Harriet Okech, a scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), briefing visitors to CGIAR Science Week on the work of the IITA. Credit: Busani Bafana/IPS
By Busani Bafana
NAIROBI, Jul 1 2025 – Despite delivering life-saving medicines, more nutritious crops, and transformative technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), science remains widely misunderstood, polarizing, and underappreciated. Much of this, experts say, comes down to one persistent issue: poor communication.
Science doesn’t reach the people it’s meant to serve—not because it lacks value, but because it is locked behind technical jargon and inaccessible language. “Science is often misunderstood because it’s poorly communicated,” says Harriet Okech, a biotechnologist on a mission to demystify science and protect it from distortion in an era of rampant misinformation.
Okech, a scientist at the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) in Kenya, believes that science must be made understandable and relatable—especially for farmers and policymakers, who are critical in translating research into real-world impact.
“Science should not stay in journals or labs. It must reach the people who need it most,” Okech told IPS.
Keen to improve the accessibility and relevance of its science research to decision-makers, the CGIAR published a report, Insight to Impact: A Decision-Maker’s Guide to Navigating Food System Science, which recognized that the CGIAR’s research was not consistently being used. The report designed for leaders, policymakers and researchers, focuses on translating science into action by simplifying scientific findings into practical, understandable and relevant information with links to tools and real-world applications.
“One of the main barriers is the gap in communication between the scientist and the private sector, including the farmer who is supposed to be the key beneficiary of the materials and innovations the scientists are coming up with,” said Grace Mijiga Mhango, President of the Grain Traders and Processors Association of Malawi, one of several stakeholders consulting in the development of the report.
Commenting on the report, Lindiwe Sibanda, Chair of the CGIAR Integrated Partnership Board, highlighted that policymakers need more support to navigate food systems science.
“The most powerful scaling of agricultural research that I have experienced is through policy, where a policy environment is created in a way that is conducive for CGIAR technologies to be taken up. Yet not all researchers, not all scientists, are comfortable in the science-policy interface. This report marks a step towards bridging this gap.”
Unjamming the Jargon, Plain Speak
To make science relatable, it must first be understandable.
“Scientists and journalists must work together to unpack complex research. Otherwise, the message gets lost—or worse, misinterpreted,” said Okech.
Often, journalists simply reproduce scientific jargon without fully understanding it, leading to confusion and public distrust. “Scientists need to own their narratives and communicate their work clearly—without causing panic or watering it down,” she explained.
Through science communication training programs for researchers and journalists, Okech is helping build this critical skill set.
The biotechnology sector, in particular, has been a frequent casualty of misinformation.
“There’s a lot of fear around biotech because people don’t understand what it is,” Okech noted.
She recalled explaining the basics of GM technology to an Uber driver following Kenya’s decision to lift its ban on genetically modified crops.
“He thought GMOs were just oversized vegetables injected with chemicals. That moment reminded me how important it is to engage beyond the lab.”
Today, Okech writes science-based opinion pieces for the media and creates video content on platforms like YouTube to explain innovations in biotechnology and genome editing in a simple, visual, and engaging way. Her work spans key crops like cassava and ensete—a vital food crop in Ethiopia related to bananas—where she focuses on improving traits for disease resistance and resilience through genetic transformation and gene editing.
As the world works to meet the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), science information must be accessible and inclusive in helping tackle development challenges, according to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Through its Open Science initiative, UNESCO has championed the need to simplify science communication to promote public understanding and engagement.
Science in Her Cells
Having transitioned from the lab to the front line of science communication, Okech sees herself as a bridge between researchers and the public.
“When I worked in the lab, my dream was to help others understand science, especially those without a scientific background,” she said.
Under the mentorship of Dr. Leena Tripathi—Director of the Eastern Africa Hub and Head of the Biotechnology Program at IITA—Okech has led communications efforts for the institute’s biotechnology and cassava seed systems programs.
Science, for Okech, is more than a career. It is a calling.
“It’s in my DNA,” she chuckled. “But what good is science if no one understands it?”
IPS UN Bureau Report
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