Rita Mumm doesn’t mince words: the world’s next great challenge is feeding a growing population with not just more food, but better food. “There has to be abundance and there has to be diversity,” she says, pointing to regions like Africa where both are still in short supply. As director of the African Plant Breeding Academy, Mumm is building that future by training a new wave of scientists in genomic tools — equipping them not just with technology, but with the strategic mindset and soft skills needed to drive real impact.
As the founding president of the National Association for Plant Breeding, she’s spent the last 15 years raising the visibility of plant breeding and drawing in sharp, motivated minds — from cities as well as farms — who see problem-solving as their mission.