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.
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.
Work experience 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 represented Tanzania in crop networks in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and in the East African Community (EAC). 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. 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.
YearPosition/responsibilitiesEmployer2004–ICRISAT Eastern and Southern Africa Region cereal breeder/principal scientist; regional program coordinatorICRISAT2002–2004Deputy regional representative for ICRISAT in southern AfricaICRISAT1999–2003Sorghum and Millet Improvement Network (SMINET) coordinatorICRISAT2002–Principal agricultural research officerSADC/ICRISAT1996–1998Senior agricultural research officerMinistry of Agriculture Tanzania1996–1999National coordinator of wheat and barley researchMinistry of Agriculture Tanzania1994–1998Senior agricultural research officer I and head of the barley research programMinistry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Tanzania1990–1994Senior agricultural research officer II and head of the barley research programMinistry of Agriculture and Cooperatives Tanzania1987–1990Research fellow and postgraduate scholarUniversity of Ibadan/International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)1983–1987Rice breeder and head of the rice programMinistry of Agriculture and Livestock Development1981–1983Postgraduate studentUniversity of Arkansas USA 1979–1980Acting director, Katrin Agricultural Research Institute and cereals agronomistMinistry of Agriculture and Livestock Development1976–1980Cereals and legume agronomistMinistry 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.
She won a competitive proposal on Challenge Program for Water and Food (CPWF) for approximately 1.8m US$ as CPWF Project no 1.http://www.waterforfood.org
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 from Pioneer/DuPont, University of Missouri, and ICRISAT.
She has skills in project proposal formulation, submission and soliciting for funds from the Tanzania Breweries Ltd, International Atomic Energy Agency, Sasakawa Global 2000 and the World Bank, and the Japanese Food Aid Counterpart Fund.
She has worked on projects including the Sorghum and Millet Improvement Network Coordinator-SMINET for Southern Africa Development Cooperation (SADC).
She is a founder and chairperson of the Tanzania Association for Professional Women in Agriculture and Environment (TAPWAE).
Mgonja is a research network steering committee member for the Maize and Wheat Research Network (MWIRNET) and Eastern and Central Africa Maize and Wheat (ECAMAW) network.
She conducted national coordination for research on wheat and barley. She is a member of the Tanzania national variety release and registration committee.
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