About

Over 28 years of experience in development work with donor-funded projects that include (20 years of USAID-programs mainly Kenya Crops and Dairy Market Systems (USAID-KCDMS 5 years), USAID-Kenya Agricultural Value Chain Enterprises (USAID-KAVES 5 years), Kenya Dairy Development Project (KDDP 4 years and Dairy Set Aside (DSA1&2 4 years), 4 years under Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (East Africa Dairy Development-EADD) working both in Kenya and Rwanda, 2 years under DFID-Danish Fund for International Development (Western Kenya dairy development project). Besides projects work I spent 7 years working in sales and marketing of livestock inputs which include agrochemicals, animal genetics, breeding supplies, feeds, and feed supplements in various companies. These companies include Unga feeds limited as a technical in the Nakuru region, Territorial sales manager with Cooper Kenya Limited in Mt. Kenya North including the greater Meru, Ultimate vet labs as Sale representative in Nairobi and Central Kenya region, and ABS Global as regional sales Manager in Nakuru and Mt. Kenya regions.

Skills

  • Nonprofit Leadership · Program Delivery
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  • 8
  • Stakeholder Management · Time Management
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  • Coordination Skills · Food Industry · Public Enga
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  • Post-Harvest Handling · Strategic Partnerships ·
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  • Marketing Campaign Management · Sales Management
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  • English and Kiswahili
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Experience

Dedas Ikamba

Work experience
  • USAID-Kenya Crops & Dairy Market Systems (USAID-KCDMA) Activity is part of the Feed the Future program, America's initiative to combat global hunger and poverty. In this regard, USAID is partnering with RTI International on a 5-year new cooperative agreement to help increase agricultural production and reduce poverty and malnutrition in Kenya. The project will also spur competitive, resilient market systems in Kenya's horticulture and dairy sectors.
  • Under this program, I worked in Taita Taveta coordinating market systems and productivity-related activities with producer groups and Market actors of various crops. The project was working with 12 grant partners in the county with other overlapping activities in other counties of Kitui and Makueni.In Taita Taveta I worked with six dairy cooperatives to facilitate building capacity of the dairy cooperatives in collective milk aggregation and marketing as well as extension services to the farmers through BDS services and support breeding and extension. We also worked with market actors and grantees dealing with SMEs in avocado, banana, dairy, feed and fodder value chains as well as stakeholders, working in partnership with the County government of Taita Taveta through the Department of Agriculture. My role also involved the evaluation of concepts and proposals, identification and engagement of selected grant partners in Taita Taveta, Makueni and Kitui with other 9 counties in western and Nyanza counties.
  • Essential Duties:
  • Identify dairy and horticulture market actors willing to invest in supply chain management practices with the potential to spur growth in selected value chains Support the development of the Activity's regional strategy for Priority Areas 1 and 2.
  • Participate in a review of innovative extension and input supply models in the area of responsibility identify strengths and weaknesses and identify potential private sector partners for collaboration and joint investment under the Partnerships and Innovations Fund.
  • Identify and facilitate interventions to improve farmer access to inputs and input quality.
  • Build and maintain relationships with county-level public agricultural extension systems; Work with counties to develop extension strengthening plans; Design technical assistance to support sustainable, county-led training programs and information systems
  • Identify and coordinate technology demonstration opportunities
  • Liaise with Priority Area 1 team to support “lead firms" that are in the inputs sector (may include business planning, management, accounting, inventory, recordkeeping, capacity building, or investment facilitation.)
  • Collaborate with Access to Finance Specialist to enhance financial access for input suppliers and farmers
  • Contribute to grants monitoring and evaluation, learning, and reporting
  • Collaborate with staff and partners across all priority areas to ensure cross-fertilization of ideas and coordination of activities
  • ·Assist to manage external consultants undertaking assignments on scoping studies, including surveys, due diligence and diagnostics and market analysis
  • Develop case studies and success stories when requested to do so by MEL and KCDMS communications team
  • Carry out activities as spelled out in the work plans in consultation with the component leads
  • Build collaborative relationships with other development partners operating in the region and identify potential areas of leverage
  • Facilitating the collection of relevant data for monitoring and evaluation purposes
  • Contribute to grants management with particular attention to Market Systems.
  • Contribute to monitoring and evaluation, learning, and reporting and provide technical oversight and support all data tracking by the in M&E staff of the sub-grantees with attention to Market Systems.
  • Contribute to Social Inclusion activities in line with Market Systems.
  • Any other duties as assigned by your supervisor.

