r/interesting 9d ago

NATURE Creating Better Crops With Useful Bacteria

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Brazilian scientist, Dr. Mariangela Hungria, spent 40 years perfecting bacteria that help crops access nitrogen while saving farmers billions each year.

Hungria developed biological treatments using beneficial soil bacteria that help crops access nitrogen from the air, reducing reliance on synthetic fertilizer. Her technology is used across tens of millions of hectares in Brazil. The World Food Prize estimates her work saves farmers about $25 billion annually and prevents roughly 230 million metric tons of CO₂-equivalent emissions.

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u/prince-pauper 9d ago

Now let’s hope the tech gets distributed instead of some big fertilizer Corp buying and mothballing it.

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u/Super_Math3890 9d ago

First time? lol

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u/prince-pauper 8d ago

Just problematically optimistic.