Bolanle Otegbayo
Nigeria 2009
Dr. Bolanle Otegbayo has a yen for yams. This researcher is determined to help farmers capitalize on “the king of crops” as Dioscorea is known in her native Nigeria, which produces 68 percent of the world’s yam harvest (50 million tonnes). Yams are more than a mere tuber to Nigerians, says Otegbayo. “Yams are intimately linked to our economic, social, and cultural life. For instance, a man must give yams as part of a bride’s dowry. And no ceremony is complete without a dish of pounded yams. Every farmer grows them,” explains Otegbayo, a lecturer at Bowen University in Nigeria.
Yams are intimately linked to our economic, social, and cultural life. For instance, a man must give yams as part of a bride’s dowry. And no ceremony is complete without a dish of pounded yams. Every farmer grows them,” explains Otegbayo, a lecturer at Bowen University in Nigeria.
Field of Research
I believe my research on the molecular composition of yam starches will have a lasting impact on the nutritional and food security status in my country.

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