International Awards

 26/10/2023

• Mendel Memorial Medal of the Czechoslovak Academy of Sciences for contributions to Plant Genetics (1965).
• Ramon Magsaysay Award for Community Leadership (1971) : in recognition of contributions, as “Scientist, educator of both students and farmers, and administrator towards generating a new confidence in India’s agricultural capability”.
• Bennett Commonwealth Prize of the Royal Society of Arts (1984) for contributions to household nutrition security.
• Bicentenary Medal of the University of Georgia, U.S.A. (1985).
• Albert Einstein World Science Award by the World Cultural Council (1986).
• Award for serving the cause of Women in Development (1985) : First recipient of the Award instituted by the Association for Women in Development, Washington, C., United States, for “outstanding contributions to activities which foster development for women”.
• First World Food Prize : On October 6, 1987,   Swaminathan received the First World Food Prize at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C. This prize is the foremost international award to recognize, encourage and reward outstanding individual achievement in improving the world food supply. The prize was instituted in 1986 for serving as the “equivalent of a Nobel Prize in the field of food and agriculture”.
• The Golden Heart Presidential Award : On 10 November 1987, Her Excellency Corazon C. Aquino, President of the Republic of the Philippines, conferred on Dr. Swaminathan the Golden Heart Presidential Award in recognition of his “contribution in resolving a wide  range of problems in basic and applied genetics and agricultural research and development in the Philippines, for his accomplishments in the area of agricultural  science and research highly beneficial to Philippino farmers and for having expanded considerably IRRI’s capacity for  upstream research to bring to all the Asian rice farmers the fruits of recent advances in science and technology”.
• In recognition of Dr. Swaminathan’s contributions to the research, training and technology transfer programmes of the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), the Board of Trustees named the Training and Technology Transfer Building of the Institute as “M.S. Swaminathan Hall”. The IRRI Trustees also established a special fund for providing scholarships in the name of Dr. M.S. Swaminathan for candidates who wish to do research in the area of women in rice farming systems. This is in recognition of his services to the cause of women in agriculture.
• Commandeur of the Order of the Golden Ark of the Netherlands (1990): Appointed to this order to honour special services rendered to the conservation of the flora and fauna in the world.
• The Tyler Prize for Environmental Achievement: Awarded the 1991 Tyler Prize in recognition of life-long contributions to increasing biological productivity on an ecologically sustainable basis and to promoting the conservation of biological diversity.
• Honda Prize of the Honda Foundation, Tokyo, Japan in 1991 for outstanding services to the development of eco-technologies in the field of agriculture.
• Asian Regional Award by the Asian Productivity Organisation (1994) for contributions to the improvement of agricultural productivity in Asia.
• UNEP – Sasakawa Environment Prize, 1994 for outstanding global contribution to the management and protection of the environment and to conservation and sustainable development.
• World Academy of Art and Science, 1994 – Special Award for exceptional contributions to global civilisation and leadership in thought that leads to action.
• Global Environmental Leadership Award-1995 by the Climate Institute, Washington, DC, USA, for encouraging village level responses to environmental issues.
• China : 1997. “Highest award for International Cooperation on Environment and Development, for outstanding contributions to the lofty cause of environmental protection and development, and for his signal accomplishments in the field of international cooperation”.
• France : 1997. Ordre du Merite Agricole created in 1883 to honour persons having rendered services of the highest quality to the cause of agriculture and its development and amelioration.
• USA : 1998. Henry Shaw Medal awarded by the Board of Trustees of the Missouri Botanical Garden in consideration of important service to humanity through emphasis on sustainability in agriculture.
• Sweden / USA : 1999. The VOLVO Environment Prize for his achievements as a plant breeder and administrator which led to dramatic increases in crop yields, his international leadership in agriculture and resource conservation, his deep concern for the poor and disadvantaged, and his continuing research and leadership to ensure that they get the opportunities needed to develop in ways that enhance the natural environment on which they depend.
• France : UNESCO Gandhi Gold Medal for his outstanding work in extending the benefits of biotechnology to marginalized and poverty-stricken populations in developing countries, and in securing a sound basis for sustainable agricultural, environmental and rural development.
• Franklin D Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute (2000) “for brilliant leadership that has established a goal for the new millennium – a hunger free world, an international structure of cooperation among nations, a determination to use the miraculous technology of our times to help those in need; for dynamism and compassion that have given new meaning to Franklin D Roosevelt’s commitment to a better world where all nations will understand and strive for Freedom from want”.
• Planet and Humanity Medal of the International Geographical Union (2000) for significant contribution to environmentally relevant issues.
• The Economic Times Awards for Corporate Excellence – Lifetime Achievement (2002) for nurturing a revolution in a highly conservative sector, for laying the foundation for food security, and for using biodiversity for sustainable prosperity.
• Japan: Toda Award for Peace Achievement, Japan, for contributions to wide-ranging and inter-related concerns as the eradication of poverty, preserving regional ecosystems, promoting technological innovation and research for sustainable agriculture.
• Outstanding Technology Leadership – included among the 50 world leaders by Scientific American (December, 2004).
• Soka Gakkai Hiroshima Peace Award (2005) – In recognition of outstanding contributions to world peace, based on noble commitment to humanism.
• The Crop Science Society of AmericaPresidential Award (2005) – In recognition for his tireless efforts to improve the welfare and dignity of humankind through agriculture.
• Ordre Du Merite Agricole(Commander of the Agricol Merit) (2006), France – In hour of his eminent service to agriculture and particularly to its development, in France and throughout the world.
• Sahametrei Medal (2006 of the Royal Government of, Cambodia (in the grade of Chevalier) – for contributions leading to the establishment and strengthening of the Cambodian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and the re-establishment of rice research in Cambodia.
• Medalla Rectoral (2009), Universidad de Chile, Chile.
• Willa S Cather Medal (2011), University of Nebraska, Lincoln. – University of Nebraska’s highest award presented only occasionally to individual of distinction. The medallion honors persons who have responded creatively to the frontiers of human rights, the humanities or the arts.
• Living Legend of International Union of Nutrition Sciences (2013) – at the 20th International Congress of Nutrition held at Granada, Spain.
• Governor General’s Medallion (2014) – for contributions to strengthening the relationship between Canada and India.
• The Swiss-Indian Friendship Ambassador – 70 years of Swiss Indian Friendship.