Six Revolutionary Food Systems Initiatives Compete for $2M Food Planet Prize 2025 

May 6, Stockholm, Sweden 
Our food systems are a leading cause of environmental destruction—yet we can’t simply stop eating. The $2 million Food Planet Prize, the world’s largest environmental award, dedicated to driving the transition to a sustainable food system, just announced its 2025 shortlist. Out of over a thousand nominations, six visionary projects from five continents tackling climate stress, food waste, fertilizer emissions, water scarcity, and more have made it to the final stage. 

These finalists offer science-driven, scalable solutions to some of the toughest challenges in today’s food systems. From cutting methane in rice production to fighting pesticide resistance, producing fertilizers from oxygen, and revolutionizing irrigation in low-income countries, these projects are as bold as they are practical.  

After deliberations by an expert jury co-chaired by the renowned environmental scientist Johan Rockström and Magnus Nilsson, Director General of the Curt Bergfors Foundation, the winner will be revealed on June 13 in Stockholm. 

The 2025 Food Planet Prize Shortlist: 

• Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies (USA) – Uses fungal endophytes and microbes to help crops resist climate stress, cut fertilizer use, and boost yields. 

• Astungkara Way (Indonesia) – Reinvents rice farming with regenerative methods to increase productivity and enhance farmer livelihoods in an ecologically beneficial way. 

• NitroCapt (Sweden) – Develops zero-emission fertilizers using air and plasma, reducing climate impact. 

• Pride on Our Plates (China) – Tackles massive food waste in China’s catering sector by empowering small businesses with data-driven insights and behavioral strategies. 

• Semion (Argentina) – Fights pesticide resistance with plant-based defenses that protect yields and reduce chemical harm. 

• Virtual Irrigation Academy (Australia) – Equips smallholder farmers with smart soil sensors to save water and increase food production. 

Each finalist has been carefully selected through a rigorous review process led by the Food Planet Prize’s in-house nominations team, supported by expert evaluations from leading academics.  

For detailed insights into each initiative, visit the Food Planet Prize website. Below is a concise overview of the challenges these projects address and the solutions they propose. 

1. Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies (USA)  
Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies (AST) utilizes fungal endophytes and microbes to mitigate the effects of climate stress on crop production, reduce fertilizer needs, and increase yields. AST’s flagship innovations are its BioEnsure and BioTango technologies: BioEnsure is a fungus that is sprayed on the seeds and establishes a symbiosis with the plant as it grows, altering the expression of a series of genes that allows the plants to tolerate stress and use water and nutrients more efficiently. BioTango is a microbial fertilizer designed to synergize with BioEnsure. Farmers in India and African countries have experienced a yield increase of up to 60% when using AST’s products, according to the initiative. 

2. Astungkara Way (Indonesia) 
Rice production today accounts for 11% of global methane emissions and consumes approximately 40% of the world’s irrigation water, and small-scale rice farmers face risks to their livelihood. Astungkara Way is intending to change this by applying a method known as Complex Rice Systems (CRS), a biodiverse farming approach that integrates mutually beneficial plant and animal species with traditional and modern rice cultivation methods— incorporating ducks, fish, a floating fern, and border crops.  

3. NitroCapt (Sweden)  
Currently, nitrogen fertilizers help grow roughly 50% of all food but emit as many greenhouse gases as the entire aviation industry. NitroCapt targets this issue by producing fertilizer using plasma-generated nitrate. The initiative uses oxygen from the air to bind nitrogen, eliminating the need for hydrogen and avoiding carbon dioxide emissions. The technology also aims to improve soil health, lower fertilizer costs for farmers, and expand fertilizer access in underserved regions, thereby boosting crop yields.  

4. Pride on Our Plates (China)  
An estimated 35 million tons of food are wasted annually in China, with more than half attributed to excess food discarded during consumption. Pride on Our Plates empowers China’s micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (which make up 97% of Chinese enterprises) with food waste reduction strategies and behavioral insights. The initiative claims to be the first large-scale anti-food waste project in the Chinese catering industry. It currently conducts training programs and pilots in six major cities and has influenced more than 60 million consumers over the past four and a half years.  

5. Semion (Argentina)  
Current methods to control pests are not working: pests have developed resistance, causing farmers to lose a significant percentage of their yields. Semion has developed an innovative pest control technology that activates plants’ natural defense mechanisms. The initiative uses elicitors to enhance resilience to pests and diseases. Two prime examples that Semion is targeting are Diaphorina citri (the vector of citrus greening), which has devastated 80% of Florida’s citrus industry since 2005, and Dalbulus maidis (the vector of corn stunt) in corn, which has caused up to 100% crop loss in Argentina.  Semion’s chemical-free approach not only boosts crop yields but also helps prevent soil and water contamination while safeguarding the health of farm workers and surrounding communities. 

6. Virtual Irrigation Academy (Australia)  
In low-income, water-scarce, food-deficit countries, 37% of small-scale farms are irrigated. Experts argue that the irrigation sector in these countries falls short of expectations due to problems with water management, service delivery, accountability, market access, and governance. The Virtual Irrigation Academy (VIA) provides innovative soil sensors that help small-scale farmers optimize water use. With better access to data on water and solutes in their soil, most farmers using VIA’s tools have significantly increased yields while reducing water usage. In addition to its sensor technology, VIA supplies data to institutions and community water managers to promote fair and equitable water distribution. According to VIA, its tools have been used by thousands of farmers in over 20 countries.   

Each of these initiatives represents a vital piece of the puzzle in building a food system that works with, not against, the planet. 

Media contact: press@foodplanetprize.org  

About the Food Planet Prize   

The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize is the world’s biggest environmental award, rewarding 2 million USD to one winner. It can only be awarded to projects working within the food system.    

The Сurt Bergfors Food Planet Prize was established in Sweden on August 30, 2019, in acknowledgement of the perils that our current food systems pose to the health of people and the planet and with the conviction that the ways we produce, distribute and consume food must be radically and urgently reformed if future generations—and the planet itself—are to survive and thrive.   

The Prize supports initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact of the way we eat. No other human activity puts more strain on our environment, and stopping eating is simply not an option.  

Unlike many awards, the Food Planet Prize recognizes initiatives for their potential future impact on the environment rather than past achievements.   

The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize’s vision is a well-nourished population on a thriving planet.