Mary Abukutsa-Onyango

thumb|Prof. Mary Abukutsa-Onyango in 2010 Mary Abukutsa-Onyango (born February 20 1959) is a humanitarian and agricultural scientist from Kenya who specializes in olericulture, agronomy, plant physiology. Abukutsa-Onyango is a professor of horticulture at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology whose work focuses on African indigenous food crops. Abukutsa Onyango has studied how African indigenous vegetables can be used to combat malnutrition in Africa while maintaining a secure form of revenue even during more challenging weather and climate. Quotes It is a profound honour. This award is the continent’s foremost recognition of individuals and institutions transforming farming from a struggle for survival into a thriving enterprise. For me, it affirms that African indigenous vegetables are central to the transformation of African food systems. For example, indigenous bambara nuts and pigeon pea yield relatively better in low fertility soils and with low rainfall, compared with beans," she notes. "And this allows a diversified, sustainable production model that insures nutritional security and prosperity. I don’t believe we can address the issues of nutrition security, poverty, and health in Kenya without relying on African indigenous crops. With a soaring food crisis, and maize harvests predicted to be 16 percent below former years as a result of changing Kenyan weather patterns, the only grains that could adequately replace maize in my opinion would be indigenous millets and sorghum, which are more drought tolerant. Let your food be your medicine and your medicine be your food. It is also the fulfilment of a dream I held since the age of ten – that these vegetables would be valued and accessible to all who need them for food, nutrition, health security, and economic empowerment. External links Category:Agronomists Category:Academics from Kenya Category:Women scientists from Kenya Category:1959 births Category:Women born in the 1950s Category:Living people