GLF Live: Year of the Millets

The United Nations has declared 2023 the International Year of the Millets (IYOM). GLF Live will close off the year with this live-streamed conversation on 14 December at 12:00 UTC. Hosted in collaboration with the Crop Trust, scientist Chrispus Oduori and chef Wisdom Abiro will talk about how can we can bring these precious crops back to the mainstream.

Speakers: 

• Dr. Chrispus Oduori holds a PhD in plant breeding from the University of KwaZulu Natal’s African Center for Crop Improvement, an MSc in plant breeding from Mississippi State University and a BSc in biochemistry and botany from the University of Nairobi. Dr. Oduori has 34 years of experience in finger millet research and management and pioneered finger millet hybridization breeding in Africa. He has successfully made wild x-adapted crosses with the support of the Crop Trust, releasing and promoting nine varieties in Kenya.

• Chef Wisdom Abiro is a chef from northern Ghana with a passion for highlighting the culinary, health and environmental value of his communities’ foods and knowledge. As an Indigenous advocate, Wisdom’s mission revolves around promoting northern Ghanaian cuisine for its health benefits and climate resilience, including millets fonio, pearl millet and sorghum as crucial staples to strengthen food security.