Best Wishes to the Retiring DeFRE Members

In January 2020 School of Agricultural Economics and Business Studies (SAEBS); Department of Food and Resource Economics (DeFRE), said goodbye to Professor Ephraim Senkondo, Professor Aida C. Isinika, Prof Gilead I. Mlay and Dr. Evelyn Lazaro who retired after a long and successful career.

However, we still celebrate with them for their work that pays tribute to the academic standing and contributions to the University. They lived a quality academic life with good policies and with principals. They have contributed massively to the academic life of students as well as to the academic staffs in various ways. Apart from that they participated in many decision-making committees of the University/SAEBS/DeFRE and helped to come up with correct solutions during many crisis situations. Even after their retirement, now they have extended their services further to the University, this is very much appreciated.

Prof. Gilead I. Mlay

Prof. Gilead Isaac Mlay has more than 30 years of experience in research, teaching and consultancy. He holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics with a minor in Statistics and a Master of Science degree in Agricultural Economics, both from Oklahoma State University and a Bachelor of Science degree in Agriculture from the University of Dar-Es-Salaam.

He worked as an academic member of staff at the University of Dar-Salaam, Sokoine University of Agriculture. He also worked in the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Mozambique as a Statistics Specialist, tasked with setting up a reporting system to monitor the performance of higher education in Mozambique.

For about six years he worked as Country Director of MSU Food Security Project in Mozambique, as a policy advisor in the Directorate of Economics at Ministry of Agriculture in Mozambique and a mentor of socio economists at the Center for Socio-economic Studies of the National Agricultural Research Institute of Mozambique. His research and consulting activities have mainly been in agricultural policy, agricultural marketing and management of forest resources.

His publications have mainly concentrated in the same fields. He taught macro-economics, agricultural policy analysis, statistics and econometrics and supervises students’ research at undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Dr. Evelyn A. Lazaro

Dr. Evelyne A Lazaro is an agricultural economist by profession specializing in development economics. Studied undergraduate degree (1981-1983) at University of Dar-Es-Salaam in Agriculture (Tanzania) specializing in Rural/Agricultural Economics, MSc (1984-1986) in Agricultural Economics at Michigan State University (USA) and PhD at Sokoine University of Agriculture in 1996 (partly done at the University of Hohenheim (Germany) in Agricultural Economics. Currently, is employed at Sokoine University of Agriculture as senior research fellow with Research focus and consultancies related to economic development and rural-urban linkages.

She has participated and been the coordinator of research projects including DANIDA funded project SAFE focusing on Safety and Agro-food exports; ProGrOV focusing on among others improvement of organic agriculture agribusiness & understanding of modern food Chains in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania, an EU funded RURBAN Africa project focusing on ruwitgral-city connections for rural and urban transformation. and a DANIDA funded RUCROP project focusing on emerging urban centres and their role in rural and agricultural transformation; and ; RUT project focusing on the role of emerging Urban Centres on rural transformation.

She is contributing author to edited books including: Natural Resources Management in African Agriculture (CABI Publishing), Rainwater Harvesting for Natural Resources Management (Sida publishing), International al Assessment of Agriculture Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development: Sub-Saharan Africa (IAAKST) (Island Press) and Global Agro-food Trade and Standards: Challenges for Africa (Eds: Peter Gibbon, Stefano Ponte and Evelyne Lazaro, Multifunctional Agriculture, Ecology and Food Security: International Perspectives (Editors: J. Ram Pillarisetti, Roger Lawrey and Azman Ahmad).

She is also author and co-author of several professional articles including journal articles and working papers.

Prof. Ephraim M. Senkondo

Prof Ephraim M. Senkondo holds BSc. Agriculture from the Sokoine University of Agriculture, MSc. in Agricultural Economics from the University of Nairobi, Post Graduate Diploma in Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences, MSc. in Management of Natural Resources and Sustainable Agriculture from the Norwegian University of Life Sciences and a PhD from Wageningen UR. He is a Professor specializing in Agricultural Economics. He taught resource and Environmental Economics, Production Economics and Operations Research/Quantitative methods. He has vast experience in Research on Economics of Rainwater Harvesting, Participatory approaches, Impact assessment, Economics of Soil and Water Management, Environmental Economics, Determinants of Demand for Private Veterinary Services, Human and Social Capital in Natural Resources Management, Risk Modeling, Economics of Agro forestry and Economics of Food Safety Standards.

He has over 30 years experience in teaching, research, extension and consultancy activities, let alone various Administrative posts at Sokoine University of Agriculture. He has published intensively in referred journals and has published (including co-authoring) 26 papers in Journals, 21 Conference papers, one book (Risk attitude and Perception in Agroforestry Decisions in Tanzania. MANSHOLT Studies 17 pp 204. Wageningen ISBN 90-6754-587-2), 5 chapters in books and 6 technical papers. He has accomplished 23 consultancy works.

Prof Aida C. Isinika

Aida Cuthbert Isinika is a Professor of Agricultural Economics at the Institute of Continuing Education (ICE), Sokoine University of Agriculture in Tanzania. The ICE is responsible for coordinating outreach and continuing education programmes across the university. She is the current editor of the Journal of Continuing Education and Extension. She has been involved in teaching, production economics at the undergraduate and post-graduate level under the School of Agricultural Economics and Business studies at Sokoine University of Agriculture. This includes supervising students at both levels in their research activities. Earlier in her carrier, she also worked in the field as a District Agricultural Officer and in the recent past (2008 – 2010) she coordinated an Agricultural Programme for value chain development under Oxfam (GB) Tanzania. She has over forty years of working experience in the field of agriculture in rural development, teaching, conducting research and providing advisory services. She has produced more than 30 journal publications and chapters in books, focusing on production, productivity and resource use efficiency. Her research work also addresses equity and efficiency in land administration, land markets, and gender. Professor Isinika has been a co-editor of three books and was at different times between 2000 and 2016 she led the editorial team of the Journal for Continuing Education and Extension that is hosted by the Institute of Continuing Education, Sokoine University of Agriculture.

Once again, thank you all for your valuable contributions and services on upgrading the School of Agricultural Economics and Business studies (SAEBS) during your entire carrier. Your great contributions to the academic community are very highly appreciated and remain in our hearts forever. May you leave knowing that you always have placed on this Department and in the hearts for many.