The Ethiopian Herald in its objective of gracing its Sunday Special Edition by shooting stars and thereby catering to the demand of esteemed readers, it scouts for society lions that challenged the frontiers. Luckily Herald has managed to reach the renowned Scientist and executive Dr. Segenet Kelemu for e-mail interview. Currently, Dr. Segenet Kelemu is Director General & CEO of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe) Nairobi, Kenya. Excerpts:
The Ethiopian Herald: To begin with, tell us about your upbringing. How was it like pursuing education in rural parts of the Ethiopia as a girl child? What were the challenges? How did you manage to circumvent them?
Dr. Segenet Kelemu: I think I have an interesting life story that can perhaps serve as an example to African women and others that the boundaries of what appear to be impossible can be broken.
I grew up in a remote conservative village in Ethiopia, bearing the unequal burden carried by rural African women. As a young girl, I frequently defied strong cultural norms that often put many restrictions on women.
I had done all of the back-breaking work that was somehow reserved by the society for women and children: the weeding, the picking of coffee berries, the collection of firewood , the fetching of water, the washingclothes, the grinding and pounding of grains, the carrying of farm produce to long-distance markets, and the list went on. The work was endless and going to school was just an afterthought. For girls, pretty girls who conform to society’s norms and rules, parents may seek their hands for marriage to their sons.
Luckily I was too rebellious, too challenging of the rules, and too tomboyish for any parent to want me as their daughter-in-law. So, I was in the unmarriageable, undesirable category, and I focused on school. I was a very good student and noticing my great potential, my teachers supported and encouraged me all the way to college. Amid all those chores I had to do, I focused on and excelled in school, perhaps because I understood early on that good education was my only ticket for getting out of poverty.
Herald: Brief us about your higher educational pursuits, ups and downs, success stories and awards?
Dr. Segenet Kelemu: There are many people that have contributed to my education and my professional journey. I cannot list them all. I did not have a female role model, I was not looking for one. I just wanted to be an outstanding student who could beat all the students, men or women. There are also many factors that influenced me and contributed to my success:
• School was free in Ethiopia, and my parents only had to pay for notebooks, pens and pencils. Pens, pencils, and notebooks were the most precious items there. To this day, I collect pens and pencils, I just cannot resist. My house and my office are full of pens and pencils. Had there been any school fees, I most likely would not have gone to school. My parents had seven kids of their own and some more of other people’s kids.
• Once my older brothers had income of their own, they invested in my education.
• The taxpayers of the USA invested in my graduate work through their government.
• My professors and later on my graduate students and staff of various nationalities have made great contributions to my career. I have been blessed with amazing students, staff and research partners from many countries.
• Over the years, I have had some amazing bosses who gave me so much room to grow as a person and professionally: my former bosses are my mentors, my friends, and my extended family. Most of them are men. And finally,
• My own determination and hard work to reach my set goals. The saying “it takes a village to raise a child”, really applies to me. “It takes a village to make someone successful.”
Herald: What inspired you to study plant pathology? What is it all about in simple terms?
Dr. Segenet: Plant pathology is the study of plant diseases. Plants like humans or animals have their own diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and others. These plant diseases cause crop yield losses or complete destructions contributing to food insecurity and poverty. I was interested in science and mathematics from early age. One thing that clearly stayed in my memory was the sight and destruction of crops by an insect invasion one day. Perhaps that had guided my choice in agricultural sciences.
I joined Haile Selassie I University (later re-named as Addis Ababa University) and graduated at the top of my class with great distinction in Plant Sciences in Alemaya. I have witnessed and experienced the challenges of agriculture first hand. Therefore, I devoted my studies to agricultural sciences to help solve the insurmountable constraints faced by farmers. I wanted to live a purposeful life contributing to society. Science and being a scientist gave me that opportunity.
Herald: As a discoverer cracking the constraint is your motto. Could you explain to us about that?
Dr. Segenet: When you solve a scientific problem, a puzzle, it is an incredible feeling, an emotional high which is hard to explain. You cannot sleep or eat well. You do not want to go home and you wish there were more than 24 hours in a day. You just want to live in the lab and continue to work. Let me give you an example and try to explain it by avoiding scientific jargons and making it as understandable as possible to your audience.
