Cedric is known as the scientist who brought quinoa to Rwanda and other parts of Africa. Unlike most crops that provide no food before harvest, quinoa addresses both short- and long-term food security because growers can eat the nutritious leaves long before harvesting the grain. Cedric’s passion for food security comes from painful childhood memories of surviving on leaves and grass and food assistance from the UN-World Food Programme in a refugee camp in Tanzania during the Rwandan Genocide. His mother planted the idea that education was the pathway to escaping poverty and hunger. He took that advice to heart and earned his master’s and Ph.D. in agronomy and crop science from Washington State University. Rather than simply increasing the quantity of food produced in countries like Rwanda, Cedric hopes to improve the quality of food and help fight against chronic malnutrition and child stunting.
