Editor’s Note: Global food systems face pressing challenges, including climate change, conflicts and inequality. The 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneers spotlight individuals advancing real-world solutions to these challenges, reminding us that progress depends on the people bridging science, equity and sustainability.
From Australia to Zimbabwe, 39 visionary scientists, farmers, policy advisors, entrepreneurs and humanitarians have been named to the 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneers (TAP) list, announced today by the World Food Prize Foundation.
Now in its second year, the TAP list honours individuals driving bold and innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in global food security. This year’s honourees span 27 countries and one territory and range in age from 20 to 79, representing a powerful cross-section of experience, geography and expertise.
The 2025 cohort is announced in celebration of the Foundation’s 39th anniversary. All honourees will be formally recognised during the 2025 Norman E. Borlaug International Dialogue, taking place October 21–23 in Des Moines, Iowa.
“The 2025 TAP list showcases the extraordinary diversity, talent and resolve of individuals working across borders and disciplines to build a more sustainable and just global food system,” said Mashal Husain, President, World Food Prize Foundation. “In a world facing urgent and interwoven crises, these honourees are fearless changemakers driving impact where it matters most—and offering real hope for the future.”
2025 Top Agri-Food Pioneers
The 2025 cohort represents a network of changemakers intended to be expanded each year to facilitate greater co-learning and collaboration across food systems. Among the awardees are:
- Jean Baptiste De La Salle Tignegre (Burkina Faso), 60, a leading force in plant breeding and genetics at the African Agricultural Technology Foundation. Dr. Tignegre played a pivotal role in the development of Pod Borer-Resistant (PBR) cowpea – the first biotech food crop to be commercialised in Africa.
- Peter Alastair Hicks (Uganda, UK and Australia), 79, has devoted more than 60 years to improving food processing, storage and safety, working with institutes and universities across Asia and the Pacific and publishing more than 200 papers.
- Editha Mshiu (Tanzania), 28, CEO of Freshpack Technologies, who developed a patented Freshpack box, a non-electric, smart-fabric cooling solution that extends the shelf life of vegetables by 50 per cent, directly benefiting smallholder farmers and market vendors, especially women.
- Sandi Pamungkas (Indonesia), 20, founded MooApps with the vision of transforming livestock management through digital innovation. Recognising the potential of AI and IoT, he developed MooApps as a smart solution to provide real-time health monitoring, data-driven decision-making and an integrated marketplace for livestock transactions.
- Emily Weeks (USA), 46, has led major innovative initiatives, including the US Government Global Food Security Strategy for Resilience, Climate and Natural Resource Management policy, USAID’s Nature-Based Solutions guidance, and the Land and Resource Governance Joint Statement. Weeks has mobilised more than $20 billion in private sector investments in energy and resilient infrastructure, driving large-scale sustainable development initiatives.
“I am elated and deeply honoured to be inducted as a Top Agri-food Pioneer by the World Food Prize Foundation, a global beacon in food security and better livelihoods for farmers,” said Hugo Campos, Deputy Director General for Science & Innovation at the International Potato Center.
“This recognition fuels my personal zeal to collaborate with the Foundation and others in advancing Dr. Norman Borlaug’s legacy— through extending the Green Revolution to more crops and solving the wicked problem of food and climate security for the benefit of farmers and urban communities.”
The full list of the 2025 Top Agri-food Pioneers is available here.
