2025 World Food Prize

[Announcer] Funding for Iowa Press is provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation.

It's Fall in America's heartland. A time when leaders who feed the world gather to celebrate those who fight hunger with the presentation of the World Food Prize. Join us in Iowa's capital city as we honor the innovators and humanitarians transforming how we grow, share, and sustain the food supply…with highlights from the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate Award Ceremony.

[Tom Vilsack] Good evening to everyone gathered here this evening and to thousands joining us via a webcast around the world. Welcome. It is a profound honor to open the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate Award ceremony. We are grateful to be joined by senior government officials, business leaders, scientists, farmers, humanitarians and hunger fighters from every corner of the globe. Your presence here tonight reflects the enduring power of this prize to unite people in believing to build a more food secure and equitable world.

On behalf of our board chair, Paul Schickler my wife Christie, the Borlaug and Ruan families, and all of us at the World Food Prize Foundation. I want to extend our deepest gratitude to Governor Kim Reynolds for presiding over tonight's ceremony. We're also deeply honored to have the Vice President of Ghana. Madam Vice President, Your Excellency, it is truly an honor to have you today in our presence.

And your presence, I believe, underscores the shared global commitment to advancing food and agriculture. And to all the ministers, ambassadors and leaders of international organizations and institutions. Thank you for your presence and your partnership and your leadership, which has added greatly to the stature of this event and to the global mission we share. Tonight, we gather to honor an extraordinary scientist and humanitarian, Dr. Hungria, whose groundbreaking work in soil microbiology has literally transformed sustainable agriculture and strengthened food security for farmers across Latin America and far beyond.

Her work has been extraordinary. And doctor, we are thrilled to have you and your daughter with us tonight. In honor of her and her remarkable contributions to agriculture and sustainability in Brazil, we're bringing a bit of home right here in Iowa to you to help us celebrate. Let's see the vibrant culture, the energy, the spirit of Brazil. Please welcome Chicago Samba.

(Music playing)

[Mashal Husain] Obrigada por uma apresentacao maravilhosa. And that's Portuguese for “Thank you for a marvelous performance. ”

With your energy and artistry, you have brought the vibrant soul of Brazil to Iowa, carrying the spirit and legacy of Doctor Mariangela Hungria's work across the globe, reminding us that the fight against hunger isn't only waged in laboratories and fields, it lives in culture, in community, and in the deep connections that bind us together.

Building on this wonderful momentum and inspiration, we're proud to welcome to our gathering the students and educators of the World Food Prize Foundation's Global Youth Institute. This week, 185 students from 24 U.S. states and nine countries presented their research on food security and agriculture, addressing more than - Yes. Indeed.

[applause]

Mashal Husain

And they addressed more than 24 global challenges faced in 76 countries. The curiosity, the innovation, the unwavering dedication of these young leaders makes it clear that the next generation is not only poised, but deeply committed to carrying forward Doctor Borlaug's legacy and confronting the urgent challenges facing our world. And of course, we know that none of this would be possible without the incredible support and guidance of the 60 educators who joined them at the Youth Institute this week. Let's take a moment to give them a well-deserved round of applause.

[applause]

Mashal Husain

How about if we have all the students and teachers rise?

[applause]

Mashal Husain

Understanding that behind every passionate young leader is someone who believes in them, it's my great honor to welcome an individual who champions education and empowers our next generation of changemakers. Please join me in welcoming the 43rd Governor of Iowa, the Honorable Kim Reynolds.

Kim Reynolds

Well, thank you, Mashal for that very nice introduction. And thank you for your leadership and many years of service to the World Food Prize Foundation. I also want to take a moment to recognize former governor of Iowa and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, who currently serves as the CEO of the World Food Prize Foundation, Tom Vilsack. So thank you, Tom, for your continued service to this state and our country.

It is such an honor to join you tonight as we celebrate this year's World Food Prize Laureate and welcome guests from more than 75 countries to the great state of Iowa. Among them a wide array of distinguished leaders, including the Vice President of Ghana. Your Excellency, welcome. Numerous ambassadors, foreign government ministers and prior World Food Prize Laureates.

And of course, the educators and the students. Our future. Your presence is a great honor to us and a testament to the significance of this ceremony. And finally, a warm welcome and heartfelt gratitude to the Ruan and Borlaug families. Tonight's ceremony reminds us that Iowa's extraordinary global legacy, and of Doctor Borlaug’s enduring belief that food security is the foundation of peace, prosperity and human dignity.

