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Mary Abukutsa, a leading researcher on African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and a Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) research fund beneficiary, has…
Mary Abukutsa, a leading researcher on African indigenous vegetables (AIVs) from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) and a Science Granting Councils Initiative (SGCI) research fund beneficiary, has been named the 2025 Africa Food Prize laureate for her ground-breaking work in advancing African indigenous vegetables.
The announcement was made in Dakar, Senegal, during the 2025 Africa Food Systems Forum on Wednesday, 3 September, where Abukutsa and Mercy Diebiru-Ojo, a seed innovator from Nigeria, were declared joint recipients of the US$100,000 Africa Food Prize.
Through Kenya’s National Research Fund, the SGCI supported Abukutsa’s project –Upscaling African Indigenous Vegetables Climate Smart Technologies for Food and Nutrition Security in Kenya.’
The project was launched in 2023. The initiative targets farmers in Kakamega and Kiambu counties, promoting the cultivation of African nightshade and jute mallow using climate-smart technologies and registered seed varieties.
Abukutsa, a professor of horticulture at JKUAT, is leading the project in partnership with Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology and the Inter-Region Economic Network, Growthpad, an export company.
Its goal is to strengthen food and nutrition security, increasingly threatened by climate change, through the sustainable production, commercialisation, and utilisation of African indigenous vegetables.
By promoting nutrient-rich vegetables with climate-smart techniques, Abukutsa’s team is creating climate-resilient food systems that nourish communities while generating new income streams for farmers, particularly women growers.
Read the full story of Abukutsa’s SGCI-funded project published on the SGCI website and in the SGCI Footprint newsletter.
The SGCI congratulates Abukutsa on this well-deserved recognition of her lasting impact on African agriculture and food security.
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Published on 10 September 2025
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