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 World Food Prize Foundation since 1987, it comes with a cash award of $500,000.

Hungria has spent her entire career as a scientist with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (EMBRAPA), a storied institution that's widely credited with turning Brazil into an agricultural superpower. Fifty years ago, Brazil was a net importer of food. Today, it's the world's biggest exporter of soybeans and several other major crops. Brazil has surpassed the U.S. to become the leader in satisfying China's appetite for soybeans.

Inspired by her grandmother Hungria's love of science was kindled in childhood, she says, thanks to a "magical grandmother" who taught her about backyard plants and the soil that nourished them.

"One day, it was a holiday, she gave me one of her books to read. It was a book about the life of microbiologists," Hungria recalls. She spent that whole night reading about bacteria and fungi. The next morning, she announced to her family that she, too, would become a microbiologist.

She got her Ph.D. from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro and went to work for EMBRAPA in 1982. She followed in the footsteps of another pioneer of Brazilian science, Johanna Döbereiner, who had begun hunting for microbes that could boost the productivity of crops.

Hungria isolated useful strains of bacteria called rhizobia which inhabit nodules on soybean roots, capture nitrogen from the air and convert it into a form that feeds the plant. She also documented benefits from a strain of another soil microbe, Azospirillum, which releases hormones that stimulate the growth of roots, allowing plants like corn, wheat and pasture grasses to capture nutrients more efficiently.

"She's a phenomenal scientist. A role model for many people, including myself," says Leo Bortolon, a soil scientist from Brazil who's now a researcher at North Dakota State University. According to Bortolon, most seeds of major crops like soybeans or corn in Brazil now are coated with microorganisms before planting.

A bacterial boon There's still some debate about how effective these bacteria are under different soil and climate conditions. But in Brazil, at least, studies have shown that the microbes allow farmers to get by with using less chemical fertilizer, saving money and reducing burdens on the environment.

Microbial treatments are more widely used in Brazil, compared to the U.S., Bortolon says, because farmers in Brazil have greater confidence in them. They've been studied more intensively in the soil and climate conditions of Brazil, and the government only allows companies to sell microbial products if there's solid evidence that they work.

Hungria is the second researcher from EMBRAPA to receive the World Food Prize. The previous winner, Edson Lobato, pioneered ways to grow crops in a vast region of grasslands and scattered trees called the Cerrado.

That feat gave EMPRAPA an almost mythic status in Brazil. For many people, especially of an older generation, "EMBRAPA is this heroic institution that conquered the wild lands of the interior, made them productive, part of this nation-building effort," says Ryan Nehring, from the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C.

Until about 50 years ago, the Cerrado was considered unsuitable for crops. The soil was too acidic. But EMBRAPA's scientists showed farmers how to add lime and other materials to the soil and turn that land into productive soybean fields. Brazil's farmers seized the opportunity to grow crops on an unprecedented scale.

The government's policies favored farmers who already were successful, allowing big farmers to get even bigger. The agricultural boom "is predicated on extreme inequality," Nehring says. Some farms are so large that it can take four or five days to drive from one side to the other.

Many in Brazil celebrate that accomplishment. Nehring recalls a researcher at EMBRAPA telling him that "'what took you guys [in the U.S.] 200 years to do' —- meaning industrialized agriculture —- 'took us less than 50.'"

A vision for the future Others at EMBRAPA, however, including Mariangela Hungria, are taking a second look at that legacy. Brazil's agriculture in the future, they say, should look different from its past. Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, known to most simply as Lula, has pushed EMBRAPA to focus more on reducing poverty among Brazil's rural poor, for instance.

Hungria wants to see women taking a bigger role. Farming has been shaped by a kind of masculine attitude, she says: claiming more land, competing to be "the winner of production."

Women are more likely to shift the focus of farming toward environmental sustainability, Hungria says. Caring for land that's already been claimed rather than trying to clear more. Focusing not just on the size of the harvest but on which crops deliver better nutrition.

That'll be part of her speech, she says, when she formally accepts the World Food Prize later this year. . And Hungria says she'll use the cash she has won to fund a new award that will recognize women who are working in agriculture, microbiology, communications or for the benefit of people with special needs.

What an inspiring and uplifting article. Thanks for posting. I had no idea that seed coating with microorganisms and fungi was a thing! I became curious if it is used in the USA. Here's what Grok says about it.