I noticed that the tropical forage legume plant has important traits such as adaptation to a wide range of soil conditions and resistance to drought. It is also resistant to a number of pathogens and pests. The seeds store well without any damage by storage insects.
These important traits gave me reasons to look more closely at the plant and to find out what makes this plant unique with so many good traits. Following several experiments over a period of years, my team and I discovered for the first time a small protein from seeds of this plant. The protein, designated ‘finotin’ (named after my daughter Finote), has broad and potent inhibitory effect on the growth of various important fungal pathogens of plants.
It also inhibits the growth of a bacterial plant pathogen. Furthermore, finotin has powerful inhibitory properties against storage pests. This same protein is produced in the leaves and roots of the plant especially in drought situation. My entire lab members were excited by this discovery. Unraveling the secrets of nature is amazingly powerful.
Herald: Do you have a scientific dream? What would you like science to find, create, explain or calculate, even if it isn’t in your own field?
Dr. Segenet: Of course, I have many dreams. I want science to find solutions to many of society’s problems, alleviating people’s sufferings whether it is hunger-related or health. I think obesity is one of the looming global disasters that will be putting enormous pressure on the healthcare systems of many countries.
The recent scientific publication in Science opens the possibility that gut bacteria may be among the cause of/solution to obesity. There’s a great deal of interest in identifying microbial compositions that could be used to treat diseases. I would like to see that to extend to treating diseases like multiple sclerosis, diabetes and others.
Herald: Not only as a scientist but also as a successful female executive you have made it to the top of the ladder( International Center of Insect Philology and Ecology) do brief us about that.
Dr. Segenet: I have always been an unconventional and strategic thinker. I always find it boring to follow the status quo, to follow the same beaten path that everyone else had used and to do routine assembly line type of work. I like to explore new ways of doing things to get to a solution efficiently. I do not use the word impossible.
Most things in life are possible if one puts the effort and determination. I am very securely confident without being cocky. I take calculated risks, and I have the ability to inspire others. I do not get rattled or distracted by small obstacles along the way. I am very proud of who I am and where I come from. I do not forget my humble beginnings and I do not get distracted by some irrelevant noises or let success get to my head.
I am and will remain that village girl at heart. I learned the value of hard work and multi-tasking early in my life. Coming from where I come from, there is no room for any doubt or regret in what I have done along the educational and career path. If there is any, I have just to remind myself of where I come from, all the mountains of barriers and challenges I have broken, and move forward, content with how far I have come and where I am
heading to. I was selected in a competitively global search process for the CEO position. I believe I was the only African who made it to the final short list of 3-5 candidates. Being the CEO of the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), the only insect research for development and capacity building Centre in the world, is a huge responsibility and great honor. I use this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of my fellow Africans and the global community.
What brought me to where I am now are 1) the result of my upbringing with great values and work ethics, 2) the support and mentorship by many people, 3) exposure to various cultures and life in various countries, my own determination, hard work, the can do it attitude and resolve, and 4) the excellent education provided to me with the support of Ethiopian as well as American taxpayers. I am grateful for all these opportunities and possibilities given to me. I am a global product and my skills are global public goods applicable to anywhere in the world.
Herald: Given your chance of working elsewhere beyond the perimeter of Africa you opted to work in Africa. Why?
Dr. Segenet: I have lived and worked in Ethiopia, Mexico, USA, Colombia and Kenya. I have traveled to more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and the Caribbean. I can work in leadership and science management positions anywhere in the World as my skills are applicable and in demand globally.
I chose to come back to Africa and work out of Kenya, because I felt really guilty for not giving back to the Continent that needs me most. I had to dismantle our very comfortable and happy life in Colombia (South America) and move my family to Africa. It was a bit tough for my husband and my daughter who had never lived in Africa before. But we are all happy now. It is good to think of others, for the less fortunate and disadvantaged and to contribute to society and to help create a better world.
Herald: Ethiopia is currently beset by the shortage of pesticides and insecticides. To add an insult to injury, it is short of hard currency to import such inputs at this decisive time of harvest season. The same may be true elsewhere in Africa. How do you see this thing?
