Office of the Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila
Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission, FANRPAN
Commissioner, National Planning Commission of South Africa
An agriculture and food systems policy leader with more than 25 years of experience in applied research, policy analysis, programme evaluation and policy advocacy, leading FANRPAN’s work to translate evidence into policy action across Africa.
Profile
Strategic leadership for African food systems
FANRPAN vision
Resilient African agriculture and food systems, in harmony with nature, delivering prosperity and health for all.
Mission: Promote an enabling policy environment for the transformation of agriculture and food systems in Africa.
Strategic Plan 2025–2035
Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila is the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources Policy Analysis Network (FANRPAN), a pan-African policy network. He has more than 25 years of experience in applied research, policy analysis, monitoring and evaluation, policy advocacy and programme leadership across agriculture, food systems and natural resources.
He provides strategic leadership for FANRPAN’s 2025–2035 Strategic Plan and oversees the network’s multi-country programmes, partnerships and policy engagement. He works with governments, regional bodies, research institutions, the private sector, civil society and development partners to translate evidence into policy action, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals, Agenda 2063, the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).
Dr. Madzivhandila joined FANRPAN in 2011 as Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator and led the network’s policy research portfolio as Director for Policy and Research from 2014 until his appointment as Chief Executive Officer in 2019. Before joining FANRPAN, he spent nearly a decade at South Africa’s Agricultural Research Council as a senior researcher and monitoring and evaluation specialist.
Beyond FANRPAN, Dr. Madzivhandila serves as a Commissioner on South Africa’s third National Planning Commission, which provides strategic guidance for the implementation of the National Development Plan 2030, and as an Interim Advisory Board Member of Digital Earth Africa. He also serves on the RUFORUM Technical Committee and on the strategic advisory boards of FSNet-Africa and CaBFoodS-Africa.
He champions cross-sector collaboration and social inclusion, with a particular commitment to the meaningful participation of women and young people in transforming African food systems.
Beyond FANRPAN
National and continental service
Alongside his leadership of FANRPAN, Dr. Madzivhandila serves on national, continental and international bodies that shape development planning, agricultural research and food systems policy.
National Planning Commission of South Africa
Commissioner, Third National Planning Commission
Appointed December 2021, five-year term
Provides strategic guidance for the implementation of South Africa’s National Development Plan 2030.
FSNet-Africa and CaBFoodS-Africa
Strategic Advisory Board Member
AFRICAP (GCRF)
Co-Principal Investigator and Strategic Advisory Board Member
2018–2022
ICRISAT Smart Food
Board Member
2019–2021
IDRC-CARIAA
Member, Science and Policy Advisory Committee
Career
Professional journey
- 2019 to presentChief Executive Officer and Head of MissionFANRPAN
- 2014–2019Director for Policy and ResearchFANRPAN
- 2011–2014Monitoring and Evaluation CoordinatorFANRPAN
- 2010–2011Research, Monitoring and Evaluation OfficerCo-operative Banks Development Agency, South Africa
- 1998–2007Senior Researcher and Monitoring and Evaluation SpecialistAgricultural Research Council, South Africa
Education
Academic qualifications
- PhD in EconomicsUniversity of New England, AustraliaSpecialisation in public policy and programme evaluation
- Master of Development StudiesUniversity of the Free State, South Africa
- Advanced Programme in Marketing ManagementUniversity of South Africa
- Bachelor of Agricultural ManagementUniversity of Limpopo, South Africa
Strategic direction
Thematic priorities of the 2025–2035 Strategic Plan
Under Dr. Madzivhandila’s leadership, FANRPAN advances policy research, knowledge management and advocacy, capacity strengthening and learning across these thematic areas.
- Climate Change Resilience
- Nutrition and Sustainable Livelihoods
- Natural Resources and Environment
- Trade and Markets
- Investments in Agriculture
- Technology and Innovation
- Gender, Equity and Social InclusionCross-cutting
Research
Selected publications
Development Practice in Eastern and Southern Africa: Lived Experiences from the Trenches
Madzivhandila, T., Hachigonta, S., Francis, J., Kamuzhanje, J., Kolawole, O.D. and DeWolf, S. Springer Nature.
