Evelyn Nguleka

Evelyn Nguleka (January 26, 1970 in Zambia–February 5, 2017 in Lusaka) was a veterinarian, farmer, and President of the World Farmers Organisation.

Evelyn Nguleka
Photograph of a Black woman wearing a dark suit and with a red head wrap speaking into a microphone on a panel. On either side of her is a white man in a suit.
Nguleka speaking at the World Trade Organization Public Forum in 2015
Born(1970-01-26)January 26, 1970
DiedFebruary 5, 2017(2017-02-05) (aged 47)
Lusaka, Zambia

Biography

Raised by her grandmother in Ndola, Nguleka attended Fatima Girls' Secondary School.[1] She earned a degree in veterinary medicine from the University of Lusaka.[2] She also gained an international diploma in poultry handling from Barneveld College in the Netherlands.[3] Nguleka was a small farmer who specialized in poultry and goats, and in treating diseases in these animals.[3]

She became the first female president of the Zambia National Farmers’ Union (ZNFU) upon her election in 2013.[2][4] She supported the rights of small farmers and often brought up inconsistencies in how farmers of different crops and farm sizes were treated as a homogenized group.[5]

Upon her election to the presidency of the World Farmers Organisation (WFO) in 2015,[6] she stated: "For too long the role of the farmer was taken for granted, almost as if we were vending machines for food, called to respond to that role, who carry out with joy the task of feeding the planet in a compulsory and annihilating way, without margins of profits."[1] While serving as the president of the WFO, she lived mainly in Switzerland.[7]

In September 2016, she resigned from both the WFO and ZNFU, after being charged and arrested by the Zambian Drug Enforcement Commission alongside ZNFU Executive Director Ndambo Ndambo for corruption.[4] This occurred after the Finnish and Swedish embassies ordered audits for Finnish and Swedish companies that had worked with ZNFU after suspected mismanagement of donations.[1][7][8]

She died of an illness in 2017.[4]

References
  1. "Evelyn Nguleka shattered the agricultural ceiling". Zambia Daily Mail. February 8, 2017. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  2. "Ms. Evelyn Nguleka | Department of Economic and Social Affairs". United Nations. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  3. "Evelyn Nguleka". World Economic Forum. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  4. "Ex Zambia National Farmers Union boss Evelyn Nguleka dies". Lusaka Times. 2017-02-05. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  5. "Zambia president says to protect consumers as maize meal prices jump". Reuters. 2015-10-16. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  6. "Evelyn Nguleka offiziell zur Präsidentin des Weltbauernverbandes gewählt". foodaktuell (in German). 2015-06-26. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  7. Jäger, Hansjürg (February 6, 2017). "Frühere WFO-Präsidentin Evelyn Nguleka ist tot". Bauernzeitung (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 2023-02-20.
  8. "Heads of farmers' union arrested over graft". Economist Intelligence: EIU. September 22, 2016. Retrieved 2023-02-20.
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