Dedas Ikamba

Work experience
  • Reported to the Technical Director in charge of Dairy and based at the Program's regional office in Kitui.
  • In addition to the specific tasks, I was expected to contribute fully as a program team member, properly conduct myself at all times as a representative of the program, and be responsible for the safekeeping and care of all program assets assigned to me.
  • Main responsibilities:
  • Include but are not limited to:
  • 1. Coordinate all the USAID KAVES dairy value chain development activities within the assigned counties project, focusing on the identification of potential and existing technologies/enterprises with potential for growth and the provision of a wide range of business development services (BDS).
  • 2. Specific Duties
  • Under the guidance of the USAID-KAVES Technical Director of Dairy and the Chief of Party, ensures that all project-supported activities implemented through subcontractors are effectively and sustainably integrated throughout the dairy value chain.
  • 3. Coordinate with industry stakeholders to identify potential producer groups for targeting under the Program.
  • Responsibilities
  • 1.coordinate with and oversee the USAID-KAVES local subcontractors and other stakeholders
  • to ensure that all farmers' training and extension support delivered under USAID-KAVES is
  • done effectively and sustainably,
  • 2. Facilitate and support market development and business-to-business linkages (especially Producer group to a processor).
  • 3. Organize periodic market assessments and enterprise needs analysis that will help guide project implementation.
  • 4. Coordinate with the Technical Director and the Subcontracts Manager to prepare scopes of
  • work for any additional BDS activities needed throughout the dairy value chain.
  • 5. Ensure that gender, youth, and HIV/AIDS-affected households are mainstreamed and represented in value chain activities.
  • 6. Ensure project activities meet USAID and NEMA environmental compliance requirements.
  • 7. Provide technical oversight and support all data tracking by the M&E staff of the Subcontractors into Fintrac CIRIS.
  • 8. Identify and document technical best practices and lessons learned.
  • 9. Compile weekly/monthly reports on project activities accomplished.
  • 10. Report directly to the USAID-KAVES Technical Director of Dairy on all aspects that would affect the achievement of USAID-KAVES results.
  • 11. Oversee the daily operations of the Kitui office ensuring compliance is adhered to by all staff.

Dedas Ikamba

Work experience
  • African Breeders Service (ABS TCM LTD) Working as a Dairy Breeding Specialist for East
  • Africa Dairy Development (EADD) funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation program
  • in the South Rift Region of Kenya. Under this program, duties included capacity building of
  • AI service providers in addition to AI as a breeding technology, and community animal health
  • workers in improving milk quality and animal identification systems for animal traceability.
  • Under this program, we set up an extensive extension system for farmer training on production-
  • enhancing practices and technologies for both breeding, feeding and livestock management and
  • set up hub models in both south rift and Central where I worked as a cluster leader where my
  • role was to coordinate project implementation activities with other partners and stakeholders. We
  • and the team mobilized farmers to form groups and help strengthen the existing farmer groups in
  • training, service delivery, and milk aggregation and marketing through linkages with milk
  • processors. I worked with the team to prepare reports mainly weekly, biweekly, monthly,
  • quarterly, biannual, and annual reports at the same time developing monitoring indicators and
  • data management for the tea.
  • Under this program, I worked in Rwanda and Uganda to train AI service providers in
  • breeding and Artificial insemination with RARDA (Rwanda Animal resources development
  • authority) and Makerere university farm. I also train artificial inseminators in Genetic
  • Management Systems and practical in artificial inseminations, valuation of breeding stock for
  • purchases by farmers, and identification of the quality breeding livestock for farmers
  • Dairy specialist-Western Kenya dairy development project-November 202 to April 200
  • African Breeders Service Total Cattle Management Limited (ABS TCM Ltd.):
  • Field extension coordinator with Kenya Dairy Development Program, a USAID funded
  • The project where duties include coordination of field activities, training of artificial service
  • Providers, capacity building of farmers, the establishment of information systems, and
  • Establishment of distribution points for artificial insemination services and supplies.

Dedas Ikamba

Work experience
  • African Breeders Service Total Cattle Management
  • Limited (ABS TCM Ltd.): Field extension coordinator with Kenya Dairy
  • Development Program, a USAID-funded project where duties include coordination
  • of field activities, training of artificial service providers, capacity building of
  • farmers, the establishment of information systems, establishment of distribution
  • points for artificial insemination services and supplies. I was in charge of sales in
  • Mount Kenya and the Eastern region for semen, artificial insemination equipment,
  • breeding supplies, and udder care products.

Dedas Ikamba

Work experience
  • Worked in Cooper (K) LTD as a territorial sales manager in charge of Mt. Kenya
  • North based in Nanyuki. Main responsibilities involved the provision of effective
  • and efficient sales and customer care services to existing customers and
  • distributors, and identifying new sales opportunities to maximize sales and profit
  • and meet agreed sales targets (Volume and revenue sales targets)

Dedas Ikamba

Education

Dedas Ikamba

Education

Related persons

Simon MutoruAgriculture, Project Management