of the tea industry.

When you took office, you launched a quiet but radical revolution.

As the son of a small rice-grower from China, I share your humble beginnings and your ambitious vision for a better world for all, where no one goes to bed hungry and where no one is left behind.

Your personal history grounded in agricultural beginnings, combined with your long-term and insightful vision, are the foundation for your successful leadership of a diverse and complex country like India - with a population of 1.5 billion people, with 150 million agricultural holdings, and about 500 million people dependent on agriculture.   

Your Excellency,

My Esteemed Brother,

You have fought a quiet but powerful battle to ensure that smallholder farmers have access to the finance they need.

You have worked tirelessly to ensure the resilience of the family farmer from the devastation of a changing climate.

You understand that water security is the twin sister of food security.

And perhaps most significantly, your leadership ensured that despite the pandemic, global supply chain shocks, and extreme weather conditions, India did not just feed itself - it rose to feed the world.

Under your leadership, India supplied vaccines, but also grain.

During the global wheat crisis, India, under your moral compass, banned exports not to store, but to stabilize domestic prices, while simultaneously ensuring humanitarian shipments to the most vulnerable nations.

You have transformed the paradigm from "food security as a handout" to "food security as an empowerment."

You have turned challenges into opportunities for all!

You have realized the vision of the great Mahatma Gandhi who said, “To the millions who have to go without two meals a day, God can only appear as bread.”

Excellences,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

India joined FAO in 1945 as one of the 42 founding members– two years before its independence in 1947 - as it was emerging from colonial famine into an independent republic.

The FAO Representation in India was established soon after in 1948, and the Organization progressed under the leadership of Director-General Bindy Ranjan Sen from India from 1956 to 1967, who established WFP in 1963 – the year I was born!

For over 80 years, FAO and India have been an example of successful multilateral collaboration.

From the Green Revolution of the 1960s, where FAO provided technical expertise on high-yield varieties,

To today’s “Digital Agriculture Mission”, India has moved from being a recipient of aid to a provider of solutions.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi since 2014, India has prioritized and has made great progress in transforming its agrifood system, strengthening food security, enhancing agricultural modernization, and ensuring farmer welfare. 

This focus resonates with my ambition for FAO since I became Director-General in 2019 - with the transformation of agrifood systems to be more efficient, more inclusive, more resilient and more sustainable, as a cornerstone for global food security,

Embedded in our Strategic Framework 2022-31, founded on the aspiration of the Four Betters: better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and better life - leaving no one behind 

The Four Betters are reflected across several strategic areas of collaboration between FAO and India linked to sustainable agriculture, agrifood systems transformation, digital innovation, and climate resilience.

In particular on:

Digital Agriculture – where FAO and India work closely on promoting digital technologies in agriculture to improve productivity, market access, and resilience, including through Artificial Intelligence.

On millets and nutritious crops – where we have cooperated extensively on promoting millets and other resilient crops, leading to the International Year of Millets 2023, which India has championed.

And on Transboundary Animal Disease – where FAO and India continue to collaborate intensively in areas such as zoonotic diseases, livestock health, food security, and pandemic preparedness. 

Furthermore, India’s vast network of community seed banks and its leadership in the “Coalition for Disaster Resilient Agriculture” are blueprints we are disseminating across Africa and Southeast Asia.

Your Excellency Prime Minister Modi,

The Chinese philosopher Confucius taught that "The strength of a nation derives from the integrity of the home." 

You have strengthened the integrity of more than 140 million Indian homes by ensuring their plates are never empty.

You carry the hopes not just of India, but of the Global South.

You have ensured that India’s agricultural prosperity is to the benefit of all – leaving no one behind.

In a world drifting towards protectionism, you have championed "One Earth, One Family, One Future."

In a world of scarcity, you have demonstrated abundance through innovation.

We share the same conviction that without food there is no stability, and without stability there is no future. 

And we both continue to firmly believe that the right to food is a basic human right.

Thank you, Your Excellency, for leading India - and by example the rest of the world - towards a more foods-secure tomorrow.

It is, therefore, my distinct honour and privilege to confer upon Your Excellency the FAO Agricola Medal – as a symbol that the fight against hunger is the most noble mission of all.

Congratulations Your Excellency Prime Minister Modi!