Dr. Segenet: Pests and diseases are among the top causes for food insecurity. But there is excessive use of pesticides in a number of countries causing environmental and health issues from pesticide contamination and residues especially on vegetables and fruits. At icipe we generate a number of environmentally friendly bio pesticides that are commercialized across Africa and elsewhere by our private sector partners.
We develop technologies that are eco-friendly and control pests. Some of these technologies such as our world famous flagship technology called “Push-Pull” is now widely used in Ethiopia by farmers. The technology controls major pests, the parasitic weed Striga, manages aflatoxin, the fall armyworm, improves soil fertility and quality while also providing high quality fodder to livestock. It is a perfect technology developed for African cereal-livestock mixed farming system. And no synthetic pesticide is used.
Herald: What is your message to the youth in Africa especially in troubleshooting the continent’s challenges?
Dr. Segenet: I would like to direct my message to African governments, instead. To me, illiteracy and poverty are strongly correlated. Eradicating illiteracy is one of the key ingredients in eradicating poverty. Education greatly empowers people and equips them with the necessities for a meaningful and fulfilling life.
The importance of high quality education that matches the job market cannot be overemphasized: educated people are most likely to have fewer children and to take good care of their children including investment in their education (I myself have just one daughter and I sent her to the best schools and gave her great education that money can buy); poverty reduction can be achieved through education; better educated societies have better quality of life and live in better political and economic stability.
Indeed, the main difference between developed and developing countries is the level and quality of education and the proportion of their respective educated populations that collectively contribute to society’s prosperity and needs. Governments need to understand this and have the political will and commitment to make investments in high quality education that meets society’s needs and the job market demands among
their top priorities. In my recent Thought Leadership Column of icipe’s quarterly Newsletter that can be accessed online http://www.icipe.org/publications/newsletters, I wrote.
‘Every year, thousands of young African researchers graduate from local and international institutions. Unfortunately, many of them are not able to fulfill the dreams that first inspired them into a career in agricultural research. Researchers trained overseas often have to make the difficult decision between risks and rewards – that is, either to remain abroad, or to return home and face challenges of lack of infrastructure, being under-utilized, limited opportunities for professional success, and low pay (sometimes even lower than the stipends they received as students abroad). Local graduates are not spared either. Due to lack of opportunities, many end up accepting any available opportunities, typically outside their fields of training.
Others opt for more promising opportunities, for example within international agencies and non-governmental organizations. This scenario leads to external and internal brain drain that African governments must address’. Our research at icipe is focused on real problems facing Africa and our science is translated to impact in a timely fashion. We are also training and generating well-trained young scientists from across Africa who will be working for the development of the continent.
Herald: Here in Ethiopia, there are cultural taboos towards eating cricket, mushroom and fungus, which are said to have high protein and good to health (according to World Economic forum).What is your take on that?
Dr. Segenet: When I joined icipe in 2013 as its Director General and CEO, I wanted to build on what my predecessors had done but also add new and bold areas of research that can solve society’s problems of today and those of tomorrow. One of these new programs I have created is “Insects for Food, Feed and other uses”.
I have done this with the knowledge that 1) Insects form part of the traditional diet of at least 2 billion people in Africa, Asia and Latin America; 2) More than 2,000 species are reported to be consumed by humans globally; 3) traditional chicken and wildlife including a wide range of birds consume a wide variety of insects; 4) Insects therefore have a significant role to play in improving food and nutritional security.
The growing world population, which is now standing at around 7.4 billion, is projected to increase to 9.6 billion by 2050, pushing the demand for food up by 60%. This population surge, combined with urbanization, climate change, diminishing land and water resources, over- and undernutrition, and persistent poverty, has created uncertainties and pressures on current food and economic systems.
Insects can provide a solution to the undernourishment in Africa and other parts of the world, because they reproduce quickly, require little or almost no water and are valuable sources of protein, minerals and vitamins that are essential for human development. icipe’s recent research results show that edible insects have an outstanding protein quality. Several essential amino acids, especially lysine, threonine, and methionine, which are limited in cereal- and legume-based diets, are also present in adequate quantities in edible insects. Compared to conventional sources, edible insects are rich in zinc. For instance, while 100 g of beef contains only 12.5 mg of zinc; the same amount of palm weevils contains 26.5 mg.
