The World Food Prize is the most prominent global award recognizing exceptional individuals who have worked to enhance human development by improving the quality, quantity, and availability of food for all.Often referred to as the "Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture,"
Dr. Shakuntala Haraksingh Thilsted is the 2021 World Food Prize Laureate for her influential work on nutrition, fish, and aquatic food systems.
Dr. Thilsted is the first woman of Asian heritage to be awarded the World Food Prize. She was the first to examine the nutritional composition of small native fish species commonly found and consumed in Bangladesh and Cambodia.
List of Indian world Food Prize Winners :
2020: Dr. Rattan Lal - INDIA AND THE UNITED STATES
- Dr. Rattan Lal, native of India and a citizen of the United States, will receive the 2020 World Food Prize for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production that restores and conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
2005: Dr. Modadugu Gupta - INDIA
- As a prime architect of a “blue revolution” in Asia and around the globe, Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta has increased the protein and mineral content in the diets of over one million of the world’s most impoverished families. His promotion of aquaculture has contributed to the economic and social empowerment of men and women in poor and rural areas.
2000: Dr. Surinder Vasal & Dr. Evangelina Villegas INDIA, MEXICO
- The Millenium World Food Prize was jointly awarded in 2000 to Dr. Surinder Vasal and Dr. Evangelina Villegas, two scientists whose decades of research and leadership in improving the productivity and nutritional content of maize have improved the diets of millions of the world's most underfed and poorly nourished citizens.
1998:B.R. Barwale - INDIA
- The 1998 recipient of the World Food Prize, Badrinarayan Ramulal Barwale, has transformed the face of Indian agriculture during the past fifty years. Since the earliest days of Indian independence, this private farmer and entrepreneur has led the way in privatizing the development and distribution of high-yielding varieties and hybrid seeds. In the process, he has helped his countrymen achieve that which is fundamental to freedom — food security
1996:Henry M. Beachell and Dr. Gurdev Singh Khush -UNITED STATES, INDIA
- The 1996 World Food Prize was awarde to Dr. Henry M Beachell and Dr. Gurdev Singh Kush for their advances in rice breeding, which contributed to ensuring that growing populations in Asia and around the world would be supported by sufficient food supplies.
1989: Dr. Verghese Kurian INDIA
- Verghese Kurien, the "Father of the White Revolution," transformed India's dairy industry, making India the largest milk producing country in the world. His "Operation Flood" organized 86,000 farmer-owned cooperatives to produce, process, and market milk for India's rural and urban areas, providing nearly 250 million people with enhanced nutrition through dairy products. Kurien's career was dedicated to streamlining effective management and distribution strategies with the skills and knowledge of rural and small-scale producers.
1987: M.S. Swaminathan INDIA
- M.S. Swaminathan was named the first World Food Prize Laureate for developing and spearheading the introduction of high-yielding wheat and rice varieties into India during the 1960s when that country faced the prospect of widespread famine. Wheat production doubled in just a few years, making the country self-sufficient and saving millions from extreme food deprivation.
