"Al-enabled agronomy can further accelerate impact to optimise irrigation and risk management"

Dr Mo Segad, a Swedish and American soil scientist and inventor, was officially recognised by the World Food Prize Foundation as one of the 39 recipients in the 2025 Top Agri-Food Pioneers (TAP) cohort. He is a distinguished professor, UNCCD-accredited expert, and globally recognised inventor whose work is redefining climate-smart and resilient desert agriculture. As founder of 3N BioTech, Pure Green Al, and a UN-accredited forestry organisation, and as a distinguished council member of the World Agriculture Forum, Dr Segad integrates Al, soil science, and regenerative practices to deliver scalable, verifiable solutions aligned with COP outcomes, NDCs, UNCCD Land Degradation Neutrality, and FAO food security mandates. In an interview with AgroSpectrum he highlights how pioneering nano/ bio soil technologies and nature-based innovations are transforming arid and degraded lands into productive, climate-resilient farms that boost food security while reducing water use, agrochemicals, and carbon emissions and use of technology such as Al in maintaining soil health. Edited excerpts;

- Suchetana Choudhury

As a 2025 World Food Prize - Top Agri-Food Pioneer, how does your innovative work directly support agricultural and sustainable practices to boost national and global food security?

Standing on the World Food Prize stage was a profound honor, yet a clear reminder that awards are not the measure of our work; impact is. My mission is to treat nature with nature so farmers, local communities, and Indigenous peoples can grow more organic food with less water and no agrochemicals, while restoring drylands/ soils and reducing carbon emissions. From first-generation, custom-made Liquid Clays to next-generation, custom-formulated 3N BioTech, I have focused on innovative eco-engineering that delivers cost-effective, scalable, nature-based technologies to transform arid and semiarid lands, combat water scarcity, and tackle soil salinisation in a time of climate crisis.

By transforming sandy and degraded soils into living, productive lands, we can increase yields while cutting irrigation and fertiliser use, reverse desertification, and enhance soil carbon. This enables countries to expand climate-resilient organic farming without encroaching on high-biodiversity or high-emissions frontiers.

Recognition such as “Innovator of the Future” further encourages me to continue promoting credible innovation that aligns directly with COP outcomes and national commitments, advancing NDCs (emissions reductions via soil carbon and input efficiency), NAPs (adaptation through drought-resilient agriculture), UNCCD Land Degradation Neutrality, and the SDGs / CGIAR / ICARDA priorities. In short, innovation and science-led soil solutions are not an adjunct to food security; they are its foundation.

How can climate-resilient desert agriculture be promoted and scaled further?