Another amazing Brazilian scientist, Dr. Mariangela Hungria, a microbiologist at Embrapa's soybean research center, spent decades studying bacteria that pull nitrogen from the air and feed it to plants.
The result: Brazil went from importing nitrogen fertilizer to becoming the world's largest soybean exporter — using microbes instead of chemicals.
Her work won the 2025 World Food Prize. But the real prize is the 40% reduction in synthetic fertilizer use across Brazilian agriculture.
This isn't just about soybeans. It's about a different model of agriculture: partner with biology instead of dominating it.
The Global South has something to teach the world here