Mary Mgonja

Mary Mgonja, is a Tanzanian agricultural scientist and plant breeder, who works as the director for technology and communication at Namburi Agricultural Company Limited, a private Tanzanian agricultural enterprise.[1]

Mary Mgonja
Born
Tanzania
NationalityTanzanian
CitizenshipTanzania
EducationUniversity of Ibadan
(Doctor of Philosophy in Plant Breeding)
OccupationAgricultural Scientist

Background and education

Mgonja was born in Tanzania, where she grew up and attended school, prior to enrolling in university. She holds a Doctor of Philosophy in plant breeding, and plant genetics, jointly obtained from the University of Ibadan and from the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, also located in Ibadan.[1]

Work experience

In the past, Mgonja has served as principal scientist on the improvement of dryland cereals, at the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, based in Patancheru, Hyderabad, Telangana, India. She also represented Tanzania in crop networks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and in the East African Community (EAC).[1] Monja served as the country director of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA), an organisation that is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation and aims to improve agricultural output and products by supporting local farmers and farm workers.[2] In her capacity as country director, Mgonja advocated for increased adoption of technology in agriculture to boost output, produce surplus products for the market and increase food security.[3][4]

Year Position/ responsibility(ies) Employer

2004-

ICRISAT Eastern and Southern Africa Region Cereal Breeder /Principal Scientist; Regional Program Coordinator

ICRISAT

2002-2004 Deputy Regional Representative for ICRISAT in southern Africa ICRISAT
1999 -2003 Sorghum and Millet Improvement Network (SMINET) Coordinator ICRISAT
2002 - Principal Agricultural Research Officer SADC/ICRISAT
1996- 1998 Senior Agricultural Research Officer Ministry of Agriculture Tanzania
1996-1999 National coordinator wheat and barley research Ministry of Agriculture Tanzania

1994-1998

Senior Agricultural Research Officer I and Head of the barley research program

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Tanzania

1990-1994

Senior Agricultural Research Officer II and Head of the barley research program

Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Tanzania

1987-1990 Research fellow and postgraduate scholar University of Ibadan/ International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)

1983-1987

Rice breeder and head of the rice program

 Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock development
1981-1983 Post graduate student University of Arkansas USA
1979-1980 Acting Director, Katrin Agricultural Research Institute and cereals agronomist Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development
1976-1980 Cereals and legume agronomist Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development

Other considerations

Mgonja is a member of the ten-person governing board of the Africa Seeds Organization, an inter-government agency within the African Union, which is responsible for implementing the African Seed and Biotechnology Programme.[1]

Mary Won a competitive proposal on Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF) for approximately 1.8m US$ as CPWF Project no 1. Can be viewed on the website www.waterforfood.orgapproved proposals

Mary Mgonja was Part of a winning team for the project Africa Bio-fortified Sorghum funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.  Africa Harvest Biotechnology Foundation International led the development of the project in collaboration with scientists each from Pioneer/DuPont, University of Missouri, ICRISAT among others  

Mary Mgonja has expert skills in Project proposal formulation, submission and soliciting for funds from e.g.  the Tanzania Breweries Ltd, International Atomic Energy Agency, Sasakawa Global 2000 and the World Bank, and the Japanese Food Aid Counterpart Fund.

Projects like Sorghum and Millet Improvement Network Coordinator-SMINET for Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC)

Also a Founder and chairperson of the Tanzania Association for Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (TAPWAE)

Mary Mgonja is Research network steering committee member (Maize and Wheat Research Network (MWIRNET) and Eastern and Central Africa Maize and Wheat (ECAMAW) network

Also conducted National coordination for research on wheat and barley, Member to the Tanzania national variety release and registration committee

See also

References
  1. AfricaSeeds (21 November 2017). "AfricaSeeds: Governing Board". Abidjan: Africa-seeds.org (AfricaSeeds). Retrieved 21 November 2017.
  2. TDN Reporter (10 March 2016). "Tanzania: AGRA President to Announce Major Project". Tanzania Daily News (TDN) via AllAfrica.com. Dar es Salaam. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  3. Msimbe, Beda (23 August 2016). "Tanzania: AGRA - Changing Lives of Smallholder Farmers". Tanzania Daily News (TDN) via AllAfrica.com. Dar es Salaam. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
  4. The Citizen Correspondent (8 August 2016). "Body wants agriculture to go hi-tech". The Citizen. Dar es Salaam. Retrieved 22 November 2017.
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