The ‘Oscar’ of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria

The ‘Oscar’ of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria

Mariangela Hungria, a microbiologist in Brazil, spent decades looking for bacteria in the soil that could act like fertilizer, boosting farmers’ harvests. But she faced a lot of skepticism.“When I started my career, everybody was like, ‘You’re crazy! You will never succeed. This will never be possible,’” she recalls.Today, her work was rewarded with the World Food Prize, which recognizes advances in agriculture and nutrition. Bestowed by the Wor…

The 'Oscar' of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria

This year's $500,000 World Food Prize, for advances in agriculture and nutrition, goes to Mariangela Hungria, who boosted Brazil's farming revolution, turning the country into a soybean superpower.(Image credit: Dado Galdieri/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a renowned microbiologist from São Paulo, has been awarded the 2025 World Food Prize for her pioneering work in biological seed and soil treatments, which have helped make Brazil a global agricultural leader. She will receive the $500,000 prize in recognition of her efforts to harness natural processes to improve crop nutrition, increase yields, and reduce dependence on synthetic fertilizers.

The 'Oscar' of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria - TPR: The Public's Radio

This year's $500,000 World Food Prize, for advances in agriculture and nutrition, goes to Mariangela Hungria, who boosted Brazil's farming revolution, turning the country into a soybean superpower. The post The ‘Oscar’ of food prizes goes to a Brazilian who harnessed the power of bacteria appeared first on TPR: The Public's Radio.

The microbiologist Mariagela Hungary won a prize taken as the 'Nobel of Agriculture' by his research with biological solutions that replace chemical fertilizers and increase productivity

An e-mail warned Mariagela Hungary that the World Food Price Foundation wanted to talk to her. I thought it would be to give a poster on the avant of the bioliquids in Brazil, during a week of discussion was conducted by the foundation in the United States. Read more (05/13/2025)