More than one billion people eat potatoes every day. Yet this familiar crop is often overlooked in conversations about climate resilience, nutrition and Africa's food future.
This episode is Part 2 of Living with the Land, a Selam & Hello series in partnership with the Australian High Commission in Kenya. Lilly speaks with agricultural scientist Dr. Dinah Borus, widely known among farmers as "Mama Viazi, "about why the humble potato may be one of the continent's most practical tools for addressing hunger and climate change.
Kenya grows potatoes primarily for its own people, with most of the country's harvest consumed locally rather than exported. For Dr. Borus, that makes the potato more than an agricultural commodity: it is a locally grown solution that can strengthen food security, support farmers and feed communities without relying heavily on global supply chains.
She explains why potatoes are considered a climate-smart crop, but also sounds an urgent warning: the climate crisis is changing growing conditions faster than many crops can naturally adapt. Farmers need stronger seed systems, better research, improved storage, modern equipment and greater access to technology—but many African producers still lack the tools required to increase yields and reduce losses.
Dr. Borus also offers a bold and memorable idea for the continent's school-feeding programmes: "a potato for every child." Could nutritious, locally produced potatoes become a regular part of school meals while creating stable markets for African farmers?
In this episode:
🍠What makes the same crops in the US-Kenya-Australia both similar and wildly different?
🥔Why more than one billion people eat potatoes every day
🍠What is changing faster: the climate or the crops?
🥔Why potatoes can be part of a climate-smart agricultural future
This episode is part of Living with the Land, a special series from Selam & Hello in partnership with the Australian High Commission in Kenya, exploring the people and ideas shaping the future of agriculture across Africa.
About Dr. Dinah Borus:
Dr. Dinah Jeruto Borus is a senior agricultural scientist whose career has focused on sustainable agriculture, agribusiness, postharvest solutions and climate-resilient food systems. Known to potato farmers as 'Mama Viazi', she has spent more than two decades advancing potato and sweetpotato value chains across Kenya, Rwanda and other African countries.
She has held leadership roles at the International Potato Center and ICRAF and now works with the National Potato Council of Kenya. She also serves as the World Potato Congress International Advisor for Africa and Programme Chair for the 13th World Potato Congress in Kenya.
Selam & Hello is a Pan-African storytelling platform where Africa and her diaspora come to think, reflect and be heard.
Learn more:
National Potato Council Kenya: https://npck.org/
World Potato Congress: https://wpc2026kenya.com/bio-dinah-borus/
Australian High Commission Kenya: https://kenya.highcommission.gov.au/
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Music Credits: Selam & Hello Jingle by Silas Piper
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