Humphrey Shadrack Chilewa
Programme Leader (PL)
Programs Management
Humphrey Shadrack Chilewa is a highly accomplished Agricultural, Rural Socio-Economic, and Community Development Professional with extensive experience in designing, managing, monitoring, and evaluating integrated community development programmes across Tanzania and the wider East African region. With a strong background in programme leadership, strategic management, and institutional development, he has successfully led multidisciplinary teams and implemented complex donor funded projects that have improved livelihoods, strengthened community resilience, and promoted sustainable agricultural transformation.
As the Programme Leader at Research, Community and Organizational Development Associates (RECODA), Humphrey provides strategic leadership and overall oversight of the organization's programme portfolio. He is responsible for guiding programme design, implementation, quality assurance, partnership management, and institutional learning across RECODA's core thematic areas including: Community Economic Development; Food and Nutrition Security; and Environment, Climate Change and Agroecology. He provides technical leadership and mentorship to Project Managers and Project Officers, ensuring the delivery of high quality programme implementation, capacity building, technical backstopping, and results based management. In addition, he oversees programme planning, procurement coordination, project input management, and compliance with donor and organizational standards, ensuring that RECODA's interventions deliver measurable, sustainable, and community driven development outcomes.
Humphrey possesses comprehensive expertise across the entire Project Cycle Management (PCM) continuum, including project identification, concept development, proposal writing, appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and impact assessment. Throughout his career, he has successfully managed large scale, multi stakeholder development programmes covering Sustainable Agriculture, Agroecology, Food and Nutrition Security, Agribusiness Development, Livestock Production, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), Microfinance, Health and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, Natural Resource Management, Governance, Gender Equality, and Social Inclusion.
A passionate advocate of agroecological transformation, Humphrey is amongst the pioneers who contributed to the development and field testing of the RIPAT (Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation) approach during its early implementation in Korogwe District (Tanga Region) and later in Arumeru and Karatu Districts (Arusha Region). His practical experience has enabled him to champion RIPAT as a proven, participatory, and evidence based model that strengthens household resilience, enhances food security, and promotes sustainable agricultural development among smallholder farming communities.
One of his most notable professional achievements was providing leadership to the implementation of the Boresha Lishe Project, a large-scale nutrition sensitive agriculture programme implemented in Singida, Ikungi, and Chamwino Districts through a consortium comprising the World Food Programme (WFP), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC), Save the Children, SEMA, TAHEA, INADES Formation Tanzania, and other development partners. The programme significantly contributed to improving household food security, dietary diversity, nutrition practices, and resilient agricultural production systems amongst rural communities in the semi-arid regions of Central Tanzania.
Before rejoining RECODA as Programme Leader, Humphrey served with Dorcas Aid International Tanzania for four years, initially as Development Programme Manager and subsequently as Institutional Fundraising Manager. During this period, he successfully mobilized substantial donor resources through competitive proposal development and partnership building, supporting integrated programmes in livelihoods, health, WASH, climate resilience, and community development.
Humphrey is an experienced researcher, facilitator, trainer, and mentor with strong competencies in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), organizational capacity development, and participatory learning approaches. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Agricultural Extension and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agricultural Education and Extension, both awarded by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania.
His technical expertise spans both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA), Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST), outcome harvesting, Most Significant Change (MSC), and mixed method evaluation approaches. He is proficient in the use of data collection, management, and statistical analysis tools, including Kobo Toolbox, SPSS, ENA for SMART, the Poverty Probability Index (PPI), Microsoft Power BI, and advanced Microsoft Excel for programme monitoring, reporting, and decision making.
Humphrey has facilitated numerous national and regional trainings on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), Child Protection and Safeguarding, Agroecology, Climate Resilient/Smart Agriculture, Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture, Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR), proposal development, project design, and participatory extension methodologies. In 2023, he participated in an international professional training programme on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation, and Resilience, facilitated by DANIDA and NIRAS in Denmark, further strengthening his expertise in climate resilient development programming.
He has also contributed to academic research through the publication of two peer reviewed journal articles in the Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (JAERD) and the Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences (TAJAS), focusing on factors influencing the adoption of improved agricultural technologies amongst smallholder farmers in semi arid Tanzania.
Throughout his career, Humphrey has worked extensively in more than sixteen districts across Tanzania and has collaborated with a broad range of international development partners, including SNV, Farm Africa, World Vision Tanzania, Îles de Paix Tanzania, FAO, NORAD, World Food Programme (WFP), SwissAid Tanzania, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), CKU Denmark, IDRC, and numerous Local Government Authorities.
