Anna Júlia Lopes*
Mariangela Hungria was only eight years old when she decided to become a scientist. The inspiration came from her grandmother, a science teacher, who stimulated her granddaughter’s curiosity with books and small experiments in the backyard. The most memorable gift was “Microbe Hunters” by Paul de Kruif. “It was she who awakened this love of science in me. She always said that I could be anything I wanted to be,” recalls Hungria, in an interview with IPAM (Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazônia).
Decades later, she would become the first Brazilian to receive the World Food Prize, known as the “Nobel of Agriculture”. The award recognized her dedication of more than 40 years to an area that has changed the way Brazil grows food: research into microorganisms that replace chemical fertilizers, helping to reduce costs and protect the environment.
In practice, Hungria’s contribution has been to show that biological fertilizers can play the same role as chemical ones, but in a more efficient and sustainable way. “Plants need nutrients, just like we do. Nitrogen, for example, is essential. In the case of chemical fertilizer, producing it requires breaking down the nitrogen molecule in the air with high temperatures and pressure, which consumes a lot of petroleum energy. As well as being expensive, this process generates greenhouse gas emissions,” he explains.
As it is not a nutrient provided by nature, chemical nitrogen is hardly used by plants – around half is lost in the environment. Some of it runs off with the rain and seeps into the soil, reaching groundwater, rivers and lakes, where it can unbalance aquatic ecosystems. “This leaching process ends up removing oxygen from the water and killing fish,” says Hungria.
Biological fertilizer, on the other hand, is the result of “millions of years of evolution”. Bacteria are able to capture nitrogen from the air and supply it to the plant more precisely, without using fossil energy or polluting rivers and soils.
Playing a prominent role in Hungary’s research are “inoculants”. Also known as biofertilizers, inoculants are preparations of bacteria that help these microorganisms reach the field. Mixed with the seeds, the inoculants associate with the roots and provide the nutrients the plant needs. “We’ve managed to develop an enzyme that captures nitrogen from the air and delivers it directly to the plant. It’s a small bacterium that does what the chemical process needs barrels of oil to achieve,” explains the researcher, who has worked at Embrapa (the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation) since 1982.
Due to the advances in research into inoculants, Brazil has become a world leader in the use of bio-inputs in agriculture. According to Hungria, in the case of soybean production, in the last harvest alone, producers stopped spending around 25 billion dollars on imported fertilizers. From an environmental point of view, the impact is even more significant: every kilo of chemical nitrogen produced emits 10 kg of CO₂. “By replacing chemicals with biologicals, we stop emitting 250 million tons of CO₂ in the case of soy alone, and only in one harvest,” he says.
The scientist, who has already mentored dozens of young researchers, today advocates not only sustainable agriculture, but regenerative agriculture, capable of guaranteeing large-scale production without depleting natural resources and “as friendly as possible” to the environment.
According to the researcher, it was a “surprise” to be nominated for the World Food Prize. “I would never have expected to win this award,” she says. Recognition and the possibility of women’s participation in science have been central themes throughout her career – both professionally and personally. Encouraged by her grandmother to pursue a career in science, she explains that it wasn’t always easy.
“My mother was a teacher, very well educated, spoke other languages, but although she worked, she was a woman of her time. I had a brother who was four years older. If he said he was going to be a doctor, my mother would tell me: ‘You can be a nurse’. If he said he wanted to be an airline pilot, she’d say: “You can be a stewardess”. I’d ask: ‘Why can’t I be a doctor or an airline pilot?
Born in the capital São Paulo, Hungria grew up in Itapetininga, in the interior of the state. At the age of ten, she returned to São Paulo, where she attended an elite school on a scholarship. She says that, at school, she also faced resistance when she persisted in her choice of a scientific career – especially in the case of agronomy, a profession until then linked to the male image.
“When I said I wanted to study agronomy, they called my mother to tell her what was wrong with me and that I had to go into medicine, because it wasn’t possible for the first student in the class to want to study agronomy,” she says, laughing. Even with her family’s disapproval, Hungria went on to study agronomy.
After an undergraduate degree, a master’s degree, a doctorate and a post-doctorate – as well as stints at universities abroad – and more than 40 years at Embrapa carrying out research related to soybean crops, Hungria was the winner of the 2025 edition of the World Food Prize, in recognition of her contribution to the development of biological inputs for agriculture.
For her, winning the prize is a collective recognition. Although she makes a point of sharing the credit with her research colleagues, students and technicians at Embrapa who, together with her, have challenged decades of mistrust towards biologicals, Hungria dedicates the award to women.
In her opinion, women play a fundamental role in food security – even more important than men. The award, she says, should be given to women who organize the home garden and understand medicinal herbs, as well as to agronomists and researchers in the field.
“We have everything from the woman who has a deep knowledge of medicinal plants to the scientist who never waited and won the World Food Prize. We are fundamental to food security, but society needs to recognize not only the woman who won the prize, but everyone in the chain,” says Hungria.
At the age of 67, she urges the next generations to maintain the courage to believe in what they do. “In research, there are often fads or opportunities that seem profitable. I’ve always remained consistent. I said: ‘No, the time I have is to dedicate to what I believe in’. First of all, you have to believe in what you do. I never had any doubts about biologics. Then, of course, you need to pay the bills, but you can’t just be guided by money. Be consistent with your research,” he advises
From the little girl who read about Pasteur with her grandmother to the internationally awarded scientist, Mariangela Hungria has built a career that proves how science, persistence and sensitivity can transform agriculture – and, with it, the future of food security in Brazil and the world.
Image credit: Publicity/World Food Prize
*IPAM journalist, anna.rodrigues@ipam.org.br