Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a leading microbiologist from São Paulo, has been awarded the 2025 World Food Prize for her pioneering work in biological seed and soil treatments that have helped transform Brazil into a global agricultural leader. She will receive the $500,000 award in recognition of her efforts to harness natural processes to improve crop nutrition, increase yields, and reduce reliance on synthetic fertilizers.
Over a four-decade career at the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), Hungria developed dozens of microbial treatments that enable crops to access nutrients through symbiotic soil bacteria. These innovations have been applied across more than 40 million hectares in Brazil, boosting yields of key crops like soybeans, wheat, maize, rice, and common beans, according to a press release.
The widespread adoption of her technologies is estimated to save farmers up to $40 billion annually in input costs and prevent over 180 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent emissions each year.
Her contributions have been especially transformative for soybean production—now Brazil’s top agricultural export. Since she began her work, national output has grown from 15 million tons in 1979 to an anticipated 173 million tons in the upcoming harvest.
The World Food Prize, often referred to as the “Nobel Prize for Food and Agriculture,” was announced at the Norman E. Borlaug Hall of Laureates in Des Moines, Iowa. The ceremony was led by Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds, with the announcement delivered by World Food Prize Foundation President Mashal Husain. Remarks were also shared by Board Chair Paul Schickler and CEO Tom Vilsack.
“Dr. Hungria’s journey shows she is a scientist of great perseverance and vision — traits she shares with Iowa’s own Dr. Norman Borlaug, founder of the World Food Prize and father of the Green Revolution,” said Governor Reynolds. “As an industrial pioneer and mother, Dr. Hungria also serves as an inspiring example for women researchers seeking to embody both roles. Her discoveries and developments have launched Brazil to become a global breadbasket. The World Food Prize champions those whose courage and innovation transform our world, and I congratulate Dr. Hungria for receiving this recognition.”
Pioneering Microbiological Research in Sustainable Soil Fertility
Guided by the mentorship of renowned scientist Dr. Johanna Döbereiner, Hungria became an early advocate for biological nitrogen fixation — a process in which crops form symbiotic relationships with soil bacteria to naturally access nitrogen, a nutrient essential for plant growth. When she began her career, microbiology was a largely unexplored frontier in addressing soil fertility.
Hungria’s initial research focused on rhizobia, a type of bacteria that associates with legume roots to deliver nitrogen in exchange for plant-derived energy. She demonstrated that annually inoculating soybean seeds with these bacteria could boost yields by up to eight percent compared to traditional synthetic fertilizers.
She later became the first scientist to isolate strains of Azospirillum brasilense, another beneficial bacterium that enhances nitrogen uptake and stimulates plant hormone production. Her groundbreaking work showed that combining A. brasilense with rhizobia inoculants could double yield increases in both soybeans and common beans. Today, more than 70 million doses of these dual inoculants are used annually across an estimated 15 million hectares of farmland in Brazil.
Now a professor at the State University of Paraná and the Federal University of Technology of Paraná, Hungria has expanded her research to include the restoration of degraded pasturelands. She developed the first-ever inoculant for grass pastures, resulting in a 22 percent increase in biomass — supporting more nutritious forage for cattle and advancing sustainable livestock production.
“When I started out, nobody spoke about biological nitrogen fixation. But I loved microbiology, I loved basic science, and I had many ideas I wanted to investigate and study,” said Hungria. “Replacing the use of chemicals with biologicals in agriculture has been the fight of my life. I’m really proud of making a contribution towards producing food while decreasing the environmental impact. The goal was to increase yield with the least possible use of chemicals, and we achieved this through more biologicals.”
Hungria, who overcame prejudices against women and young mothers in academia to be named one of the 100 most powerful women in agriculture in Brazil by Forbes in 2021, said she was inspired by Dr. Norman Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution and founder of the World Food Prize.
“I like to say that he made the Green Revolution possible, and we had this great opportunity to start a ‘micro green revolution’ — a green revolution, but with microorganisms,” she added. “I can’t quite believe I am now receiving the World Food Prize. Many people questioned me and my abilities throughout my career, but I believed in what I was doing and persevered. The role of women in agriculture, from farming to science, deserves more recognition. I hope my achievement inspires others to pursue their passions in science.”
Hungria is the author of more than 500 scientific papers, book chapters, and publications. She developed the first Portuguese-language manual on soil microbiology methods tailored to tropical conditions, helping make advanced microbiological techniques more accessible to researchers across Brazil and beyond. Recognized globally for her contributions, she has ranked among the top one percent of agricultural scientists worldwide by Stanford University since 2020 and is a recipient of Brazil’s highest agricultural honor — the Frederico de Menezes Veiga Award.
“Dr. Hungria was chosen for her extraordinary scientific achievements in biological nitrogen fixation that transformed sustainability of agriculture in South America,” said Dr. Gebisa Ejeta, Chair, World Food Prize Laureate Selection Committee. “Her brilliant scientific work and her committed vision for advancing sustainable crop production to feed humanity with judicious use of chemical fertilizer inputs and biological amendments has gained her global recognition both at home and abroad.”
