Blog
Writing on sustainability, agricultural development, and food systems.
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We've released the new precision breeding procedures
We know gene editing regulations are changing globally but less is shared on the field trial procedures, so we made a resource for the co...
Connecting national genebanks directly with smallholders supports local resilience efforts
Connecting national genebanks directly with smallholders supports local resilience efforts. Great to have our paper in Plant Genetic Reso...
I've made new tool to help track & communicate crop GE regulatory change
Like the map above? It’s yours to use. I’ve made a website to freely provide high-res versions and news on gene editing regulatory change...
Supporting the next women leaders in wheat research
I am just back from A fantastic couple of days at CIMMYT-Obregón working alongside Diane Saunders on the Rosalind Franklin Women in Wheat...
Starting a new personal site
Why I started a personal website, what I discovered in making it and how you can do the same (for free).
Moroccan precision breeding meeting with British Embassy
It was fantastic to chair a meeting at the British Embassy Morocco Ambassador’s residence, for a mutual learning session between five cou...
I've gained a new fellowship: JIF Fellow in Global Food Security
I am delighted to share my new role as the John Innes Foundation Fellow in Global Food Security, tasked with unlocking research findings ...
Wheat participatory breeding in Kenya
It was great to see our participatory research in Laikipia, Kenya, learning how farmers’ crop selection compares to breeder’s choices, an...
New video we made with Crop Trust on Farmer-genebank benefits
It was a huge pleasure to make this video with the exceptionally talented Luis Salazar and Neil Palmer. An inspiring story with some amaz...
Linking farmers with national genebanks for rapid resilience
Delighted to announce our publication on how national genebanks are an overlooked but important resource to rapidly support smallholder c...
New 2025 EAT-Lancet vision calls for justice in healthy and sustainable food systems
On 3 October 2025, the EAT-Lancet Commission released a new report on healthy, sustainable, and just food systems. The report follows six...
The business case for safer grasspea in Ethiopia
I’m delighted to release our new strategy for the widespread and sustained adoption of improved grasspea for safe, resilient, nutritious ...
Keynote at the UK-ASEAN Symposium on Precision Breeding
I was honoured to give a keynote at the UK-ASEAN Precision Breeding Symposium in Malaysia and to present at the UK-ASEAN Symposium on Pre...
Mismatches in farmer and breeder targets
There is sometimes a mismatch between what crop researchers target and what crop producers want. We spoke to researchers and farmers at S...
NISD research featured in DEV Annual Report
I am proud to feature in the UEA DEV annual report amongst so many inspirational friends. DEV has been a central part of my journey, but ...
Improving wheat and ‘life’ for Egyptian farmers
The word for ‘bread’ in Egyptian Arabic (aish) literally means ‘life’, a crucial and loved staple that has been a central part of Egypt’s...
Why we must support youth as agents of change for sustainable food transitions
What will it take for the world to see young people as not just stakeholders, but as immediate and capable leaders for change?
Guardian feature: Kenyan seedbanks offer lifeline to farmers
I’m honoured to be in The Guardian today speaking on the huge potential of national genebanks like KALRO-GeRRI for rapidly improving loca...
Gender justice is needed to reverse the ‘grim’ chances of achieving Zero Hunger
The new Global Hunger Index report shows the ‘grim’ state of food insecurity and stalling progress towards the UN Sustainable Development...
A global system to protect farmers from a persistent threat
It is great to be at Njoro with researchers from 23 organisations collaborating to make a global system to protect farmers from a persist...
The power in national genebanks
We often focus on large international genebanks, but national genebanks offer something special. Thanks Food Tank for helping us spread t...
New systematic review on fish processing and gender
Our systematic review is out in Nature Food on the social sides of aquatic post-harvest hashtag#processing. Here’s a story from the ‘sex ...
All demand and no supply
The director closed the door and sat across the table from me. After a pause, he sighed and with an earnest look said, ‘can you get us re...
Joining the first International Lathyrus Day
Grasspea is a nutritious crop for resilient, regenerative agriculture - so we had the first International Lathyrus day to rally the commu...
A robot applies for a job
I reviewed 90 research applications. Around a third were near identical. How is this possible? Some reflections and a surprising discovery.
An overlooked precarity for local varieties
Imagine if one of your favourite foods disappeared from one year to the next? This seems dramatic and yet for many smallholders, it’s a g...
How past experiences prevent us escaping poverty traps
Sometimes people are stuck in poverty traps because there are no options to escape the situation - but not always. What if our past blind...
Seven tips to help with the PhD thesis writing
“How’s the writing going?” Some tricks I learnt along the way.
How young people feel about the future
We’re just back from the Royal Norfolk Show where we spent two days asking young people1 how they feel about the future: ...
The difference in healthy life between the UK's wealthiest and poorest
There are 19 years difference in healthy life between the wealthiest and poorest areas in the UK. Healthy sustainable diets can add life ...
How to plan impact measurement
How do you actually measure change and impact? In this section, we’re going to look at how to make methodical plans to confirm evidence o...
Populating impact pathways
We’re getting a rough idea of what a impact pathway can look like, but we’re missing some details. In this section, we’ll cover some impo...
We should do more in social science to recognise enumerators
I love working in natural and social sciences - but there is something we could do better in social sciences for representation.
Mapping impact pathways
How do you plan the change you want to have? Do you write it up in a delivery plan? Do you list a series of milestones on a timeline? Wha...
Language for impact strategy
What impact do you intend to have? It’s surprising how often I’ve asked this question and heard responses which are not impacts. Usually ...
My birthday started with death threats
My 31st birthday started with death threats. The reason, I stood up for LGBT+ rights in a Ugandan WhatsApp group. It was sad but it broug...
The first year the EU produced more from renewables than fossil fuels
Last year, for the first time, the EU produced more electricity from solar and wind power than from fossil gas. Here’s a breakdown from a...
ExxonMobil's scientists projected global warming for decades
ExxonMobil’s scientists have accurately projected global warming in response to rising emissions for decades, but Exxon worked to deny it.
Enable women’s agency to improve food systems
“Women are central to food systems and yet they face numerous structural barriers that prevent more resilient and sustainable practice...