b'integration, humility, and kinship. devastates tomato crops across the globe. With AI and quantum computing now As Winter puts it: Were not here toIts an arms race, Ipinyomi explains.entering the phenomics space, she sees dominate the land. Were here to be inWere not trying to wipe out the diseasenew opportunities for collaboration.kinship with it.were trying to make resistance lastWere finally getting better at public-longer. If I can give farmers 20, 30, 40private collaboration, McRoberts says. Inspired by Sunday Stew years without worrying about this dis- And thats where real breakthroughs The same spirit of kinship drives Samuulease, thats a win. happen.Ipinyomi, one of this years BorlaugBut for breakthroughs to serve Scholars, whose journey from NigerianReimagining Innovation everyone, Hale Ann Tufan, of Cornell dinner tables to U.S. research labs showsIpinyomis story is exactly the kind ofUniversitys Equitable Agricultural how personal history can fuel scientificinnovation that retired Monsanto cornResearch Lab, insists we must ask: Who purpose. breeder Donn Cummings hoped togets to define innovation?Now a PhD candidate in plant breed- inspire when he launched the BorlaugAfter five decades of research, we can ing at the University of Florida, IpinyomiScholars program in 2018. The initia- say with confidencegender inequality remembers the aroma of Sunday stewtive now boasts nearly 2,000 hours ofin agriculture is pervasive. There are no as the spark that ignited his path. Madedonated mentorship and connectsexceptions, Tufan says. And at the root from tomatoes, this rich red dish was thestudents from 37 universities with 156of it all is power.crown jewel of his familys weekandindustry experts. Her work in Senegal revealed that the source of his agricultural inspiration. Its not just symbolic, Cummingswho makes household decisionsabout Growing up, one of my favouritetold this years scholars at a breakfastland, labour, financesdirectly affects foods was white rice and stew, he recalls.event. If this were a consultingwhat traits farmers prioritize. In more We didnt eat tomatoes like fruitwebusiness, it would be worth overequitable households, feed traits like bio-turned them into a paste. Sunday stew?$225,000. Thats the real, tangible valuemass mattered. In less empowered ones, That was the king of meals. of mentorship. basic yield took precedence.That deep connection led him toFor Jaci Benson McRoberts, winnerIn plant breeding, we talk about study rice, then eventually tomatoes of the NAPB Early Career Scientisttarget environments, Tufan says. But despite a lack of early mentorship in theAward and Bayer Crop Sciences headwe rarely talk about target households. field. Today, he works to extend resist- of data stewardship, innovation is alsoAnd that matters. ance to Fusarium wilt, a disease thatabout reimagining what data can do. Since 1953Professional Seed ServicesProduction Retail SalesProcessing Wholesale SalesPackaging Treating204-773-3854Russell MBwww.keatingseed.caJULY 2025SEEDWORLD.COM/CANADA 23'