Description

The Super Seeders is based on first-hand accounts from the scientists, breeders, and curators who have built the seven pillars of today's plant genetics revolution. It begins with the guardians of global gene banks, conserving the rare and diverse crop genes that form agriculture's safety net. From these collections, plant geneticists are now unlocking hidden traits with fast-moving genome technologies, transforming the possibilities of crop improvement.

International research centres and the groundbreaking Plant Treaty have opened the floodgates for the free exchange of genetic material, enabling a new wave of discovery. Crop breeders are translating these breakthroughs into reality, delivering drought-tolerant, disease-resistant, and higher-yielding varieties for farmers.

The book raises a pressing question: will this revolution reach the 70 percent of Africans who still depend on subsistence farming? The answer will shape not only the future of food in Africa, but the future of food security worldwide.

A story of ingenuity and urgency, The Super Seeders captures the hopes and challenges of the women and men driving a genetic transformation of agriculture—and the farmers whose lives depend on its success.

TOPICS OF CONVERSATION

• What inspired Miles to write the book and why plant genetics matters to him personally
• The seven foundational pillars that are driving the current plant genetics revolution
• Norman Borlaug and M.S. Swaminathan—what each accomplished and why they matter
• The costs and benefits of the Green Revolution
• How genomics and gene editing are collapsing breeding timelines
• Resistance to GMO and gene editing in Europe, China, and parts of Africa
• Climate change as the primary driver behind current breeding priorities, especially drought resistance
• What happens when the food system fails—historical examples from 1973, 2008, and 2022
• What Miles is watching next—gene editing acceptance and the renegotiation of the International Plant Treaty

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Miles Hillmann is a lifelong entrepreneur with a career that bridges scientific curiosity and hands-on innovation. From his early work at the Kabanyolo Agricultural Research Station in Uganda during Idi Amin’s fall, to experiencing food shortage and famine in the Ethiopian Central Highlands. His work encompassed everything from agricultural development, to building flash flood irrigation food-for-work sytems. The importance of food security was indelibly imprinted on his mind.

His first company developed processes for food industry materials. Concurrently he pioneered real-time organic material analysis. He then created one of the UK’s major pollution control companies supplying specialist materials to companies in Europe, Nigeria and the Middle East. This led him to establish companies in e-commerce, accredited pollution control training and flood control.

Throughout he maintained an interest in agricultural science — especially the potential of genetic advances.

Learn more about Miles Hillmann and his work at https://superseeders.co.uk/

Grab a copy of The Super Seeders here: https://amzn.to/4xEVtqG