Each year, this ceremony brings together scientists, innovators and hunger fighters from around the world, people united with a single but profound goal to ensure that every person in every nation has access to safe, affordable and nutritious food. This evening, we celebrate a scientist whose work embodies that mission. Doctor Hungria. Her work represents the very best of what Doctor Borlaug envisioned science and service to humanity. A towering pioneer in the field of biology with a deep commitment to serving others. And now as the governor of this great state, it is a privilege to read and sign the following proclamation celebrating Doctor Hungria's contributions to global food security.

Whereas the World Food Prize was founded in 1986 by Iowa native doctor Norman Borlaug to recognize those individuals who have advanced human development by improving the quality, quantity or availability of food in the world.

And whereas Iowa philanthropist John Ruan endowed the World Food Prize to ensure that Nobel-like achievements in food and agriculture are recognized every year by the awarding of a cash prize. And whereas, the state of Iowa and the Iowa Legislature have expressed consistent support for the mission of the World Food Prize and have enacted a permanent day of recognition on October 16th as Norman Borlaug World Food Prize Day.

And whereas Dr. Hungria of Brazil has been chosen to receive the 2025 World Food Prize for her extraordinary scientific advancements in biological nitrogen fixation, transforming the sustainability of soil health and crop nutrition for tropical agriculture. And whereas, the low cost technologies and products that she has developed have increased crop productivity, affordability and sustainability across tens of millions of hectares.

And whereas, by harnessing symbolic soil microorganisms as an effective alternative to synthetic fertilizers, she has not only improved plant nutrient uptake but also enabled farmers to save billions of dollars while mitigating environmental risk, producing more with less.

So now, therefore, I, Kim Reynolds, governor of the state of Iowa, do hereby proclaim Dr. Hungria of Brazil as the 2025 World Food Prize laureate.

Announcer

In 1966, in a small town in Brazil, an eight year old girl unwrapped a gift from her grandmother. It was a book. Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif. Inside its pages were stories of scientists who unlocked invisible worlds, who forever changed the course of human history.

Mariangela Hungria

Since I was a child, I dreamed of being a microbiologist and fighting against hunger. But it seemed improbable that I could ever succeed. Even so, I chose to be an agronomist.

Announcer

Her teachers urged her to choose a different path, but she refused to be deterred, and she enrolled in the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture at the University of Sao Paulo. It was the late 1970s. Soil science was dominated by men. Fertility was defined by chemicals, and soil microbiology was an afterthought. Hungria's focus was on nitrogen, an essential nutrient typically supplied by expensive chemical fertilizers.

Her idea was bold use naturally occurring bacteria to provide nitrogen to crops, reducing environmental harm, and cutting costs for farmers. The Micro Green Revolution was born. Hungria earned her doctorate at the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, and she set out to build an ambitious research program from scratch through decades of research and development at Aprosoja, the national soybean center of Brazil.

Hungria built her field of study from the ground up. She developed more than 30 technologies related to microorganisms, including a range of microbial inoculations for soybeans, common beans, maize, wheat, rice, pasture grasses, and other major crops. She focused on elite strains of rhizobia, a symbiotic bacteria that forms nitrogen fixing nodules on the roots of legumes. She tested their effects on crops and identified varieties that responded best to the microorganisms.

Yet Hungria’s work went far beyond the laboratory. In the spirit of Norman Borlaug’s “take it to the farmer” philosophy and vision, Hungria spent as much time in the field working with farmers as she did in the lab. She led field days, conducted extension training, and wrote technical pamphlets. In 1994, she published the first Portuguese language manual for tropical soil microbiology methods.

These efforts ensured that her scientific breakthroughs translated to real world impact. As a professor, Hungria trained and mentored over 200 young researchers, nurturing the next generation of agricultural scientists. She has published over 500 scientific articles, technical manuals, books, and book chapters, communicating her findings with clarity and accessibility. Hungria has been a staunch advocate and mentor for women in science.

She guides her students with both rigor and compassion. Sharing her experiences as a scientist and mother to inspire others navigating this balance. Her mentorship has empowered countless women to pursue and thrive in agricultural science careers. Her work has transformed Brazilian agriculture. The microbial inoculations she helped develop are now applied to more than 40 million hectares in Brazil, and have spread to farms globally.

