A Brazilian scientist spent more than 40 YEARS working on a way to help crops grow without relying so heavily on expensive synthetic fertilizer. Her solution? Bacteria. Dr. Mariangela Hungria developed biological treatments using beneficial soil bacteria that help plants access nitrogen from the AIR. Normally, farmers have to supply huge amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to crops. But these microbes can convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms plants can actually use. The result has been massive. Her technology is now used across tens of millions of hectares in Brazil. Some bacterial treatments can cost just a few dollars per hectare, compared with roughly $30 to $50 for conventional nitrogen fertilizer. The World Food Prize estimates her work saves Brazilian farmers around $25 BILLION every year. It also prevents roughly 230 MILLION metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions. And after four decades of research, Hungria was awarded the World Food Prize for helping transform Brazilian agriculture. She spent 40 years studying microscopic bacteria. They ended up saving farmers billions.

A Brazilian scientist spent more than 40 YEARS working on a way to help crops grow without relying so heavily on expensive synthetic fertilizer. Her solution? Bacteria. Dr. Mariangela Hungria developed biological treatments using beneficial soil bacteria that help plants access nitrogen from the AIR. Normally, farmers have to supply huge amounts of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer to crops. But these microbes can convert atmospheric nitrogen into forms plants can actually use. The result has been massive. Her technology is now used across tens of millions of hectares in Brazil. Some bacterial treatments can cost just a few dollars per hectare, compared with roughly $30 to $50 for conventional nitrogen fertilizer. The World Food Prize estimates her work saves Brazilian farmers around $25 BILLION every year. It also prevents roughly 230 MILLION metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions. And after four decades of research, Hungria was awarded the World Food Prize for helping transform Brazilian agriculture. She spent 40 years studying microscopic bacteria. They ended up saving farmers billions.