Thabile Tsabedze

Over 13 years’ experience in agricultural economics, research, agribusiness management,

community development, risk management, agricultural supply chain management, finance and market linkages, rural development, extension, food security, project management,

agricultural commercialisation, finance and market linkages, project proposal writing, income generating projects, needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation, agro-processing, cold chain management, Global GAP and HACCP certification, data collection, data analysis,

sustainability and climate change mitigation. Passionate about solving complex problems through research, innovation, creativity, maintaining positive attitude and resilience, effective communication, continuous learning, strengthening teamwork and collaboration, and building trust. Expertise in the field of climate finance, sustainability, frameworks for improving agri-food supply chains, and risk assessment particularly in the context of agribusiness value chains as part of current research work at University of Pretoria, South

Africa. Currently doing research on agribusiness climate change adaptation, transition risk and sustainability for the maize industry of South Africa.

March 2023- to date: Research, Data collection &analysis, Climate change, Sustainability

PhD Candidate, University of Pretoria, South Africa

● Design and implements research projects investigating market-related matters,

applying methodologies to generate insights for industry stakeholders.

● Coordinate multiple research activities simultaneously, producing detailed reports and presentations to communicate findings and recommendations.

● Manage and analyse large datasets using Excell, SPSS and R-studio , ensuring data accuracy and integrity for modelling and reporting.

● Contribute to compilation and dissemination of industry reports and publications,

translating complex economic insights into accessible information.

● Design questionnaires for various research surveys.

● Compiled and presented a PhD research proposal on climate change adaptive capacity, transition risk and sustainability for agribusiness value chains.

● Applied and obtained ethics clearance for data collection.

● Attends departmental, faculty and industry seminars on various issues in research, data analysis, ready for work programs, economic modelling, environmental economics, and student presentations.

April 2021-March 2023 Project implementation, Value chains development, Extension,

Market and finance linkages, Capacity development, Budgeting

Sustainable Agriculture Officer, Eswatini Water and Agricultural Development Enterprise

(EWADE)- Smallholder Market led project (SMLP), Eswatini

● Linked 1600 vegetable farmers with a formal market under contract farming.

● Led and implemented the Rural Poor Stimulus Facility (RPSF) Covid 19 relief project that assisted farmers with inputs, capacity building and equipment to the value of SZL3,8

million.

● Prepared and managed a departmental budget with team member based on available revenue and in accordance with activities to the value of approximately SZL 22

million per annum.

● Linked 16 farmer schemes with finance institutions and they obtained credit amounting to SZL 2,2 million from Eswatini bank, Climate-Smart Market Oriented

Agriculture (CSMA) project, RPSF and Regional Development fund.

● Organised 6 Innovation platforms for discussing issues for the horticulture value chain such as access to finance, markets, complying to quality standards, export opportunities and value addition.

● Training 1600 farmers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAPs), climate-smart production methodologies, integrated pest management, irrigation management,

quality assurance, harvesting and post harvesting management.

● Compiled a production a manual for various vegetable crops in collaboration with

Ministry of Agriculture and the Research station.

● Innovated a solar drier for preserving vegetables and fruits in collaboration with

Ministry of Agriculture Home economics department.

● Facilitated a training for 20 youths to manufacture and market 300 solar driers.

● Conducted weekly extension field visits to 1600 smallholder farmers (700 individual and 16 schemes) in vegetable production.

● Facilitated 4 International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) mission monitoring field visits.

● Trained 500 farmers on solar drier technology in collaboration with University of

Eswatini and Ministry of Agriculture home economics and extension officers.

● Facilitated a knowledge exchange visit for 18 officers from Lesotho SADP project.

● Compiled and presented 24 monthly, 8 quarterly and 2 annual reports.

● Trained 97 Ministry of Agriculture officers on Agriculture Market Information System

(AMIS).

● Trained 10 extension officers and 10 lead farmers on Global GAP in collaboration with Eswatini Standards Authority (ESWASA).

● Trained 700 farmers (15 schemes) on Global GAP and AMIS in collaboration with the

National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBOARD).

● Trained, coached and mentored 2 youth schemes (28 members) and ensured women inclusion in agricultural production i.e horticulture and bean value chains

● Rolled out an innovative SMS and Agricultural Marketing Information System (AMIS)

Disseminating critical production and marketing information, reaching over 10,000

farmers and other recipients and increasing market access and horticulture enterprise revenues by 35%.

● Compiled and presented weekly plans, monthly, quarterly and annual plans.

November 2017-April 2021 Market and finance linkages, Supply chain management,

Market Research, Commercialisation, Extension

Marketing Extension Officer, National Agricultural Marketing Board (NAMBOARD), Manzini,

Eswatini

● Advised horticulture farmers on profitability, crop and variety selection, pest and disease management, quality specifications, irrigation, weed control, harvesting,

storage and transportation of produce to the market.