Microbial inoculation is now used on 85% of Brazil's soybean fields. More than 30 million hectares, the highest adoption rate in the world. Her innovation saved Brazilian farmers an estimated $25 billion annually, prevent 230 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent emissions and boost yields beyond what synthetic fertilizer can achieve. Brazil has become the world's leading soybean producer and exporter, with Hungria's work laying the foundation for the country's agricultural and economic growth over the past several decades. In a time of immense pressure to produce more food with less resources and lower environmental impact, her pioneering work advances sustainable production, eco innovation, recarbonization, one health and, above all, food security. Through her groundbreaking research, commitment to sustainable crop production, and dedication to education, Hungria has earned global recognition as a transformative agricultural scientist. For these extraordinary contributions, we proudly recognize Dr. Mariangela Hungria as the 2025 World Food Prize Laureate.

Announcer

The World Food Prize sculpture will now be presented to the 2025 Laureate by Rachel Ruan McLean and Her Excellency Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang.

Mariangela Hungria

Thanks a lot. I have three minutes to talk. Since I was a child, I dream of becoming a microbiologist and fighting hunger. Although it seem improbable that I could ever succeed, I chose to become an agronomist and to specialize in soil microbiology. 45 years ago, despite intense pressure to pursue a career focused on chemicals, I followed my heart and my belief in a productive yet sustainable agriculture, one that replaces chemical inputs with biological alternatives wherever possible.

I have dedicated my life to biologicals. My weapons have been rigorous science, validation, farmers’ fields and constant advocacy for the environmental sustainability. I am confident that we are continuing Doctor Norman Borlaug's dream into a new vision, a micro green revolution driven by biological inputs. Today, I see farmers everywhere seeking more sustainable practices, and I deeply admire Brazilian farmers who are responsible for our global leadership in the use of biologicals.

I feel especially honored to receive this prize as a woman. For centuries, women's roles in agriculture have been invisible and unrecognized. Yet in most countries, we are the ones cultivating the land, saving the best seeds and passing down nutritional knowledge through generations. I'm sure that we will lead the agriculture of the future, one that produces enough food to protect the planet and restoring soil health.

I want to thank my institution Embrapa, which has always believed and supported research with biologicals benefiting society equally from large to small farm. This is what public institutions should do, and that's why they deserve respect and investment. Thanks a lot to all my colleagues, my students. Finally, with deepest love, I want to thank my daughters, for their patience with my lifelong dedication to science done work.

I'm sure that being a mother has made me a better scientist. And finally, I want to thank the Foundation very, very much for this unimaginable honor. It's a great responsibility to receive this prize, and I promise I will continue to fight hunger and to promote agriculture sustainability until the last day of my life.

Mashal Husain

Thank you, Dr. Hungria for your inspiring and heartfelt words. And welcome to the World Food Prize family. Your unwavering dedication and leadership to making the world a better place reminds us why the World Food Prize exists. To recognize those who transform possibility into progress and science into hope for communities around the world. Tonight, we have celebrated not only your extraordinary achievements, but also the legacy of Dr. Borlaug, the vision of the Ruan family, and the collective commitment of all those who are gathered here to fight for a world without hunger.

Tom Vilsack

Most importantly of all, thank you again to our, 2025 World Food Prize Laureate, Dr. Hungria. Your groundbreaking work, your passion, your persistence, your belief in your farmers has inspired all of us to keep pushing forward with the common knowledge and the common cause in our fight against hunger. Your dedication reminds us, and your commitment reminds us, of why this prize exists. You know, as I listened to your remarks, it occurred to me that we really should take just a moment to thank your grandmother. I don't know what the rest of you were doing when you were eight years old. But if you looked at that book that grandma gave our Laureate, and she actually read it and absorbed it and was inspired by it. God bless her. Let's give her a round of applause.

Well, you now join an august group. And to all of our laureates, past and present, and to all the distinguished guests who were here, and to everybody who's joined us tonight, your presence and and your collective commitment and your your leadership, continues to make a real difference in this world as we focus on the effort to make our world a food and nutrition secure world.

On behalf of the World Food Prize Foundation, we thank you all for being part of this celebration of courage, innovation and humanity, and we hope you enjoy the rest of the evening. Thank you very much.

Announcer

Funding for this program is provided by Friends, the Iowa PBS Foundation.