00:00 I'm Kamara Ajata, I'm 27 years old and a PhD student in climate change, biodiversity and
00:13 sustainable agriculture.
00:14 I'm a phytopathologist so I study plant diseases and how to treat them.
00:24 I've always been interested in agriculture because my father had a farm.
00:28 So right from childhood I was with him in the fields and the more you do something,
00:33 the more you love it.
00:43 I thought why not study yams because at home we were always getting yams and we noticed
00:49 that their shelf life had dropped sharply over time.
00:55 When people see there's rot, they just cut off the parts that's rotten.
01:00 It's actually because they're trying to save the rest of the tuber so they can sell it
01:04 or eat it.
01:16 I identified five groups of fungi that cause rot here in Côte d'Ivoire.
01:20 The steps involved in that took me three years but at the same time I was identifying the
01:25 fungi I was already looking for methods to get them under control.
01:35 I received the 2022 L'Oréal UNESCO award for women in science for young talent.
01:41 On that day of the ceremony I was so stressed and everyone around me knew it because it
01:45 was here in Côte d'Ivoire and the audience was Ivorian.
01:49 The government was there so I was really stressed but at the end I was happy.
02:07 The biopesticide that I developed is simply made of essential oils, plant extracts and
02:12 water that's all.
02:14 The women who sell yams were at first surprised to see that something like this existed.
02:19 Then they were dubious as to whether it would work.
02:25 They were worried I'd just get their yams wet but have no results and actually cause
02:30 more losses.
02:34 So they were happy to see that it did work and to know they have an alternative that
02:38 will allow their yams to last even longer in their stock.
02:42 I was happy to contribute something new.
02:54 I didn't expect to be in the media so much.
02:57 When I was in high school my role model was Marie Curie.
03:00 She was white.
03:02 Because I had no information I didn't know that African women also did science.
03:06 It wasn't until I got to university and my science lecturers were women.
03:20 I help young female researchers in the laboratory with their manipulations.
03:24 I try to coach them a little.
03:26 Their main concern is that they're African.
03:31 Because they think if I apply for a scholarship will they accept me?
03:36 Because for a woman at master's level you're expected to be thinking about marriage, family,
03:42 finding a little job.
03:43 So what's the point of going for a doctorate?
03:49 So I tell them if I've been accepted for a doctorate and a scholarship you can be too.
03:55 Because we've had almost the same career path.
03:58 If I had to give advice to a younger me it would be go for it.
04:02 Reach for the top.
04:04 [MUSIC PLAYING]
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