Mary Abukutsa-Onyango is a leader in her field. Deputy vice-chancellor of research, production and extension, and professor of horticulture at Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, she has more than two decades of expertise in indigenous African food crops.
But when she submitted papers to well-regarded international scientific journals describing the findings of recent research into the role African indigenous vegetables might have in addressing poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity in Africa, they were rejected. “Not because the research was not good, but because they regarded the crops I was writing about as weeds,” she says.
Instead, she found an African journal and published her findings. The improved visibility and accessibility of her research influenced the Kenyan government in its development of nutrition schemes for schools. Other East African governments have also adopted the schemes. In a significant irony, global north readers are now adopting these nutrition findings to support balanced diets.
