Dr. Howard-Yana Shapiro was honored with the Global BioAgTech Sustainable Grower Award with distinction, a recognition reserved for pioneers who have fundamentally reshaped the global agricultural landscape, in April 2025 at the 6th BioAgTech World Congress. For over five decades, Shapiro has stood at the nexus of tradition and technology, leading efforts that span organic farming, seed biodiversity, genomic breakthroughs and regenerative practices across more than 35 countries. From co-founding the first large-scale organic seed company in the U.S. to driving open-source crop genomics, training hundreds of African plant scientists and developing climate resilient farming models at Mars, Inc., his contributions have helped define what modern BioAg can and must become.

A VISION ROOTED IN THE SOIL

Shapiro’s story begins not in the lab, but on a mixed farm in his childhood. At the age of six, growing up on his grandparents’ land, he became attuned to the rhythms of nature including row crops, livestock, fruit trees and the seed-sharing culture of neighboring farms. That early exposure embedded in him a lifelong respect for agricultural diversity and community-driven food systems. It also sparked a desire to understand not just how things grow, but why they thrive.

Even during his college years, Shapiro kept small farms running. For him farming was not just a backdrop. It was the frame through which he viewed his academic, entrepreneurial and scientific endeavors. It gave him an embodied knowledge of ecosystems and laid the foundation for his future as a systems thinker, researcher and seed steward.

SEEDS OF CHANGE AND A MOVEMENT

In 1989, long before “organic” became widely adopted in mainstream food systems, Shapiro and his wife launched Seeds of Change, which was the first large-scale organic seed company in the United States. Their catalog offered over 1,500 varieties of vegetables, herbs, grains, flowers and fruit trees, serving both home gardeners and commercial growers. But the company was more than a business, it was also a cultural intervention.

By preserving and distributing genetically diverse seeds, Seeds of Change helped revive heirloom varieties and encouraged growers to move away from intensive input and monoculture dependent systems. Shapiro’s vision was not just to sell seeds. It was to seed a new philosophy of food production, one rooted in biodiversity, ecological balance and farmer empowerment.

In New Mexico, he expanded this mission by growing row crops for local markets and maintaining a commercial orchard of apples, peaches, plums and apricots. The food products he created—salsas inspired by Mexican traditions, and tomato sauces drawn from dozens of tested cultivars—told the story of a global seed journey grounded in local flavor. These products did more than reach the market—they served as subtle tools for educating consumers about the importance of seed diversity and sustainable agriculture.

FROM FIELD TO GENOME: ADVANCING SCIENTIFIC INNOVATION AT SCALE

Shapiro’s career evolved from field-level experimentation to global-scale innovation. As chief agricultural officer at Mars, Inc., he was tasked with building resilience in the company’s agricultural supply chain. But he went far beyond traditional corporate sustainability models. Under his leadership, Mars became a platform for scientific collaboration, open access research and impactful programs.

One of his landmark initiatives was the development of the Theobroma cacao genome, a project that sequenced the DNA of the chocolate tree and placed the data in the public domain. This act of scientific generosity enabled breeders around the world to improve yields, disease resistance and sustainability of cacao farming systems. He soon followed with leadership in the peanut genome project, further advancing food security and plant resilience on a global scale.

These efforts underscored a fundamental belief that agricultural technology should be democratized. Shapiro’s commitment to open-source science made cutting-edge tools accessible to researchers and farmers across continents, accelerating innovation in both the Global North and South.

CHAMPIONING AFRICAN CROPS AND SCIENTISTS

Perhaps one of Shapiro’s most enduring legacies is the African Orphan Crops Consortium—an ambitious, continental initiative to improve nutrition, productivity and climate resilience of underutilized African crops. After hearing a young professor present startling data on child stunting in sub-Saharan Africa, Shapiro committed himself to addressing the root cause: inadequate nutrition from overlooked local food systems.

With UC Davis and the World Agroforestry Centre in Nairobi as partners, he helped establish the African Plant Breeding Academy—a training hub for early- and mid-career African scientists. The academy equips them with the latest genomics and breeding tools to improve over 100 indigenous crops. To date, more than 170 plant scientists, molecular biologists and agronomists have graduated, creating a network of innovation with far-reaching effects on food systems and public health.

This work represents a paradigm shift: valuing local crops not just for cultural heritage but for their critical role in food security, nutrition and ecological resilience.

REIMAGINING NITROGEN FIXATION

In recent years, Shapiro’s focus has turned to one of agriculture’s most persistent challenges: the environmental cost of synthetic fertilizers. His team has made a breakthrough in biological nitrogen fixation for cereal and grain crops—a capability historically limited to legumes.

Published in 2022, this research used CRISPR-based gene editing to enhance flavone biosynthesis in rice, enabling the formation of biofilms that support nitrogen-fixing bacteria. Early trials in maize, rice and wheat show promise, with other crops like sorghum, millet, teff and fonio under development. If widely adopted, this technology could drastically reduce fertilizer dependence while maintaining productivity—a true leap forward for regenerative agriculture.

A FARMER FIRST

Despite his global influence, Shapiro describes himself simply—as a farmer. His love for orchard keeping, agroforestry and seed science remains at the heart of his identity. He speaks not in abstractions but in the language of planting, harvesting, failing and trying again. To him, farming is not just a profession—it is a philosophy, a way of being in relationship with the Earth and with others.

His heroes—Norman Borlaug, Jennifer Doudna, and M.S. Swaminathan—share the belief that food is a moral right, that science must be shared, and that farmers are the foundation of social justice. Through every phase of his work, Shapiro has embodied these values.

A HUMBLING HONOR

Accepting the Sustainable Grower Award with distinction, Shapiro expressed deep gratitude: “It means that what I have learned over more than 70 years is valuable in this world today.”

He called the recognition humbling—not as an endpoint, but as an affirmation of a lifelong ethos: to never give up, to never despair, and to keep working toward a future where agriculture nourishes not only bodies but societies.

He reminded his peers that “farmers walk in the fields of paradise every day.” That we hold, in our hands and soil, the potential to heal ecosystems, end hunger and build resilience from the ground up.