Renata Reinheimer, award-winning researcher: 'Our dream is that crops can regrow after harvest'

Argentine researcher Renata Reinheimer has been honored with the World Intellectual Property Organization's (WIPO) award for Best Entrepreneur 2026, recognizing a groundbreaking innovation poised to transform global agriculture: the conversion of annual crops into perennial ones. This disruptive technology, developed by Reinheimer and her team at the Institute of Agrobiotechnology of the Littoral (IAL), allows crops to regrow after harvest from a single planting.

Reinheimer's work is rooted in understanding plant evolution. She discovered that modern crops like wheat and corn share ancestors that were perennial, living for multiple years. Using a patented method, Infira, her tech-based company, identified and expressed specific genes that plants lost approximately 80 million years ago. By reactivating this "original code of nature," commercial crops that typically die after yielding produce can now regenerate season after season.

This "scalable" technology can be applied to various high-value crops, including rice, soy, corn, sugarcane, and alfalfa. The most advanced development is in rice, currently in its second field trial season with successful productivity and regrowth results. The innovation aims not only to boost production but also to restore environmental balance in agricultural systems.

Key benefits include significant soil restoration, as perennial plants develop deeper, permanent root systems that improve land structure and reduce erosion. Farmers also stand to save on costs associated with annual replanting, including seeds, machinery, and fuel. Furthermore, these perennial crops require less water and chemical inputs, increasing resilience against unpredictable climates. The system also enhances carbon capture and reduces the ecological footprint of farming, while maintaining high productivity over multiple harvest cycles.

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Our dream is that there will be crops that can regrow after the harvest.