Smart Food for Healthy, Sustainable and Resilient Food Systems
Grando, S., Anitha, S., Tabo, R., Tsusaka, T., Givens, I. and Madzivhandila, T. (eds.). Frontiers Media.
Introducing the FSNet Africa model
Mkandawire, E., Mentz Coetzee, M., Swanepoel, F., Dougill, A., Quinn, C. and Madzivhandila, T. New Agenda.
Assessing and mapping Water-Energy-Food Nexus smart innovations and practices in Limpopo Province
Musetsho, K.D. et al. Frontiers in Water.
A new integrated assessment framework for climate-smart nutrition security in sub-Saharan Africa
Jennings, S.A. et al. Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems.
Achieving Food Security and Nutrition
Madzivhandila, T. et al. In AGRA, African Agriculture Status Report.
From the CEO’s desk
CEO’s Blog
Reflections and commentary from Dr. Madzivhandila on African agriculture, food systems and policy.
FANRPAN Joins Africa Day Commemorations – 25 May 2025
Africa Day marks the 62 nd anniversary of the founding of the Organisation of African Unity (now the African Union) on 25 May 1963, a milestone that continues to symbolise solidarity, cultural wealth and collective resilience across the continent. African Union This...
Amplifying Africa’s Voice in Global Agricultural Research: G20 MACS
South Africa’s hosting of the G20 in 2025 has unlocked a rare and strategic opportunity for Africa to shape the global agricultural science and innovation agenda. As the only African country in the G20, South Africa’s leadership is not only timely, it is pivotal. On...
CEO’s Appointment as Board Member for DE Africa
Congratulations to Dr Tshilidzi Madzivhandila who was appointment as a member of the Interim Advisory Board (IAB) of Digital Earth Africa (DE Africa) in his capacity as the Chief Executive Officer and Head of Mission of the Food, Agriculture and Natural Resources...
Africa’s Unified Voice During South Africa’s Historic G20 Presidency
South Africa’s historic G20 Presidency (December 2024 – November 2025) presents a remarkable opportunity for Africa to shape global agricultural discourse and champion innovations that directly address our continent’s most pressing challenges. As Chief Executive...
Strengthening Regional Collaboration for a Resilient African Agri-Food System
The 2025 FANRPAN Node Common Visioning Meeting reaffirmed our collective commitment to building a resilient, inclusive, and impact-driven network that effectively shapes Africa’s agri-food systems policies. As we engaged in strategic reflections over two days, a...
Fourteen Years at FANRPAN: A Journey of Commitment and Collaboration
Celebrating 14 Years of Leadership at FANRPAN
Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila marks 14 years of dedication, impact, and leadership at FANRPAN. From shaping policy research to driving strategic advocacy, his journey has been instrumental in advancing Africa’s agricultural transformation. As FANRPAN embarks on its 2025-2035 Strategic Plan, we celebrate this milestone and look ahead to a future of innovation, collaboration, and policy influence.
FANRPAN at the African Union Extraordinary Summit on CAADP
FANRPAN is actively participating in the African Union’s Extraordinary Summit on the Comprehensive Africa Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) Strategy and Action Plan 2026–2035, taking place from January 9th to 11th, 2025, at the Speke Resort in Munyonyo,...
FANRPAN CEO Reflections: ACIAR-Africa Alumni Workshop
ACIAR hosted a three-day workshop in Nairobi, Kenya (December 9–13, 2024), focused on partnership brokering and effective communication for its Africa Alumni. The event highlighted strategies for navigating complex partnerships, stakeholder engagement, and community impact. FANRPAN CEO, Dr. Tshilidzi Madzivhandila, reflected on ACIAR’s critical role in his professional journey and emphasized aligning Alumni efforts with Africa’s development and food systems transformation goals.
Reflections on COP29 – Progress Amid Challenges, and the Road to Belém
The 29th UN Climate Change Conference (COP29) in Baku, Azerbaijan, unfolded in a manner that was both ambitious and sobering. Unlike the euphoric momentum of COP28, which placed food systems squarely on the global agenda, COP29 offered a pragmatic, albeit less...