A Kenyan scholar has just won the prestigious 2025 Africa Food Prize in recognition of her efforts to promote indigenous crops and sustainable agriculture. Self-sufficiency in food production is a crucial goal in achieving national food security and economic stability.

Prof Mary Abukutsa-Onyango has been rightly feted for her pioneering work on indigenous vegetables and her decades-long sustainable food systems advocacy. She champions indigenous crops, food security, and sustainable agriculture. The Jomo Kenya University of Agriculture and Technology (Jkuat) don will share the $100,000 award with a Nigerian seed expert.

As the chair of the Africa Food Prize Committee, retired Tanzanian President Jakaya Kikwete, pointed out, the Kenyan academic’s legacy is mainstreaming indigenous crops, offering sustainable solutions to hidden hunger, and ensuring that the continent’s biodiversity is recognised as a global asset.

Indigenous vegetables hold a key to improving farmers’ livelihoods and food systems across Africa. The poor public perception that has in recent years led to the discarding of indigenous vegetables needs to the reversed for the people’s wholesome benefit. The crops have been undervalued for too long.

The prestigious prize is meant to boost innovation and research to boost the fight against hunger. The scholar has, for three years, championed traditional vegetables once dismissed by some as the “poor man’s food” by highlighting their immense nutritional value and resilience.

Besides improved biodiversity conservation, promoting indigenous food crops creates markets for smallholder farmers as a key source of income. Using climate-smart technology, even those that have disappeared should be revived and returned to the dining table in Africa and the world.

Sustainable agricultural practices, including seed saving, enhance the resilience of these crops and the farmers who depend on them, fighting malnutrition and climate change consequences. Growing indigenous crops can boost smallholder livelihoods, as they thrive in harsh conditions and offer high nutritional value.