Constraints and opportunities for farmers and traders in the maize-based food systems are the subject of Lilian Kirimi’s research. “I want to ensure that farmers can earn a good income, while consumers can afford the maize grain/flour,” she says, “and to accomplish this, I need to influence policy at the national level with evidence-based research.” Kirimi says her mother inspired her, and remains a role model. Widowed young in life with six children and little formal education, she sold firewood and charcoal to ensure that all five of her girls received an education. “My mother and I worked along the river at our farm one day, when I was in secondary school,” Kirimi recalls, “and she told me: ‘We don’t harvest from this land all that it can produce.’