The Food Planet Prize 2025 Shortlist Revealed

The team at TC Women in Action farm prepare to transport their tomatoes to a large market in Johannesburg. TC Women In Action farm uses the Chameleon Wifi, the Chameleon card, and Wetting Front technology in Randfontein, South Africa. The farm specialising in tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, peppers and spinach. Small to medium farmers have benefitted greatly from the use of the VIA device through the reduction in water wastage and increased efficiencies in general operations. The Virtual Irrigation Academy enables farmers to merge the science of irrigation with their own practical experience using unique monitoring tools that give output as colours. Picture: Lauren Mulligan

The world’s leading environmental award The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize on May 6th revealed its shortlist with six visionary projects making it to the final stage to compete for the $2 million Food Planet Prize 2025.

The winner will come out on June 13 in Stockholm, Sweden, after deliberations from an expert jury co-chaired by the renowned environmental scientist Johan Rockström and Magnus Nilsson, Director General of the Curt Bergfors Foundation.

These finalists offer science-driven, scalable solutions to tackle challenges in our food system, such as cutting methane in rice production, fighting pesticide resistance, producing fertilizers from oxygen, revolutionizing irrigation in low-income countries, and so on.

Here’s the 2025 shortlist:

Photographer: Jovelle Tamayo. Adaptive Symbiotic Technologies.

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

Photographer: Ni Made Andyani, a farmer who join Astungkaray Way’s program, photographed on her recently planted ricefield.

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

Photographer: Emily Wilson In picture: Gustaf Forsberg, Founder of NitroCapt, studies the soil from a farm field in Nysätra.

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

Photograper: XIAO NAN In picture: At G Hotel in Shenzen, the pastry chef sprays the soup dumplings with a special water to enhance the flavor before steaming them.

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.

Photographer: ANITA POUCHARD SERRA In picture: Victoria Coll, Co-Founder & CSO at Semion, at Semion trials in the Faculty of Agronomy, Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Science, El Manantial Farm in Tucuman.

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

Photographer: LAUREN MULLIGAN, IN picture: The TC Women in Action team acquired a rundown farm in Randfontein, South Africa. VIA’s technologies have enabled the farm to reduce water wastage and increase efficiencies.

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

The Curt Bergfors Food Planet Prize, which was supported by a founding capital of 500 million SEK from Curt’s private assets, was established in Sweden in 2019. With a vision of facilitating a well-nourished population on a thriving planet, the Prize supports initiatives that significantly reduce the environmental impact of the way we eat. Every year, the Prize rewards $2 million to the champion.