● Facilitated the production of good quality produce (vegetables, baby vegetables and fruits) according to local and export market standards to the value of about SZL 7,5

million per annum.

● Ensured that farmers produce quality agricultural products and comply with the required standards (Global GAP, and Hazard Analysis & Critical Control Point

HACCP).

● Conducted market research and disseminated market information including local and export price trends, production innovations, future demand and changes in consumer preferences.

● Organised farmers into associations, manageable for capacity building to ensure collective access to inputs, finance and extension services to achieve sustainability.

● Trained, coached and mentored 27 commercial farmers, 1250 individual farmers and

11 farmer associations on horticulture production, marketing, export, and quality standards.

● Maintained good relationships and collaborated with different stakeholders in the sector including farmers, input suppliers, government extension officers, finance institutions, research station, Non-Governmental Organisations (NGO) staff and other stakeholders.

● Trained farmers and various stakeholders about opportunities across the agribusiness value chain.

● Assisted 267 farmers with proposal writing to access inputs from the NAMBOARD input subsidy initiative resulting in input access worth over SZL 700 thousand.

● Served as a team member of the events organising committee responsible for local and international industry events such as trade exhibitions, workshops, and the cold chain summit.

● Produced weekly plans, monthly, quarterly and annual reports.

December 2010-October 2017 Rural development, Livelihood projects, Food security,

Project proposal writing, Needs assessment,

Agro-processing, Monitoring and Evaluation

Assistant Extension Officer, Government-Ministry of Agriculture, Eswatini

● Promoted agricultural development in the area to improve the life of rural communities through projects such as the Swaziland Agricultural Development

Programme (SADP), and income generation projects.

● Trained farmers and facilitated increased productivity and marketing of the following commodities: maize, vegetables, sunflower, sorghum, sweet potato,

cassava, legumes, mangoes, pawpaw, poultry, and piggery.

● Mentored and coached 27 farmer groups/associations groups on agro-processing,

livelihoods and income generation projects including peanut butter, chilli sauce,

and acthar processing; sweet potato confectionary; bee keeping and woven mats making.

● Organized annual agricultural trade exhibition shows at community level, regional and nationally.

● Mapped, verified, analysed, profiled and presented data on 2 650 smallholder farmers in collaboration, and management of a team of 16 lead farmers.

● Assisted 7 agribusinesses in the obtaining funding from the Marketing Investment

Fund (MIF) amounting to SZL 794, 948 engaging in various activities including vegetable production and cold room storage, banana production and storage, legume production and packaging, peanut butter and jugo bean soup processing.

● Facilitated the establishment of 11 community groups who wrote project proposals and obtained funding Empowerment Development Fund (EDF) for different community development activities including vegetable production, computer training, sewing,

welding and fence manufacturing.

● Monitored and evaluated 17 projects countrywide quarterly and annually who obtained funding from the Eswatini Marketing Investment Fund (MIF) 2011-2017.

● Collaborated with COSPE NGO and revived 4 vegetable farmer schemes assisting with installation of drip irrigation systems on 21 hectares.

● Revitalized a scheme of about 7 hectares of vegetable, beans and maize production at Mpaka Refugee camp in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and

Caritas NGO.

● Compiled and presented annual plans, monthly, quarterly and annual reports.

June2009-August 2009 Food security, Monitoring and evaluation, Livelihoods Field

Monitor Intern, United Nations World Food Programme (WFP), Eswatini

● Collected and recorded data from food security projects.

● Conducted weekly monitoring visits to project sites countrywide including the school feeding program, community food transfer program and the Junior Farmer Field and

Life School (JFFLS) project.

● Compiled and presented 10 weekly plans and 2 monthly reports.

May 2007-August 2007 Sugarcane agronomy

Team Leader Intern, Royal Swaziland Sugar Corporation (RSSC), Eswatini

● Facilitated sugarcane agronomy practices including planting, irrigation, weed control,

pest and disease control, fertiliser application, and harvesting.

● Compiled and presented 3 monthly reports.

November 2004-May 2005 Humanitarian Volunteering

Project Volunteer, Baphalali Swaziland Red Cross Society, Eswatini

● Served as a secretary and maintained diaries, kept records, organized and serviced

2023-present: PhD in Agricultural Economics, University of Pretoria, South Africa

Research: Climate change adaptive capacity, transition risk and sustainability: a case study of the South African maize value chain

2015-2018: Master of Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics, University of

Eswatini

Thesis: Factors affecting commercialization of maize production among smallholder farmers in Eswatini

2008-2010: Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness Management,

University of Swaziland

Research project: Access to credit and its impact on smallholder vegetable production: a case of the Manzini region

2005-2008: Diploma in Agriculture, University of Swaziland