OUR FELLOWS
Esther Andrew Masumba’s interest in agriculture was nurtured when she attended an agricultural secondary school. “We used to go to agricultural institutes and dairy farms for field visits,” she recalls “I am a practical person—I love doing things with my hands. I think this is why I enjoy working in agriculture.” This exposure paid off as she is now at the pinnacle of her career in the Tanzania National Agricultural Research System (NARS), where her research at the Sugarcane Research Institute, Kibaha focuses on root and tuber crops, specifically, cassava and sweet potato
My vision is to use my scientific knowledge to help farmers in cassava and sweet potato-growing communities improve their production,” says Masumba.
Field of Research
Using her training in conventional and molecular breeding, Masumba is developing varieties that have high nutritional value and are resistant to major diseases—cassava brown streak disease and cassava mosaic disease.