Chief of Party
Davison Godfrey Mudimu is the Chief of Party of FTFZ-CD activity. Mudimu has a M.Sc. in Agricultural Economics awarded by Michigan State University. He majored in Rural Development specializing in Farm Business Management with a minor in Natural Resource Economics. His undergraduate is B.Sc. in Agriculture Honours with specialization in Agricultural Economics and B.Sc. Special Honours in Economics, both obtained from the University of Zimbabwe.
From October 2010 to 27 February 2015, he was the Deputy Chief of Party on the USAID-funded Zimbabwe Agricultural Competitiveness Program (Zim-ACP) serving as the Economist and Business Policy Expert. As technical lead, he provided technical advice and hands-on training to farmers’ unions and agribusiness commodity associations and agri-industry representative organizations on evidence-based advocacy for improved agribusiness environment that fosters competitiveness in Zimbabwe’s agriculture at commodity value chains and aggregate levels.
Prior to working on Zim-ACP, Mudimu has over 25-year experience in the field of production agriculture, agricultural and rural development, agribusiness development, strategic planning, marketing management, and capacity building of farmers, organizations and professionals in the rural/agriculture sector. He has hands-on and experience-based skills in facilitating rural- and community-based production and income generating projects; rural-based enterprise development and market linkages via value addition and processing in Zimbabwe and South Africa.
From 1987 to 2006 he was a Senior University Lecturer in Farm Business Management, Natural Resource Economics and Agricultural Economics Research Methods at under- and post-graduate levels at the University of Zimbabwe. Mudimu has also widely authored published academic research papers and four books with a focus on agricultural policy issues pertaining to food security and natural resource use.
He has consulted in the agricultural industry, farming and for international organizations such as the World Bank, United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, IDRC and other international and regional development agencies in the Southern African development Community (SADC).
Deputy Chief Of Party
Olivia Mukoko is the FTFZ-CD Deputy Chief of Party and is responsible for providing strategic and technical leadership on the FTFZ-CD activity. With 30 years’ experience the agriculture field, specifically in crop production, extension, research, agribusiness and developmental projects in private sector and government in Zimbabwe. Mukoko holds three agriculture degrees: a PhD in Plant Breeding, MPhil and BSc as well as an MBA.
From 1984 to 1996 she worked in government as a plant breeder. In 1996, she joined Olivine Industries’ Agronomy Department as Crop Development Manager up to 2002 when she was promoted to Commercial Manager. Mukoko left Olivine in 2004 and from 2005 to 2010, she worked as an independent agriculture consultant. In 2010 Mukoko joined Fintrac as a Program Manager to implement a USAID funded agriculture project, Zimbabwe Agricultural Incomes and Employment Development (Zim-AIED) program to commercialize smallholder farmers. In June 2015, she joined LEAD as the Deputy Chief of Party for The Feed the Future Crop Development Program.