The International Cooperative Alliance (ICA) has announced Dr Udai Shanker Awasthi as the winner of the 2024 Rochdale Pioneers Award.
Awasthi is the managing director of the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (Iffco), which is owned by 35,000 co-operative societies across the country.
A chemical engineer, he has been with Iffco since 1976, and has been leading the co-op since 1992. Under his tenure, Iffco embarked on a mission to improve operational efficiency and diversify the business. It is now the largest fertiliser producer and marketer in India, and the biggest co-operative in the world by turnover on GDP per capita.
ICA president Ariel Guarco presented the award at the ICA Global Conference in New Delhi, India, on 26 November. The conference is being hosted by the ICA’s members in India, including Iffco.
Awasthi is the second Indian citizen to receive the award, after Dr Verghese Kurien, honoured in 2001.
Related: Kim Byeong-won and Howard Brodsky win the Rochdale Pioneers Award
“I am deeply humbled and honoured to receive this prestigious award,” he said. “This recognition belongs not just to me but to the entire Iffco family, whose dedication and hard work have driven the co-operative’s success. This award motivates us to continue pushing boundaries and exploring opportunities that benefit the farming community and cooperative sector. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to the International Cooperative Alliance for this recognition, that inspires us to uphold and advance the cooperative spirit globally.”
Established in 2000, the Rochdale Pioneers Award aims to recognise, in the spirit of the Rochdale Pioneers, a person or, under special circumstances a co-operative organisation, having contributed to innovative and financially sustainable co-operative activities that have significantly benefited their membership.
The accolade is the highest honour the ICA bestows, with previous winners including former Co-operatives UK chief executive and ICA president, Dame Pauline Green; the Plunkett Foundation; Howard Brodsky of CCA Global Partners, and Kim Byeong-won, chair of the National Agricultural Cooperative Federation (NACF) of the Republic of Korea.
The full list of laureates is available here.
