Twenty-four scholars were recognized May 19 at the 2025 meeting of the National Association for Plant Breeding in Hawai’i.
When corn breeding legend Donn Cummings launched the National Association for Plant Breeding’s Borlaug Scholars program in 2018, he didn’t just want to create another scholarship. He wanted to build a movement—a mentorship engine powered by the next generation of plant scientists. Nearly 2,000 hours of donated mentorship later, the momentum is undeniable.
“It’s not just symbolic,” Cummings told a roomful of young scientists at the 2025 NAPB meeting in Hawai’I on May 19, during which 24 Borlaug Scholars for 2025 were recognized.
“If you add it up—just one hour of mentoring a month over the course of the program—we’re talking about roughly 1,873 hours. If this were a consulting business, that’s about $225,000 worth of time invested. That’s the real, tangible value of this mentorship, even if it’s unpaid.”
Backed by organizations like Inari, Corteva, Bayer, and the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), the program has connected 156 mentors with students from 37 universities, creating a web of relationships that span from West Lafayette to Nairobi. The unifying goal? To train and inspire scientists capable of solving problems we haven’t even discovered yet.
And they’re not waiting around.
Take Bryson Nihipali, a 2024 Borlaug Scholar from Hawaiʻi, who combines community agriculture, oral tradition, and environmental restoration to address contamination in historic taro-growing regions. He’s worked in the Philippines with the International Rice Research Institute, on Superfund sites near Pearl Harbor, and in American Samoa on water security. Now he’s heading to grad school at UH Mānoa to dive deeper into environmental justice and biocultural restoration.
His message to the 2025 cohort? “Break down the academic barriers. Get your hands dirty. Talk to people. Feed the next generation like our ancestors did.”
That spirit of innovation is why companies like Inari choose to sponsor the program.
“We’re not a seed company. We’re a seed design company,” said Terence Molnar, director of plant breeding at Inari, which has sponsored the Borlaug Scholars breakfast for years. “We’re using predictive design and multiplex gene editing to rewrite what’s possible in agriculture. But the future isn’t about our tech alone—it’s about the people who know how to use it.”
That’s why Inari invests in the program. Their three-site operation—in West Lafayette, Cambridge, and Belgium—draws from academia and industry alike to bring high-tech solutions to real-world farming challenges. “If you can get 2% genetic gain in corn, that’s considered good,” Woodward said. “But that’s not enough. Not for the climate. Not for the population boom in Africa. Not for the future.”
That urgency was echoed by Megan Bowman, corporate patent and trademark lead for Ball Horticultural Company. She spoke on behalf of the American Seed Trade Association (ASTA), and reminded scholars of the global policy work happening behind the scenes. “We’re on the Hill, in Geneva, at the International Seed Federation—representing you. Whether it’s gene editing policy or phytosanitary rules, ASTA is making sure the innovation you’re building doesn’t get stuck in regulation.”
The Borlaug program, she added, “is one of the most effective ways to bring students, universities, and the industry together.”
The community is growing in more ways than one. Cummings announced an African expansion of the Borlaug Scholars initiative, working alongside the African Plant Breeders’ Association to support six African scholars attending the next African Plant Breeders Association meeting.
“We’re choosing the parents—literally and figuratively,” Cummings joked, drawing laughter from the room. “That’s what breeding is all about.”
But the message turned serious: “The legacy of Norman Borlaug wasn’t just about wheat. It was about community. Collaboration. Courage.”
He pointed out that Borlaug, the father of the Green Revolution, was a competitive wrestler in his early days and is a member of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
“Norman was ready to take on the world—any opponent, any challenge. He was an athlete, a fierce competitor, and incredibly talented. His passion was the next generation. He believed in building global research communities and he knew we’d need each other to face the challenges ahead,” Cummings said.
“That’s what this program is about—community. We get more done together than we ever could alone. And now, you’re part of that community.”
