Image Source: familyfed
Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta is an Indian biologist, who has, over the course of his international career, given so much to the world of aquaculture that he is also considered a pioneer of the blue revolution of South-East Asia.
Over his career, he has worked in several locations in the continent. He started his journey as a scientist in the Indian Council of Agriculture Research at Kolkata. Before retiring, he was serving as the Assistant Director General at WorldFish, a global fisheries research institute based in Malaysia.
His contributions are notable in providing the livelihood for many families of the rural poor by the way of aquaculture. He has always strived for food security based on sustainable alternatives such as aquaculture.
In 2005, he was awarded the World Food Prize for developing an economic method of freshwater fish farming. Most recently, he has been bestowed upon by the first Sunhak Peace Prize, which itself is considered a parallel to the Nobel Peace Prize.
He shares this honor with the President of Kirbati Islands, Anote Tong.
His efforts in improving food availability for all is one crusade that demands attention because essentially, he is trying to meet one the basic human needs – food. In his own words, “There can be no peace without food security in the world. You cannot talk peace to a hungry man”. Quite a statement.
As Logical Indians, we recognize his efforts, appreciate them and must also ensure to contribute to this cause ourselves at least by reducing wastage of food. Even in our small ways, we can make a big difference for those Indians who are left in hunger every day.