By IRNA
New Delhi : India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, received the highest honor “Agricola” from the UN body Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) for his contribution to agriculture and social development.
“I am deeply honoured and humbled by the Agricola Award conferred on me. This award is recognition of the work done for the development of agriculture and of our farmers by a vast number of agencies and individuals in our country,” Singh said after receiving the award.
In a function in New Delhi on Thursday, FAO Director General Jacques Diouf presented the award to Singh.
He highlighted that India is the world’s second largest agricultural producer, with farm sector employing over 60 percent of the population and accounting for almost 20 percent of GDP.
“With your deep understanding of Indian economy, you (Singh) have made modernizing and revitalization of your country’s agriculture sector as one of your highest priorities,” Diouf said.
Showering praise on Singh, Diouf said “You have shown exemplary resolve in pursuing these objectives and carrying through a series of measures that include raising the flow of credit by 80 percent to the farmers in the past four years”.
Diouf highlighted other initiatives like National Horticulture Mission and National Food Security Mission taken by the Indian government under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Other recipients of the Agricola award, which was instituted in 1976, include former French President Jacques Chirac, Chinese President Jiang Zemin, Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak and Pope John Paul II.