From Nepal to the World: How the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy changed everything for its 2024-2025 Outstanding Student
When Sujit Tha walked into his first session at the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy (PBA), he wasn’t sure what to expect. As the head of plant breeding and research at CN Seeds Limited in England, United Kingdom, Tha already had more than a decade of experience under his belt and was leading programs across a variety of crops. But he was looking for something more than knowledge — he was looking for direction.
He found it. And this year, he was recognized for his growth and impact as the 2024-2025 UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy Outstanding Student.
“From day one at UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy, I connected straight to — ‘ah, I can use this thing, what he’s saying, into that particular project.’ Or — ‘no, I was doing that thing wrong, so I need to modify it,’” Tha says. “This course has been really transformational from many different angles. Very practical from day one.”
That practicality changed how he saw plant breeding. And more importantly, how he did it.
Tha’s journey didn’t start in a university or lab. It started on a farm in Nepal.
“I was always connected to agriculture, but I never thought I would be plant breeder,” he says. “Originally I wanted to be medical doctor, but I couldn’t do it, for whatever reason.”
Instead, a research assistant job with a molecular plant breeder in Nepal, shifted his future.
“He was my first inspiration who and helped me dream about becoming molecular plant breeder, which I’m not yet. I’m working towards it,” Tha says.
That seed grew. After earning his master’s in plant genetics and crop improvement in England, Tha joined CN Seeds — a company known for its open-pollinated varieties — and never left. Sixteen years later, the UC Davis Plant Breeding Academy helped him find a renewed purpose and gave him the confidence to push CN Seeds into new territory.
“As a thesis, which we have to write to graduate the academy, I chose hybrid breeding in pak choi (bok choy),” he says. “Now I have all started implementing that in the reality as well. So it’s been six months, and we already harvested first round of crossed seeds.”
But technical breakthroughs weren’t the only transformation. The mentorship he received at UC Davis — particularly from Jovan Djordjevic, director of education for the Plant Breeding Academy — changed how he approached his role and priorities.
“I think the first thing when I think about him is him teaching me ‘you need to know what not to do,’” Tha said. “You will have millions of things that you want to do, but you need to know what not to do. I apply that almost every day nowadays.”
Specifically, Tha has adopted several of Djordjevic’s suggestions, such as:
- Don’t try to do everything at once.
- Don’t apply the same breeding strategy to every crop.
- Don’t do anything without strategic value.
Before enrolling in PBA, Tha was running breeding programs in at least seven or eight species in the UK. His work included coriander, pak choi, dill and more.
“Jovan told me, as a small company of our size, we shouldn’t be spreading ourselves very thinly,” he says. “So we challenged ourselves. We sat down, and came up with a handful where we really want to focus, and I can apply so many breeding techniques in those.”
Djordjevic saw Tha as a model student — one who didn’t wait for a graduation date to start implementing change.
“One of the roles of instructors is not only to teach from the textbook, but also to share experiences,” Djordjevic says. “What we like to see is the students begin to apply what they learn. And not wait until end of the year or end of the graduation and then begin to immediately apply.”
For Tha, perhaps the biggest surprise wasn’t the science — but the sense of belonging.
“First day of the class, we had to do two-minute presentation about ourselves, so I got really emotional, because I never had any teachers in my life,” he said. “They said we are here in the journey together for next two years and more. That really touched me.”
In Nepal, Tha said, he was often learning from books that were 20 years out of date. Even when he moved to the UK, the pace of instruction often left him feeling behind. But the Plant Breeding Academy gave him something those experiences never could — immediate application, international connection and a shared vision for the future.
“In the room, in that class, we had 21 different breeders from different companies sharing culture, experiences — I think that is one of the unique selling point of the academy,” he said. “And I would also say this course is literally a zero-to-hero, kind of course.”
From a farm in Nepal to the fields of England, and from open pollination to hybrid systems — Tha’s story isn’t just about a course. It’s about what happens when the right tools meet the right heart and talent.
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