Ruth Oniang'o, recipient of the 2017 AFRICA FOOD PRIZE, is Kenyan. She is professor of food science and nutrition. In June 2018, she was conferred Doctor of Science Honoris Causa by the University of Aberdeen, Scotland. She served in the Kenyan parliament for 5 years, and promoted gender equity, food and nutrition security, science and agricultural research, and good governance. She is a rural development specialist with her own NGO which she founded more than 3 decades ago, to serve smallholder farmers, especially women and youth. She serves on many Boards both locally and internationally. She has written extensively and has traveled wide. Currently, she manages Rural Outreach Africa, and is also Editor-in-Chief of AJFAND (African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development) which she also founded to help budding African scientists and to share Africa's research findings on food systems related issues. Her lifetime passion has been elimination of hunger, poverty and child malnutrition. Her NGO assists smallholder farmers to realize maximum yields from their small plots, improve family nutrition and incomes and reduce food losses by promoting a value chain approach and use of modern clean technologies in food storage. Through her organizations, she mentors young people from Africa and beyond, and helps to advise on food, nutrition policy and curricula. Currently she has a grant from AGRA to reach over 50,000 smallholder farmers through the soils’ health program. ROP Africa supports Youth in Agriculture through clubs in primary schools: agriculture, nutrition, sustainable food production, water, leadership development, personal hygiene and leadership development all linked to academic excellence. Prof Oniang'o has served in advisory capacity to private sector and always keen to forge public and private partnerships and is in great support of the SDGs on this issue. Prof. Ruth Oniang'o has taught at a number of universities in Kenya and is now Adjunct Professor at Tufts University in the USA. She is a former legislator, 2003 to 2007, a time she also served as Shadow Minister for Education, Science and Technology during that time. Since 2010, she has been Board Chair of the Sasakawa Africa Association (SAA) and the Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE). SAA was co-founded by Dr Norman Borlaug 30 years ago to improve smallholder farmers' lives in 14 African countries, late Ryoichi Sasakawa, a Japanese philanthropist and President Jimmy Carter. An expert in nutrition, in 2014 she received the International Food and Agribusiness Management Association (IFAMA) lifetime award and was recognized as one of 30 most innovative women in food and drink by Fortune Magazine. AJFAND (www.ajfand.net ) is now in its 17th year and on issue 82. Prof Oniang'o and her team have managed to keep the online peer reviewed journal going with limited resources since 2001. Through the journal, top students are given opportunities for internship.