Scientists, policymakers, and agriculture experts from across the region gathered in Nairobi to celebrate and honor Dr. Suresh Lingadahalli Mahabaleshwara, a leading maize pathologist, for his transformative contributions to Kenya’s maize research and plant health systems over the past decade.
Dr. Suresh, who has served with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) in Africa, has spent the last 11 years supporting Kenya and several countries across Sub-Saharan Africa in combating Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN), a devastating disease that once threatened to cripple maize production in the region.
Speaking during his farewell meeting last evening held both physically and virtually, scientists from Kenya and beyond praised Dr. Suresh for his selfless service to science and for playing a central role in containing, managing, and bringing MLN under control.
Dr. Alice Murage, Acting Director General of the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO), commended Dr. Suresh for his outstanding scientific leadership and enduring partnership with national institutions.
“Through our collaboration, the MLN screening facility in Naivasha has kept Kenya firmly on the global map, ensuring world-class phenotyping standards and enabling comprehensive MLN screening of KALRO’s entire germplasm portfolio,” Dr. Murage said.
She noted that Dr. Suresh’s coordinated efforts in advancing and validating gene-edited resistance technologies strengthened national and regional breeding pipelines, setting new benchmarks for scientific innovation.
KALRO further acknowledged his outstanding contributions in MLN diagnosis, surveillance, and epidemiology—work that significantly improved Kenya’s preparedness, early warning capability, and disease-risk understanding.
Dr. Murage also highlighted his commitment to strengthening the Kakamega pathology facility through modernized infrastructure, improved irrigation, mechanized harvesting, and advanced foliar disease screening, elevating it into a high-performing research station supporting Kenya’s national breeding agenda.
“Through hands-on mentorship and structured training, you have built the confidence and competence of breeders, pathologists, technicians, and seed production teams, enabling consistent, high-quality phenotyping and clean-seed systems,” she said.
“Your work in enabling the MLN Seed Tracker digital platform and establishing the state-of-the-art decontamination facility at Kiboko reflects vision, foresight, and an enduring commitment to strengthening seed-health systems for Kenya and the wider region,” Dr. Murage noted
Kenya Plant Health Inspectorate Service (KEPHIS) Managing Director, Prof. Theophilus Mutui, presented Dr. Suresh with a certificate of appreciation for his outstanding technical leadership and sustained collaboration between plant health, seed health, and phytosanitary systems in Kenya and across Eastern and Southern Africa.
“Your contribution has been invaluable to national and regional efforts to prevent, detect, and manage MLN. Your leadership in harmonizing diagnostic protocols, validating laboratory methods, and strengthening quality assurance systems has significantly enhanced Kenya’s capacity for evidence-based phytosanitary decision-making, particularly in seed and grain management,” Prof. Mutui said.
He added that Dr. Suresh’s work delivered immense benefits not only to institutions and the private sector, but most importantly to smallholder farmers.
“Through diagnostics and system-based approaches, you helped build food safety, regulatory consistency, and trust across the agri-food system. Your collaboration with governments, NGOs, research institutions, and regional bodies has strengthened confidence in science-led solutions,” Prof. Mutui said.
Tributes also poured in from Dr. Kenneth Msiska of Zambia’s Plant Quarantine and Phytosanitary Service, Dr. David Kamangira of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) in Malawi, Dr. Suren Tikoo, a plant breeder and research manager in India, and Mark Jung, a research scientist from Iowa, USA. They praised Dr. Suresh for standing on the front lines of biosecurity and for the humility and generosity that defined every project he led.
In his remarks, Dr. Suresh reflected on the urgency of plant health threats.
“Maize diseases do not wait for meetings, policies, or permissions. They move fast, cross borders, and punish weak systems. When MLN arrived in Africa, it did not just infect fields—it exposed fractures in breeding pipelines, blind spots in diagnostics, and vulnerabilities in seed systems,” he said.
“Yet, instead of breaking us, it united us. Crisis became our classroom. Science became our shield. Partnership became our power.”
He thanked National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) partners in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and beyond for turning the MLN crisis into collaboration and capability.
“You trusted me with your germplasm, your fields, your scientists, and your national priorities. Together, we built MLN resilience, rebuilt breeding pipelines, and created systems that will protect farmers long after today,” he said.
Concluding his remarks, Dr. Suresh reflected on the journey:“Over the past 11 years, we did not just fight a disease. We built systems. We built capacity. We built confidence. And above all, we built friendships that no virus could defeat. This is the Africa I know—resilient, innovative, and united.”
By Wangari Ndirangu
