Prof. Cecilia Moraa Onyango is an Associate Professor of Horticulture in the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection at the University of Nairobi, Kenya. She has 20 years’ experience in training, research, and community outreach in the areas of crop production systems, postharvest handling of produce, standards, and food safety. The main focus of her research work has been on African traditional crops’ production physiology, conservation, and use; as well as stress physiology and temperature-based modulation of growth and development in crops. She has wide experience in participatory farmer and end-user technology evaluation, selection, and adoption in addition to systems intensification and market-led development. She has over 30 publications in various peer-reviewed journals and has supervised and mentored over 20 graduate students. Cecilia received her PhD in Horticulture from Wageningen University in the Netherlands. She has wide expertise in partnership building and resource mobilisation. She has participated in implementing research grants as either a principal investigator (PI) or a Co-PI for several grants. Cecilia distinguishes herself as a scholar who embraces a systems-thinking approach to creating sustainable food systems as a means of achieving food security and nutrition through the application of a multifaceted and multi-sector effort to achieve the highest quality of life for all. She is a Co-Chair of the Phytosanitary Standards, Food Safety, and Consumption sub-committee of the Horticulture Technical Working Group; a member of the Multi-Agency Food Safety Technical Working Group of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, and Fisheries; and a board member of Organic Consumers Alliance.
