09/07/2026
A Brazilian scientist spent four decades developing bacteria-based treatments that help crops get nitrogen from the air instead of depending so much on synthetic fertilizer.
The scientist is Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a microbiologist known for her work on biological nitrogen fixation. This process uses helpful soil bacteria to turn nitrogen from the atmosphere into forms plants can use to grow.
Her treatment can cost about $2, compared with around $50 for conventional fertilizer in some cases. That makes it much cheaper for farmers, especially when fertilizer prices are high.
The impact is large. Her work is credited with saving farmers about $25 billion each year and preventing roughly 230 million tons of CO2 emissions.
Her research has been used across major crops in Brazil, including soybeans, beans, corn, wheat, rice, and pasture grasses. Over her career, she helped turn microbial inoculants into practical tools that farmers can apply to seeds or soil.
Her scientific record adds strong credibility to the achievement. She has authored more than 500 papers, chapters, and scientific publications, and her research on bacteria such as rhizobia and Azospirillum brasilense helped prove that microbes could improve crop nutrition and yields.
After 40 years of work, she won the World Food Prize for helping farmers produce more food with fewer chemical inputs, lower costs, and less environmental damage.
