Mariangela Hungria

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Mariangela Hungria
Born (1958-02-06) February 6, 1958 (age 67)
Itapetininga, São Paulo, Brazil
Alma mater University of São Paulo (ESALQ); Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro
Known for Biological nitrogen fixation, microbial inoculants, sustainable agriculture
Awards World Food Prize (2025); National Order of Scientific Merit (Grand Cross)
Scientific career
Fields Agronomy, Microbiology
Institutions Embrapa

Mariangela Hungria da Cunha (born 6 February 1958) is a Brazilian agronomist and microbiologist noted for pioneering work on biological nitrogen fixation (BNF) and the use of beneficial soil bacteria as microbial inoculants for tropical crops. Since 1982 she has been a researcher with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa), helping farmers replace chemical fertilizers with beneficial soil bacteria. [1] In 2025 she became the first Brazilian woman to receive the World Food Prize, for “extraordinary scientific advancements in biological nitrogen fixation” that transformed tropical agriculture. [2] [3] She is a member of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences. [4]

Contents

Early life and education

Hungria was born in Itapetininga, São Paulo. [4] Her interest in microbiology began after reading Microbe Hunters by Paul de Kruif, a gift from her grandmother. [2] She earned a BSc in agronomy (1979) and an MSc in soils and plant nutrition (1981) from the Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture (ESALQ) at the University of São Paulo, and a PhD in soil science from the Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro (1985). [1]

Career and research

Hungria joined Embrapa in 1982 under the mentorship of soil‑microbiology pioneer Johanna Döbereiner. [2] She completed postdoctoral work at Cornell University, the University of California, Davis, and the University of Seville, then transferred in 1991 to Embrapa’s soybean center in Londrina, Paraná. [1]

Her research focuses on biological nitrogen fixation and microbial inoculants as sustainable alternatives to synthetic fertilisers. She helped isolate and select efficient Bradyrhizobium strains for soybean inoculation and demonstrated yield increases without chemical nitrogen use. [3] She also advanced co‑inoculation with Bradyrhizobium and Azospirillum brasilense , improving nitrogen uptake and yields in soybeans and common beans. [5] By the 2020s, her technologies were used on more than 40 million hectares of Brazilian farmland, reducing fertiliser costs and greenhouse gas emissions. [2] [6]

Hungria has published over 500 scientific papers and produced a Portuguese-language laboratory manual for tropical soil-microbiology methods. [2]

Awards and honours

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Brazilian researcher who helped country's grain boom wins World Food Prize". Reuters. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "2025 Laureate – Mariangela Hungria". World Food Prize Foundation. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  3. 1 2 3 "Food grown with fewer chemicals? A Brazilian scientist wins $500,000 for showing the way". AP News. 13 May 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 "Mariangela Hungria" (in Portuguese). Academia Brasileira de Ciências. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  5. ↑ Braun, Julia (13 May 2025). "A brasileira premiada com 'Nobel da Agricultura' por trabalho que mantém Brasil como 'celeiro do mundo'" (in Portuguese). Terra. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  6. ↑ "Mariangela Hungria é a primeira brasileira a receber o prêmio "Nobel" da Agricultura" (in Portuguese). Ministério da Ciência, Tecnologia e Inovação. 14 May 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  7. ↑ "Mariangela Hungria is a co-winner of the 2020 TWAS–Lenovo Science Award". The World Academy of Sciences. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
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