Modadugu Vijay Gupta

Modadugu Vijay Gupta
Born | August 17, 1939 |
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Country | India |
Awarded for | Pioneering the blue revolution and investing his life in developing aquaculture as an alternative solution to the future food crisis. |
Co-laureate |
Dr. Gupta spent his life developing environment friendly aquaculture methods/technologies using agriculture wastes and by-products along with innovative implementation practices that benefited small-scale farmers and addressed issues of poverty, nutritional deficiency, and resilience in South and Southeast Asia; he enthusiastically organized and educated the poor in his methods of aquaculture. Moreover, he taught aquaculture to women with low social status, leading to major improvements in women’s rights and their empowerment. Ignoring threats to his own life and devoting himself to research in war-torn conflict areas, Dr. Gupta’s efforts to develop low-cost methods of aquaculture have created a possible solution that can overcome the food crises as a result of the anticipated population explosion and impact of climate change.
Educational Background
- 2007 Ph.D. in Biology, University of Calcutta, India
- 2007 Honorary doctorate degree, Central Institute of Fisheries Education, India
- 2008 Honorary doctorate degree, G.B. Pant University, India
Professional Background
- 1962 ~ 1971 Assistant Research Officer, Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- 1971 ~ 1977 Scientist, ICAR
- 1977 ~ 1981 Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Fish Breeding Expert, Mekong Secretariat (Lao PDR)
- 1981 ~ 1985 Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (UN-ESCAP)Senior Aquaculture Scientist, Mekong Secretariat, Thailand
- 1985 ~ 1986 Senior Fish Farm Management Scientist and Project Leader, Mekong Secretariat, Lao PDR
- 1986 ~ 1989 Fish Culture Specialist/Officer-In -Charge, UN Food and Agriculture Organization (UN-FAO), Bangladesh
- 1989 ~ 1996 Senior Aquaculture Specialist/Officer-In-Charge, WorldFish Center(CGIAR) in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines
- 1989 ~ 2008 Implemented/coordinated projects and programs in over 20 countries in Asia, Africa and the Pacific
- 1996 ~ 2000 Director, International Relations, WorldFish Center (CGIAR) Research Coordinator, International Network for Genetics in Aquaculture (INGA), initiating aquaculture genetics research projects in Bangladesh, China, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malawi, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. that resulted in a number of improved strains of fish.
- 2000 ~ 2004 Director General, International Relations and Partnerships, WorldFish
- 2005 ~ Present Dr. Gupta’ advisory services were taken advantage by a number of international organizations such as: The World Bank; The Asian Development Bank; United Nations Development Program (UNDP); Commonwealth Secretariat, Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO); Mekong River Commission; Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA); London;United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Agriculture Research Center of the Netherlands for their programs in different countries of Asia and Africa.
Major Awards
- 1978 outstanding team research in developing low-input, high output aquaculture methods <Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)
- 2005 World Food Prize (World Food Foundation)
- 2007 Gold Medal (Asian Fisheries Society)
- 2009 Honorary Life Member Award (World Aquaculture Society)
- 2010 Eminent Agriculture Scientist Award (Government of Andhra Pradesh, India)
- 2015 Nutra India Summit Life Achievement Award (Nutra India Summit)
As a result, Bangladesh's annual fish production in 1986, which was only about 170,000 tons when the research started, soared to about 850,000 tons when Dr. Gupta retired in 2004. Since 2000, going beyond Asia, Dr. Gupta has striven to develop the right methods of aquaculture that may thrive in Africa, the front line of world hunger.
In the 1970’s, India as a whole was focused on developing high-end aquaculture requiring expert methods and high costs such as shrimp farming benefiting the better-off farmers. However, during this period Dr. Gupta’s attention was on researching aquaculture methods that were low-cost and highly efficient and could be easily managed by the extreme poor and marginal farmers, developing such methods as fish polyculture, the culturing of a diversified mix of fish species in one pond, and integrated aquaculture-agriculture, called the eco-friendly method combining aquaculture and agriculture.
Furthermore, Dr. Gupta built partnerships with the local communities and worked tirelessly to teach his methods to the poor. Starting with small groups of 5~10 landless poor farmers in each group, he helped them to become motivated and taught them aquaculture skills. He worked to create a basis for their economic independence through fish farming in leased ponds with minimum financial support for the start-up costs for fish farming.
In addition, he cooperated with local organizations so that women could receive the funding and land necessary for their economic activities. These initiatives were such a great success that now women form a considerable work force in fish farming, and this has brought positive changes that have improved women’s rights and status both within the household and in society.
Awarding of Medal and Plaque to Dr. Gupta
Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon awards Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Gupta with the medal.
ⓒ 2015. Sunhak Peace Prize
Committee Chairman Dr. Il Sik Hong awards Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Gupta with the plaque.
ⓒ 2015. Sunhak Peace Prize

