Devex Dish: It’s prize time in the food space

Greetings from Des Moines, Iowa! I’m here in the U.S. heartland for the World Food Prize Foundation Borlaug Dialogue, the annual gathering of some 1,300 farmers, scientists, government leaders, humanitarians, and food systems experts in the home state of Norman Borlaug, the famed agronomist known as the father of the Green Revolution.

This year’s theme is “SOILutions for Security,” a nod to the importance of agriculture in maintaining global stability — in particular, how healthy soil underpins human survival. Indeed, it feels like a moment to ground ourselves after a chaotic year filled with foreign aid cuts, trade wars, conflict, and climate change. The vibe here feels as if we’ve reached the “acceptance” level of the five stages of grief at losing USAID — and with it, an immeasurable trove of knowledge and funding to tackle hunger crises and strengthen food security.

“The agriculture sector is used to working in a dynamic setting: no two seasons are ever the same,” World Food Prize Foundation President Mashal Husain tells me. The focus on collaboration, innovation, and solutions shows that the sector “is up to the immense task of improving global food security and supporting our broader sustainable development goals.”

Noticeably absent from this year’s gathering, very unlike past years, are any officials from the U.S. Department of Agriculture or State Department, which oversees what little remains of USAID emergency food and agriculture programming. Private-sector players, however, seem to have a higher profile compared to last year. As my colleague Michael Igoe recently observed, “the center of gravity for development has definitively shifted to private capital mobilization.” Can it fill the gap? It might be the best (and only?) option.

With Day 1 down, here’s what I’ve seen so far:

• Coalition of the willing: The World Food Programme’s Valerie Guarnieri set the scene yesterday with a reminder of the staggering toll of reduced official development aid. “We’re living in a time where there's enough food to feed everybody, yet we have two man-made famines,” in Gaza and in Sudan, she said. WFP faces a 40% funding shortfall versus last year due to government donors pulling back, which has in turn forced it to slash programs in Afghanistan, South Sudan, Haiti, and elsewhere. Alongside her onstage were leaders from John Deere, ADM, and Kemin Industries — three agricultural multinationals with headquarters in the U.S. Midwest that have partnered with WFP on school meals, digital technology, and other projects. With more than $2 billion generated through private-sector partnerships over the past two years, WFP now counts the private sector among its top five donors, Guarnieri said. This “coalition of the willing,” she added, is “capable of delivering humanitarian solutions that meet the moment,” reducing both hunger levels and reliance on emergency assistance.  

• Micro Green Revolution: The World Food Prize is often called the Nobel Prize of food and agriculture. This year’s laureate is Mariangela Hungria, a Brazilian microbiologist whose pioneering work on biological seed and soil treatments is widely credited with improving crop yields, making her country an agricultural powerhouse and the world’s top soybean exporter. She’s done it through biological nitrogen fixation — reducing the need for chemical fertilizer, which has saved Brazilian farmers up to $25 billion annually in input costs while avoiding more than 230 million metric tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions per year. “Biological nitrogen fixation is used almost by 100% of the soybean farmers in Brazil,” Rodrigo Santos, president of Bayer’s crop science division, tells me. “And this is a massive impact. You can imagine the amount of fertilizer that was saved every year by the farmers because of that. What she did for Brazilian agriculture is incredible.” When I spoke to Hungria earlier this year, she called her work on microorganisms a “micro Green Revolution” and the battle to replace chemical fertilizers with biological ones “the fight of my life.” She is set to be honored tomorrow at a ceremony in Des Moines. And yesterday, scientist Derek Barchenger of the World Vegetable Center was honored with the Borlaug award for field research and application for his work on improving the productivity and climate resilience of peppers.

• Soy strong: It’s a tough time to be a U.S. soybean farmer. Soybeans are the United States’ biggest agricultural export, and China is typically the biggest buyer, accounting for half — or $12.6 billion — of U.S. soybeans exports last year. But in response to President Donald Trump’s tariffs, China has stopped buying — and instead, it’s turning to Brazil (and Hungria may be to thank for its high yields). In a panel I moderated yesterday, U.S. soybean farmers discussed the nutritional quality of their soybeans and sustainability of their growing methods — as well as the importance of new partnerships and markets. “Thirty years ago, soybean markets went to China knowing that [the] population was going to grow, and it was a home run. That’s 62% of the market today,” said Randy Miller, a member of the U.S. Soybean Export Council. “But they also had the foresight to know that in baseball you have to have to hit base hits. So they went to 90 other countries … and as those markets grow, people want to eat better, and U.S. soy can feed that growth.” While he acknowledged that emerging markets can “never take the place of China,” they could fill some demand for U.S. soy. “Right now, U.S. soy is on sale,” quipped Meagan Kaiser, past chair of the United Soybean Board. “Buy now!” said Morey Hill, director of the American Soybean Association. Side note: Both Hill and Miller wore ties emblazoned with soybeans, and I’m now seeking my own soybean attire.

