MEET OUR TEAM
Biography – Kennedy Zimba
Kennedy Zimba is a lecturer and researcher in the Department of Plant Science at the University of Zambia. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Sciences from the University of Zambia, a Master of Science in Applied Entomology from Rhodes University (South Africa), and a Postgraduate Diploma in Integrated Pest Management from Harper Adams University (UK). He earned his PhD in Plant Science, focusing on entomology, through a sandwich program between the University of Zambia and Harper Adams University. His research centered on characterizing resistance to aphid pests in beans and cowpeas while evaluating silicon’s complementary effects. Kennedy has integrated pest management, chemical ecology, and biological control expertise. His work includes managing fall armyworms and false codling moths, as well as enhancing plant resistance to various pests. Recently, he provided consultancy for Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) on biopesticide commercialization under the “EcoPM” project. Before his current role, he worked with World Vision Zambia as an agriculture development facilitator from 2008 to 2011, gaining skills in community mobilization and project management.
Biography – Suwilanji Sinyangwe
Suwilanji Sinyangwe is an experienced policy analyst specializing in food systems, agriculture, climate change, and natural resources management. With over eight years of experience in policy research, stakeholder engagement, and strategic program management across Africa, Suwilanji brings a wealth of expertise to the consultancy. He has worked on various high-impact projects, providing evidence-based solutions and fostering cross-sector collaborations that drive sustainable development outcomes.
His keen understanding of the African policy landscape, combined with his dedication to transformative, sustainable solutions, makes him an invaluable asset to clients seeking to navigate the complexities of policy implementation and agricultural development.
Biography – Able Bwalya
My name is Able Bwalya, and I am an agricultural economist specializing in project planning, implementation, and management. I graduated with distinction from the University of Zambia in 2020, earning five awards and recognition as the best-graduating student in the School of Agricultural Sciences. This achievement led to an internship at Musika Development Initiative in 2021, where I introduced the Emsika website for online input purchases by farmers in Copperbelt.
To further my career, I won an essay competition on “Impact of COVID-19 on food systems in Zambia,” which opened doors to a position at GIZ Zambia as a junior technician focused on soybean and groundnut value chains. Over two years (January 2022 – August 2024), I advanced to technical advisor (Band 4), managing climate adaptation projects and facilitating workshops with various stakeholders.
Currently, I am pursuing an MSc in Sustainable Food Systems and Food Security at the University of Leeds through the Beit Munro Leeds Scholarship. I am passionate about agriculture, collaboration, and interdisciplinary solutions to enhance development outcomes while promoting food security across countries.
Biography – Aaron Chimbelya Siyunda
Mr. Aaron Siyunda is an agricultural expert specializing in agronomy and plant breeding, with a focus on cereal and legume breeding. He has over 9 years of experience as an Agricultural Specialist and researcher, lecturing crop and horticultural science courses at Natural Resource Development College and Rockview University. His research interests include improving yield potential, stress tolerance, and nutritional quality in cereals and legumes using advanced genetics and genomics techniques.
Aaron has also worked as a soil and fertilizer analyst technician at the Zambia Agricultural Research Institute under the “Soil Improvement and Farmer Support Program,” funded by AGRA. Additionally, he contributed to monitoring strategies for the Rural Development Project while serving as a graduate research assistant at the Forest Department in Lusaka.
He possesses strong skills in research design development, data analysis, and crop value-chain projects, having published 10 research articles. Aaron serves as a reviewer for several scientific journals and has supervised over 50 undergraduate diploma projects at Natural Resources Development College, along with degree projects at Mulungushi University and the University of Zambia. He has taught seven different undergraduate courses with an average teaching score exceeding 90%.
Biography – Peter Kaluba
Dr. Peter Kaluba holds a BSc in Agricultural Science (2008), an MSc in Physical Land Resources from Ghent University, Belgium (2011), and a PhD in Soil Sciences from the University of Zambia (2023), completed under a sandwich program with Leibniz University Hannover, Germany. He is currently a lecturer in the Department of Land Management at the University of Zambia, teaching Climate Smart Agriculture-related courses, including remote sensing and GIS.
With over 10 years of consulting experience, Dr. Kaluba has worked with international organizations like FAO and various NGOs across both public and private sectors. His consultancy focuses on soil fertility analysis, crop water requirements mapping, yield gap evaluations among smallholder farmers, and assessing soil health impacts from fertilizers and pesticides.
He has also researched fertilizer management and intercropping effects on cotton productivity in the Southern Province. Additionally, he has promoted climate-smart agriculture practices as a systems agronomist through community mobilization efforts. Recently, he led projects for Infonaswe Consultancy Limited related to establishing demo plots and biopesticide business analysis for smallholder pest management innovations funded by GIZ.
