Nelson Chisenga

Agricultural Economist / Food Security Specialist

Nelson Chisenga joins the USAID Southern Africa Trade Hub as Agricultural Economist/Food Security Specialist bringing more than 15 years of experience in international development and business consultancy. His recent position as Business Development Services Programme Manager at the Zambia Development Agency (ZDA) has given him a thorough understanding of private sector development, resource mobilization and project management focused on large, medium, small and micro firms (SMEs). He also has worked extensively with donor-funded projects, governments and the private sector at both the national and regional levels.

Nelson is skilled in the development of an enabling environment for private sector growth, investment promotion, establishing business linkages for local and foreign investors through B2B platforms. He has been directly involved in the development of agricultural trade policies across the SADC and COMESA regions; the harmonization of trade policies and USAID-supported AGOA programs under COMESA; and participation in forums for the Cotonou Agreement, leading to Easter and Southern Africa (ESA) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and SADC EPA negotiations. Nelson was involved in the development of the private sector priorities on the SADC Regional Indicative Strategic Development Plan and proposed an implementation plan aimed at improving the overall SADC business environment during the time he worked for the Zambian national chamber of commerce (ZACCI) as Chief Executive Officer.

Nelson holds an MSc in Agricultural Economics & Planning (Reading, UK), PGDip in Agricultural Economics (Reading, UK) and a Diploma in Agricultural Engineering (NRDC, Zambia). His interests include, amongst others, rural poverty analysis, food security and rural livelihood issues, public private sector partnerships (PPPs) and health economics related to policy formulation, HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness campaigns.