A commemorative photo shoot following the awarding of the medal and plaque (from left to right : Founder Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon, laureate Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Gupta, Committee Chairman Dr. Il Sik Hong)
ⓒ 2015. Sunhak Peace Prize
Video of the awarding
Acceptance Speech
Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta giving his Acceptance Speech during the Inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize Award Ceremony. ⓒ 2015. Sunhak Peace Prize
Video of Acceptance Speech
I feel it an honour and privilege to be selected for the first Sunhak Peace Prize. I am glad that the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee recognizes the importance of food security, environmental integrity and overall socioeconomic development as essential pre-requisites for a peaceful society. This becomes much more important in the present context of increasing global population leading to more demand for food from declining natural resources and the looming impact of global warming threatening the fragile ecosystem and lives and livelihood of large number of people if appropriate actions are not taken. I thank Madam Dr. Hak Ja Han Moon for her vision in establishing this award and reminding the global community of the need to act fast for a food secure and peaceful world.
I owe gratitude to a great number of people – the farming community, NGOs, scientists, planners and administrators in different countries where I worked without whose assistance and cooperation it would not have been possible for me to do what I have done. I would be failing in my responsibilities as a husband and father if I do not acknowledge the sacrifices my wife and children have made over the years to enable me to continue my work while living and working in remote areas of least developed and war torn countries in spite of threats to our lives.
The world has made tremendous progress technologically in the last few decades, whether it is in industrial revolution, information technology, rocket technology, space science or agriculture. However, we failed to provide sufficient food to people in this world; because of which we see so much hunger and poverty around the world which is leading to civil strife and food riots. One in three people globally suffer from hidden hunger or micronutrient deficiencies, especially women and children. We have been talking of eliminating hunger and poverty for quite some time, but we have a long way to go to reach our goal. In spite of increased production of food, hunger has remained as a persistent problem for too many of the world’s poor. Rampant hunger and poverty is leading to a deterioration in democratic institutions and an increase in the incidence of demonstrations, riots and civil conflicts. Personally I have witnessed what hunger means while working in war ravaged countries. Even middle-income countries, despite being more affluent, are still home to majority of world’s hungry people. We cannot expect peace and tranquility in a world that continues to suffer from hunger and poverty. If appropriate action is not taken, prolonged hunger and undernutrition can have developmental and economic damage for a number of years to come.
For eliminating hunger and malnutrition, we need a new approach of inclusive and sustainable growth that provides livelihood to all and preserves the environment for future generations, leading to a peaceful world. Over 500 million small farms manage most of the world’s agriculture land, including fish farming, and produce most of the world’s food. We cannot imagine a situation without them. We need to ensure survival of these farms not just for the people's livelihood and survival, but also for global food security and the alleviation of poverty, under-nourishment and malnutrition. I strongly believe that small farms and farmers in developing countries are the backbone of food security and hence my work over the years has been in this direction, developing low-input, low-cost technologies that could be adopted and sustained by small aquaculture farmers, especially women leading to their empowerment.
This award gives me the added energy to pursue my lifetime goals of contributing toward a peaceful society through alleviation of hunger and poverty.
I pay homage to Reverend Dr. Sun Myung Moon for the ideals he stood for and his vision of one global peaceful family. Let us all work together to bring his ideals to reality.
Thank you all.
“My lifetime goal of contributing for a peaceful society through alleviation of hunger and poverty”
I feel it an honour and privilege to be selected for the first Sunhak Peace Prize.
Peace whether it be at the family level or national level cannot be achieved on a hungry stomach. I am glad that the Sunhak Peace Prize Committee recognizes the importance of food security, environmental integrity and overall socioeconomic development as essential pre-requisites for a peaceful society and acknowledges individuals that have contributed to this goal. This becomes much more important in the present context of increasing global population leading to more demand for food from declining natural resources and the looming impact of global warming threatening the fragile ecosystem if appropriate actions are not taken.
This award gives me added energy to pursue my lifetime goal of contributing toward a peaceful society through alleviation of hunger and poverty. I am grateful to all those in different parts of the world who helped me in my work.
Modadugu Vijay Gupta

Planning | Sunhak Peace Prize Secretariat |
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Edition | New national edition, 320 pages (English / Korean version) |
Issue | February 1, 2016 |
Category | Political and Social ISBN 978-89-92289-78-8(03800) |
Price | 15,000 won |
Table of Contents
- -English version
- -Korean version
- Preface. Dr. Gupta, the pioneer of the Blue Revolution
- Prologue. Food Peace
- - Dr. Gupta’s accomplishments for food peace
- - Watching fishermen at sea
- - Beginning aquaculture research
- - Bringing the Blue Revolution to Laos
- - Welcoming bigger challenges in Bangladesh
- - Achieving success with humility
- - Developing environmentally friendly integrated aquaculture technology
- - Creating a foundation for self-sustainability
- - Changing the lives of oppressed women
- - Farmer-oriented, field-oriented
- - Winning the World Food Prize
- - Winning the World Food Prize
- - Accepting the Sunhak Peace Prize
- - Acceptance Speech, Sunhak Peace Prize 2015
- - World Summit 2015 Lecture
- Appendix
- World Food Prize 2005 Acceptance Speech
From the Book
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Publisher’s Review
"This speaks to the passion of Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta who devoted his entire life to food security"
With this in mind, Dr. Gupta educated and communicated fish farming techniques to people suffering from chronic poverty in such countries as India, Laos, and Bangladesh, and thereby helped poor people consume quality animal protein at low cost and further apply these techniques for their own economic activities.
He was awarded the inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize in recognition of his efforts not only to address the food crisis with warm love for humanity and a devoted spirit of service, thereby providing food security for millions, but also proposing a revolutionary way to save the poor. This book was published to help people understand the activities of Dr. Modadugu Vijay Gupta and to convey his warm love for the world.
Introductory Video
Online Bookstore

Climate change and abnormal temperatures are threatening humanity’s survival in the 21st century.
Meanwhile, people around the world are in agony from the food crisis due to drought. Climate change is becoming an environmental disaster shortening the life of the Earth.
The inaugural Sunhak Peace Prize laureate announcement was held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C.
The first laureates, Kiribati President H.E. Anote Tong and Indian fisheries scientist Dr. Modadugu V. Gupta…
How did they contribute to world peace?