Prof. Margaret Jesang Hutchinson is the Assistant Vice-Chancellor of Research, Innovation, and Enterprise at the University of Nairobi. She has over 30 years of experience in the agriculture sector. She obtained her PhD in Horticulture from the University of Guelph in Canada. Her research and outreach work cover most areas of horticulture and, more specifically, floriculture, looking at policy, programming, and the entire value chain of several commodities. Specific projects she has been involved in have focused on developing tissue culture protocols for several economically important floriculture and fruit crops; optimising the agronomic and pest control practices of fruits, vegetables, and flower crops; reducing post-harvest losses of horticultural crops (cut flowers, fruits, and vegetables), and gender mainstreaming in policy and programming.
Prof. Hutchinson has provided strong leadership in several areas and institutions, including being one of the longest-serving board members for the Horticultural Crops Development Authority, a Faculty of Agriculture Representative to the Senate, Chairperson of the Faculty of Agriculture Postgraduate Studies Committee, and Head of the Horticulture Unit of the Department of Plant Science and Crop Protection. She served in the Taskforce for Higher Education in Kenya Science, Technology, and Innovation with the Ministry of Higher Education, which sought to align the higher education sector with the new Kenya Constitution (2010) and Vision 2030. She is a member of several professional bodies, such as the African Crop Science Society, Horticultural Association of Kenya, Kenya Professional Association of Women in Agriculture and Environment, the Agricultural Society of Kenya, and the Institute of
Directors.
