This week on Womanity, Dr. Amaleya Goneos-Malka speaks with Dr. Susan Akinyi Otieno, a geneticist and plant breeder at the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO).  As the head of the potato breeding program Dr. Otieno brings over two decades of experience as a pioneer in clean potato seed production and a passionate advocate for food security, sustainable agriculture, and smallholder empowerment.

Dr. Otieno’s dedication to potato breeding stems from her passion for addressing food security issues in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in Kenya where the potato is the second most important crop after maize, supporting over 1.3 million farmers. She highlights the potato’s role as a short-season crop, enabling multiple harvests annually and significantly contributing to food security and economic stability for smallholder farmers.

Dr. Otieno shares impactful stories of her work with women farmers, particularly in developing disease-resistant potato varieties that reduce the need for costly and hazardous fungicide spraying, thereby saving time and resources for women. She also highlights varieties with short cooking times, which conserve energy and time for resource-poor farmers who often rely on firewood. She explains the rigorous, multi-year process of potato breeding, which can take up to twelve years for conventional methods, and how farmer feedback is crucial in selecting desirable traits like disease tolerance, high yield, and quick cooking time.

The interview delves into Dr. Otieno’s diverse academic journey, spanning institutions in Kenya, Germany, and the United States, where she earned her PhD in plant breeding, genetics, and biotechnology from Michigan State University. She candidly discusses the challenges faced by women in academia, including navigating pregnancy and family responsibilities while pursuing higher education. Dr. Otieno emphasizes the crucial role of her supportive husband and family in enabling her to balance her career and family life, underscoring the sacrifices women often make for professional growth.

As a female leader in STEM, Dr. Otieno offers valuable advice to young African women aspiring to enter agricultural research. She debunks the misconception that agriculture is solely manual labour, highlighting the diverse career paths available within STEM fields, such as biology, entomology, pathology, horticulture, and molecular biology. She stresses the importance of science education for developing sustainable agricultural practices, increasing productivity, and adapting to climate change.

Dr. Otieno strongly advocates for women’s empowerment, asserting that an empowered woman can break the cycle of poverty by providing resources for her children’s education and improving the entire community. She acknowledges Kenya is progressively making strides towards gender equality, citing legislative affirmative action and an increasing number of women in leadership positions within institutions like KALRO.

She pays tribute to trailblazing Kenyan women who have inspired her, specifically mentioning the late Professor Wangari Maathai for her courageous environmental activism and Justice Njoki Ndungu for her relentless advocacy for gender equality, including paid maternity and paternity leave and political participation for women.

Concluding the interview, Dr. Otieno attributes her success to determination, hard work, discipline, perseverance, and faith. She credits her late mother for instilling in her the belief that education and hard work are the keys to a better life, sharing that if you work hard enough, “Your credentials will talk on your behalf”. Her words of wisdom for women emphasize consistency, discipline, perseverance, and passion as essential elements for achieving any set goal.

Tune in for more…