Second, although the poultry, fish and pig industries are the fastest growing agribusinesses in many developing countries, poor availability and high cost of feed protein additives-which include soybeans, fish oil, fishmeal, seed cakes and several other grains-hinder their full potential. Feed costs are estimated to represent 60–70% of the poultry, fish and pig production costs. In addition, it is becoming unsustainable to rely on fishmeal, soybean and cereals as protein sources in feed production, as humans also consume soybeans and cereals.
Furthermore, farmland for cultivation is diminishing; and, because of over exploitation, the small pelagic forage fish from which fish meal and fish oil are derived are declining. Thus, insects represent a substitute for livestock feed, due to their protein content and amino acid profiles. Third, there is a global quest of incorporating “greening’ measures into agricultural systems, to mitigate climate change and conserve biodiversity.
Compared to other livestock, insects are more efficient in converting organic matter into protein, leading to lower greenhouse gas emissions. Insect farming thus benefits the environment and can mitigate climate change. Despite these clear reasons, a number of challenges stand in the way of integrating insects as a sustainable component in addressing food, nutritional and feed security, and transitioning towards a ‘greener’ agriculture. Although a range of insect species have traditionally been part of people’s diets in many countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America, they have a minimal understanding of the contribution of insects to food and nutritional security.
Moreover, edible insects are often harvested in an uncontrolled manner from the wild or through semi-domesticated informal set-ups. Ultimately, this can lead to habitat destruction and even extinction of species. There is also lack of a proper institutional framework to oversee and document edible insects. Our work is trying to change all of these. For example, based on icipe’s work, Kenya and Uganda became the first countries in Africa to have policies approving insects as feed in chicken production and aquaculture.
The USA has also approved insects as protein source for chicken feed. Icipe has recently added research work on oils extracted from edible insects and the results are astounding: high quality oil with omega 3, antioxidants, Vitamin E and other beneficial ingredients. I understand that Ethiopian diet is very restrictive, but until we change the public perception and mindset about eating insects, Ethiopia can still take advantage of insect rearing businesses to solve animal feed issues and create jobs along the way. The Global Compound Feed Market was worth USD 496.4 billion in 2015 and estimated to be growing to reach USD 537.4 billion by 2020.
Herald: What were the biggest challenges you faced in pursuing a career in science? How did you resolve them? Have you faced racism and sexism in your academic and career journey?
Dr. Segenet: There are always obstacles (small or big) in life. Life is never a smooth sail. What is important is that I never let the rough waters deter or rattle me away from what I wanted to achieve. When you run, sometimes you fall and sometimes you stumble. You just get up and run again until you reach your destination. Persistence and determination are important.
Of course, I have faced sexism and racism. I was once mistaken for a cleaner; I was mistaken for a maid of my European husband; and a few years ago, a new night guard by a security company at my house knocked on the door and when I opened it, he told me to go and get the “madam”.
I was ordered by a young immigration officer in a European country to open my purse and count my money to make sure I could afford to stay overnight in his city. I have often been asked what my husband does and not what do I do. I have been ignored like a potted plant during some meetings, with some people instead preferring to talk to my white male staff members.
This type of thing happens all the time. Do I get upset? Yes I do, because it is tiresome to have to prove yourself or explain over and over again. But do I dwell, or get bitter about these incidents? No, absolutely not. I advise you to focus on things that matter most and never, ever take your eyes off your main target and goal. And I know for a fact that with determination and hard work, you can get there.
Although the world has progressed well in many fronts, what is surprising and disheartening is the level of racism and sexism that is still out there around the world. The blatant racism is out there to see especially at airport security screening points. I travel a lot for work and almost every time, I get this “random” pick for additional security check. I have never broken any law anywhere, never been in court in my life, not even as a witness, etc. and yet I get this nonsense ‘the computer randomly picked you for additional security check”.
When you see these ‘random” picks, they are all brown people although the passenger list is predominantly white. Of course, the computer is not racist and does not profile us for whatever reason. It is the profiling data it has been fed by racist people. No matter how successful, how educated, skin color is the first judging factor out there in some sectors. And it is sad and annoying.
N.B Dr. Segenet Kelemu is due to receive a new science award given by the Americans: Danforth Award for Plant Science.
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD SUNDAY EDITION 25 AUGUST 2019
BY ALEM HAILU
