The Worldwide Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), a member of the CGIAR international analysis partnership, has honoured one in every of its scientists, Mercy Diebiru-Ojo, after she was named a 2025 Africa Meals Prize laureate for her work on cassava and yam seed programs.
Mrs Diebiru-Ojo was recognised for growing and increasing the Semi-Autotrophic Hydroponics (SAH) expertise, generally known as cassava-in-a-box. The tactic permits the mass manufacturing of high-quality, disease-free planting supplies, which scientists say might assist tackle meals safety challenges in Africa.
The award was introduced earlier this month on the Africa Meals Methods Discussion board in Dakar, Senegal, the place Mrs Diebiru-Ojo was named co-laureate alongside Mary Abukutsa-Onyango of Kenya, recognized for her work on indigenous African greens.
At a media convention in Abuja, IITA Director Basic, Simeon Ehui, stated the event confirmed how agricultural analysis could be utilized to supply sensible options for farmers.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES, Mrs Diebiru-Ojo described the award as an encouragement to proceed her work.
“This award isn’t the top, it’s a starting, a name to motion and a reminder that a lot stays to be performed if we’re to realize a food-secure Africa,” she stated.
She defined that SAH expertise was designed to be inexpensive for smallholder farmers.
“For the typical Nigerian, cassava in a field prices about ₦800, offering roughly 25 crops. Whereas there’s a price, farmers see the worth within the high quality of what they purchase and maintain returning as a result of the planting supplies are dependable and high-yielding,” she famous.
In 2022, PREMIUM TIMES reported on Mrs Diebiru-Ojo’s position in cassava seed system growth, highlighting the potential influence of her analysis on meals safety in Nigeria and past. Her recognition in 2025 is seen as a continuation of that work.
Tackling longstanding challenges
Cassava and yam are staple crops in Africa, however manufacturing has been restricted by gradual multiplication charges, disease-prone planting supplies, and poor entry to improved varieties. Conventional propagation can take as much as a 12 months, with recycled stems usually carrying pests and illnesses that scale back yields.
In accordance with Mrs Diebiru-Ojo, the SAH course of multiplies clear, disease-free crops in much less time, giving farmers faster entry to improved varieties.
She stated the expertise is now being utilized in 15 nations together with: Nigeria, Togo, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia, Malawi, Angola, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Democratic Republic of Congo amongst others.
“In Nigeria alone, we now have 5 amenities. Vice President Kashim Shettima can also be and at the moment, we’re establishing two amenities for him—one in Abuja and one other in Borno, which he desires to make use of to empower farmers,” she stated.
Mrs Diebiru-Ojo, a Nigerian plant breeder, earned her PhD from the West Africa Centre for Crop Enchancment (WACCI), College of Ghana. She was a Norman Borlaug LEAP Fellow and a visiting scientist at Cornell College, the place her analysis targeted on cassava flowering and genetics.
At IITA, she has labored on enhancing entry to wash planting supplies by initiatives akin to GoSeed and the Constructing an Economically Sustainable Built-in Cassava Seed System (BASICS). She has additionally contributed to yam and potato seed system enhancements and led coaching programmes for girls farmers.
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The Government Director of the Nationwide Root Crops Analysis Institute (NRCRI), Chiedozie Egesi, stated partnerships can be essential to increasing the attain of such improvements.
“We’ve got over 5,000 cassava seed entrepreneurs throughout Nigeria, and our subsequent step is to construct their capability to supply high-quality cassava and yam planting supplies,” he stated.
With the popularity of two ladies innovators in 2025, the Africa Meals Prize committee signalled a shift within the panorama of agricultural analysis on the continent. “It’s a highly effective message concerning the future we’re constructing,” Mr Ehui stated.
