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I have a PhD in agricultural economics with 20 years agriculture Development experience and related issues of food security, commodity trading, market information systems, agribusiness, entrepreneurship development, value chain analysis, project/program/organisational management including project cycle management and final project evaluation in Southern Africa. |
 Contact Elizabeth Manda
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Area of Expertise: |
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Agriculture, Livelihoods, Microfinance, Rural
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Capacity Building, Training, Advocacy
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Director, CEO, COP, President
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Monitoring, Evaluation, Policy, Research, Analysis
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Private Sector, Social Enterprise, Corporate Social Responsibility
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Professional Experience: |
o Over 20 years of experience working on agriculture marketing information systems of which 8 years have been spent on developing and managing marketing information systems for agriculture using various tools: mobile phone SMS, radio, email, internet, phone, and black boards.
o 9 years of experience in the field of project management and capacity building of staff and farmers in financial management in Malawi gained while working with Initiative for Development and Equity in African Agriculture (IDEAA). Some of the projects I have managed and I have been the project manager include Cassava Commercialization project (2002 to 2005), Agriculture Marketing Information System for the Development of Malawi Agriculture Commodity Exchange (2004 to 2009), Partnership for Food Industry and Development (2007 to 2008), Food Security through Market Access (2007 to 2010), Community Managed Microfinance Project (2007 to 2010).
o Administrative experience of coordinating and directing various project activities with respect to implementation, technical guidance, management of resources including planning, achievement of project targets, controlling and monitoring budgets, preparation of financial reports, coordinating preparation of annual work plans, and supervising project staff
o Excellent communication, negotiation and mentoring skills in a multi-cultural environment gained through the work with Malawi Agriculture Commodity Exchange (MACE) since 2004. Some of the responsibilities include coaching staff and MACE franchisees in business management, negotiating with private sector companies who provided free SMS platform, negotiating with government – Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security (MoAFS) for funding which has been flowing since 2006 to date and writing fundable project proposals which resulted in funding of various projects by various donors.
o 10 years experience of working as an economist in the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security in Malawi and over 9 years experience working in the NGO/Private sector while also involving and communicating with government and national and international stakeholders.
o In depth knowledge of project cycle management, developing and implementing monitoring and evaluation systems based on performance indicators derived from the logical framework were applied to the various projects outlined above.
o Experience on EDF financed programmes in Sub- Saharan Africa gained recently through the final evaluation of the SADC project: Implementation and Coordination of Agricultural Research and Training (ICART) in the SADC region and final evaluation of the institutional Development across the Agri Food Sector (IDAF) Project in 2010 and 2011 respectively. Both of these projects were financed under the EDF funding arrangements.
o Knowledge of overseas development assistance policies of major development Partners such as USAID, and the European Union;
o Experience of sector-wide approaches in support of agricultu
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Education: |
I have a PhD, Masters Degree and postgraduate diploma in Agriculture Economics, Bsc. and diploma in Agriculture.
The PhD thesis examined seasonal price instability in the Malawi maize market over the 21-year period from 1989 to 2009. The thesis findings include: gross seasonal margin for maize in Malawi averaged 60 per cent in the period 1989-2009, seasonality varied by location, with the highest seasonal margins occurring in remote rural areas, and places close to border crossing points for informal maize imports, and the structure and conduct of the maize market was competitive. However extreme price spikes were observed in the 2000’s. The lack of strong and effective private-public coordination was noted to be a major contributing factor to the extreme price spikes in Malawi.
Masters Degree Courses Covered: Agriculture Economics, Project planning and Appraisal, Macro Policy and adjustment, International Trade Technology and Transnational cooperation, Markets and Development, Quantitative methods.
Diploma in Agriculture Economics courses covered: Project appraisal, Micro Economics, Rural household analysis, Rural Development, Agriculture Policy and Planning.
Degree and Diploma in Agriculture Courses Covered: Crop and Livestock Production including agro forestry, Rural Development and Home Economics.
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Affiliations and Achievements: |
project evaluations, management, monitoring consultancies
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Available for: |
- Consulting assignments
- Job opportunities
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Years of Experience:
More than 20 years |
Highest Qualification:
Doctorate |
Languages:
English, Tumbuka, Chichewa |
Nationality:
Malawi
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