Grace Rusinamhodzi

Contact Details

Kleine Rosenstr. 1-3, D-34109 Kassel, Germany

+4915734768227

Institute

PhD Project Title

Assessing the socio-economic significance of commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for rural households in or adjacent forest environments.

Abstract of PhD Thesis

Assessing the socio-economic significance of commercialization of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) for rural households in or adjacent forest environments.

Due to commercialization, NTFPs have gained both use value and exchange value thus improving purchasing power of rural households. This however results in increased demand for labour for their production. With rural households facing varying labour demands across seasons and productive activities both on-farm and off-farm, it is important to understand how various institutions have evolved and shaped NTFP commercialization. Four wards in and adjacent GNP will be selected for this study. The four wards making the study area is comprised of a ward located inside the park which is state property, Small-scale Commercial Farms which fall under private property, communal area which fall under common property and resettlement area which falls under semi-state property regime. A questionnaire survey will be used to collect primary data across a sample of 250 households. Secondary data will be obtained from the national parks office, meteorological department, Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe, Rural district offices and ministry of tourism. Both qualitative and quantitative research methodologies will be used in the study. Quantitative data will be analysed using both lower order and higher order econometric tools while data from focus group discussions will be analysed using qualitative comparative analysis. Expected results are that institutions currently governing harvesting of NTFPs in Zimbabwe need to evolve to meet current economic changes and to sustain commercialization of NTFPs.

Supervisor

Area of Interest:

Sustainable Development, Biodiversity Conservation, Climate Change, Rural Development, Gender Issues, Institutional Economics & Project Management

Educational Background

2015	e-Course Certificate: The World Bank Institute: Economics of climate resilient development.
2015	e-Course Certificate: Measure Evaluation. Monitoring and Evaluation fundamentals.
2014	e-Course Certificate: The World Bank Institute: Emissions trading systems: Using markets to promote low emissions development
2010-2012	Master of Science in Agricultural and Applied Economics Title of Thesis: Factors affecting perceptions and responsiveness to climate variability induced hazards: A case of Seke and Murewa districts.
2003-2006	Bachelor of Science Honours in Agricultural Economics (University of Zimbabwe) Title of Thesis: A comparative socio-economic assessment of conservation and conventional farming practices in crop production: A case of magunje and Kasimure areas in Zimbabwe

Professional Experience

2015-2016	Data analyst at Data entry outsourcing services on part-time and casual basis - Nairobi, Kenya.
2013-2015	Monitoring and evaluation specialist for Ecogronomy Consulting Pvt (Ltd)-Harare, Zimbabwe.
2012	Junior researcher for Government of Zimbabwe Work Programme (GWP) - Harare, Zimbabwe
2011-2012	Research fellow hosted by University of Dar es Salaam for African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP) - Dar es salaam, Tanzania.
2011	Facilitator or the EU/Government of Zimbabwe's Smallholder Micro-Irrigation Development Support Program (SMIDSP) on Agribusiness and contract farming training - Harare, Zimbabwe.
2007	Project officer for Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) department at MercyCorps - Harare, Zimbabwe.
2007	Food Voucher Distribution officer for Oxfam GB under Joint Initiative project - Harare, Zimbabwe
2007	Data collection officer for Development data consultancy-Harare, Zimbabwe.
2006-2007	Project officer for conservation agriculture project Foundations for farming - Harare, Zimbabwe.

Awards/Scholarships

African Climate Change Fellowship Program (ACCFP), 2011
African Economic Research Consortium funded Collaborative Masters in Agricultural & Applied Economics Programme of his MSc degree at the shared facility for specialization and electives at University of Pretoria, South Africa, 2010-2012

Publications

<link http: ageconsearch.umn.edu bitstream>Factors affecting perceptions and responsiveness to climate variability induced hazards: A case of Seke and Murewa districts.
<link http: www.bioline.org.br>Factors affecting responsiveness to climate variability induced hazards.