We’ve got two days left in Des Moines, so watch this space.  

Read: ‘We’re turning away 9 out of 10 hungry people’ — the cost of shrinking aid

See also: Brazilian microbiologist wins 2025 World Food Prize

And don’t miss: In search of a new development finance framework

Houston, we have a problem

Twenty-eight past and present World Food Prize laureates joined humanitarian chef José Andrés in calling for a doubling of emergency food assistance and investments in sustainable agricultural development. In a public letter released today, they point to sobering figures on global hunger: some 700 million people go hungry each day, more than 2 billion are food-insecure, and nearly 1 in 4 children is stunted by malnutrition.

“More than 75 years have passed since the world first affirmed the fundamental human right to food. Yet, despite great progress, that right is far from being realized,” they write. “We call on leaders across governments, industry and civil society to strengthen their own contributions to the collective task of freeing the world from hunger.”

Why double the amount of aid? “It’s an order of magnitude,” David Beckmann, former president of Bread for the World and 2010 World Food Prize laureate, tells me. “This is a way of saying we have a big problem here, and we need to do a lot more, not less.” When I expressed doubt that the private sector could ever be a substitute for lost public development funds, Beckmann counters, “I don’t think we should assume that.”

The letter’s signatories have four big asks: preventing famine by sustaining emergency food relief, accelerating agricultural productivity in order to strengthen long-term food security, promoting prosperity and food security for all, and that everyone take responsibility for ending hunger.

“Hunger is not someone else’s problem to solve,” Andrés and his co-authors write. “It is a collective challenge that demands engagement from every corner of society.”

Read: World Food Prize laureates call for doubling of food and agriculture aid

See also: 150 Nobel and World Food Prize winners call for food security ‘moonshot’

Turf war truce

The World Food Programme and UNICEF are exploring new ways to streamline their supply chains, according to WFP’s Guarnieri — including by integrating their procurement and delivery of ready-to-use therapeutic foods.

“How do we ensure collective, coordinated action in support of those most in need?” asked Guarnieri, speaking at the InterAction Forum in Washington last week. “Does that involve a different way of designing and implementing our programs?”

Today, the two organizations operate different assembly lines for those products, with WFP largely procuring treatments for moderate acute malnutrition and prevention, and UNICEF focusing on products that treat severe wasting, which the agency defines as the “most visible and lethal” type of malnutrition.

Streamlining supply chains is also interesting in light of long-running disagreements between the two agencies on who should do what when it comes to wasting treatment and prevention. But increasingly, WFP and UNICEF have looked toward linking their efforts, including through the Joint Action to Stop Wasting, a partnership that was launched earlier this year. Guarnieri spoke of taking that collaboration one step further: With a single, united delivery platform — along with unbranded products up to the point of distribution — Guarnieri said such materials would not just move more efficiently, but reduce costs.

“This is going to require that we work together in a different way at the clinic level, but it's also going to require that we streamline our supply,” she added. “That’s why the integrated supply chain is one of the aspects that we’re looking at.”

Background: ‘It’s a power struggle’ — UNICEF, WFP clash over wasting treatment reform

See also: How much power does the UN secretary-general have to reform the body?

And don’t miss: Can the UN really reform itself? (Pro)

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Forests 4EVA

As predicted, the World Bank accepted a position as trustee and interim host of the secretariat of Brazil's Tropical Forest Forever Facility, or TFFF, an investment fund meant to provide long-term, predictable financing for conserving and expanding tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests. TFFF aims to address the destruction of forests around the world that threatens commodity production, water and food security, biodiversity, and the livelihoods of millions. The plan is Brazil's prized initiative for the upcoming COP30 climate conference hosted in Belém, and the bank's decision is being celebrated among advocates.

“The World Bank’s decision today transforms the Tropical Forest Forever Fund (TFFF) from an idea into a fully operational reality,” says Fernando Haddad, the Brazilian minister of finance.

Still, the facility is waiting on funding commitments. Out of the $25 billion the fund needs to start investing, Brazil has promised a symbolic $1 billion. More investments from Germany, the United Kingdom, and Norway are anticipated, but not certain. The facility is launching as Brazil itself clears hundreds of thousands of hectares of forested land to meet demand for soybeans abroad.

Background: World Bank poised to host Brazil’s $125B forest facility

Chew on this

Could centering agribusiness be the key to tackling food insecurity? [Devex]

The European Union to water down climate rules ahead of leaders’ summit. [Financial Times]

How China weaponized soybeans to squeeze U.S. farmers — and spite Trump. [The Washington Post]

Food industry at “tipping point” amid demographic shifts, says Danone boss. [Financial Times]

Elissa Miolene and Jesse Chase-Lubitz contributed to this edition of Devex Dish.