While Hungria's research is primarily based in Brazil, her innovations in microbial seed coating have global relevance, including in the USA, where microbial inoculants are widely used for soybeans and other crops (as noted in the prior response). Her advancements in Bradyrhizobium inoculation and compatibility with chemical treatments align with U.S. practices, where 50-60% of soybean acres use inoculated seeds. Her work supports the growing U.S. market for biological seed treatments, driven by demand for sustainability.

How Seeds Are Coated with Microorganisms:
Seed coating with microorganisms, often called microbial seed inoculation or bio-coating, involves applying beneficial microbes (like bacteria, fungi, or other microorganisms) to seeds before planting to enhance plant growth, improve nutrient uptake, or protect against pests and diseases. The process typically includes:

Selection of Microorganisms: Specific strains, such as Rhizobium (for nitrogen fixation in legumes), Bacillus, or Trichoderma (for disease suppression), are chosen based on the crop and desired benefits.
Formulation: Microbes are cultured and formulated into a stable product, often as a liquid suspension, powder, or peat-based carrier, ensuring viability during storage and application.
Coating Process:
- Slurry Method: Seeds are mixed with a liquid microbial inoculant, sometimes combined with a sticking agent (e.g., sugar syrup or polymers) to ensure adhesion.
- Dry Coating: Powdered inoculants are dusted onto seeds, often with a binder.
- Pelleting: Microbes are incorporated into a coating material (e.g., clay or polymers) that encases the seed, used in precision planting.
- Spray Application: In some cases, inoculants are sprayed onto seeds during planting.
Drying and Quality Control: Coated seeds are dried to maintain microbial viability and tested to ensure sufficient microbial populations.
Storage and Handling: Coated seeds are stored under conditions (e.g., cool, dry) to preserve microbe viability until planting.

Advanced techniques may involve encapsulation in biodegradable gels or multilayer coatings to protect microbes from environmental stress (e.g., UV light, desiccation).

Is This Common in the USA?
Yes, microbial seed coating is common in the USA, particularly for certain crops, though its prevalence varies by crop type and farming practice:

Legumes: Coating soybean, alfalfa, and other legume seeds with Rhizobium or Bradyrhizobium for nitrogen fixation is standard practice in U.S. agriculture. Most soybean seeds planted in the U.S. are inoculated.
Corn and Other Crops: Microbial coatings with bacteria like Azospirillum or fungi like Trichoderma are increasingly used in corn, wheat, and vegetables to enhance growth or stress tolerance. Adoption is growing due to interest in sustainable agriculture.
Organic and Sustainable Farming: Organic farmers and those adopting regenerative agriculture frequently use microbial inoculants to reduce chemical inputs.
Commercial Availability: Companies like Bayer, Corteva, and Novozymes offer microbial seed treatments, and products like inoculants or biofungicides are widely marketed to U.S. farmers.
Adoption Rates: While exact figures are hard to pin down, microbial seed treatments are more common in high-value crops or large-scale operations. A 2020 USDA report noted that about 50-60% of soybean acres in the U.S. used inoculated seeds, but adoption for non-legume crops is lower, though growing with advancements in biotech.

Challenges to wider adoption include cost, variable efficacy depending on soil conditions, and farmer awareness. However, the U.S. market for microbial seed treatments is expanding, driven by demand for eco-friendly solutions and innovations in microbial formulations.

I'm not a organic food fanatic, but I do appreciate the efforts to reduce manmade chemicals on our food supply and I try to only shop the perimeter of our grocery stores. I was not surprised to read "organic farmers and those adopting regenerative agriculture frequently use microbial inoculants to reduce chemical inputs."

A bacterial boon There’s still some debate about how effective these bacteria are under different soil and climate conditions. But in Brazil, at least, studies have shown that the microbes allow farmers to get by with using less chemical fertilizer, saving money and reducing burdens on the environment.

Notice what is NOT said. less yield.

As a kid I remember adding the bacteria to the soybean seed. It increased yld compared to no bacteria we were told. maybe but it was an add on for seed sales.

Then we started adding fertilizer which gave us more yield so the bacteria is ineffective.

It may have application in South America, but this is not new.

In the US, the mgt goal is max yield which may not be the same as max profit.

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