Humphrey is fluent in both English and Kiswahili and is widely recognized for his strategic leadership, technical excellence, resource mobilization skills, strong facilitation abilities, and commitment to evidence based, participatory, and sustainable rural development. His passion lies in empowering communities to become resilient, self reliant, and capable of driving their own development through inclusive, innovative, and environmentally sustainable approaches.
As the Programme Leader at Research, Community and Organizational Development Associates (RECODA), Humphrey provides strategic leadership and overall oversight of the organization's programme portfolio. He is responsible for guiding programme design, implementation, quality assurance, partnership management, and institutional learning across RECODA's core thematic areas including: Community Economic Development; Food and Nutrition Security; and Environment, Climate Change and Agroecology. He provides technical leadership and mentorship to Project Managers and Project Officers, ensuring the delivery of high quality programme implementation, capacity building, technical backstopping, and results based management. In addition, he oversees programme planning, procurement coordination, project input management, and compliance with donor and organizational standards, ensuring that RECODA's interventions deliver measurable, sustainable, and community driven development outcomes.
Humphrey possesses comprehensive expertise across the entire Project Cycle Management (PCM) continuum, including project identification, concept development, proposal writing, appraisal, planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation, learning, and impact assessment. Throughout his career, he has successfully managed large scale, multi stakeholder development programmes covering Sustainable Agriculture, Agroecology, Food and Nutrition Security, Agribusiness Development, Livestock Production, Village Savings and Loan Associations (VSLAs), Microfinance, Health and Nutrition, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), Climate Change Adaptation, Disaster Risk Reduction, Natural Resource Management, Governance, Gender Equality, and Social Inclusion.
A passionate advocate of agroecological transformation, Humphrey is amongst the pioneers who contributed to the development and field testing of the RIPAT (Rural Initiatives for Participatory Agricultural Transformation) approach during its early implementation in Korogwe District (Tanga Region) and later in Arumeru and Karatu Districts (Arusha Region). His practical experience has enabled him to champion RIPAT as a proven, participatory, and evidence based model that strengthens household resilience, enhances food security, and promotes sustainable agricultural development among smallholder farming communities.
One of his most notable professional achievements was providing leadership to the implementation of the Boresha Lishe Project, a large-scale nutrition sensitive agriculture programme implemented in Singida, Ikungi, and Chamwino Districts through a consortium comprising the World Food Programme (WFP), the Ministry of Agriculture, the Tanzania Food and Nutrition Centre (TFNC), Save the Children, SEMA, TAHEA, INADES Formation Tanzania, and other development partners. The programme significantly contributed to improving household food security, dietary diversity, nutrition practices, and resilient agricultural production systems amongst rural communities in the semi-arid regions of Central Tanzania.
Before rejoining RECODA as Programme Leader, Humphrey served with Dorcas Aid International Tanzania for four years, initially as Development Programme Manager and subsequently as Institutional Fundraising Manager. During this period, he successfully mobilized substantial donor resources through competitive proposal development and partnership building, supporting integrated programmes in livelihoods, health, WASH, climate resilience, and community development.
Humphrey is an experienced researcher, facilitator, trainer, and mentor with strong competencies in Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), organizational capacity development, and participatory learning approaches. He holds a Master of Science (MSc) in Agricultural Extension and a Bachelor of Science (BSc) in Agricultural Education and Extension, both awarded by Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA) in Morogoro, Tanzania.
His technical expertise spans both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies, including Participatory Rural Appraisal (PRA), Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA), Climate Vulnerability and Capacity Assessment (CVCA), Community Led Total Sanitation (CLTS), Participatory Hygiene and Sanitation Transformation (PHAST), outcome harvesting, Most Significant Change (MSC), and mixed method evaluation approaches. He is proficient in the use of data collection, management, and statistical analysis tools, including Kobo Toolbox, SPSS, ENA for SMART, the Poverty Probability Index (PPI), Microsoft Power BI, and advanced Microsoft Excel for programme monitoring, reporting, and decision making.
Humphrey has facilitated numerous national and regional trainings on Monitoring, Evaluation, Accountability and Learning (MEAL), Child Protection and Safeguarding, Agroecology, Climate Resilient/Smart Agriculture, Nutrition Sensitive Agriculture, Community Managed Disaster Risk Reduction (CMDRR), proposal development, project design, and participatory extension methodologies. In 2023, he participated in an international professional training programme on Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation, and Resilience, facilitated by DANIDA and NIRAS in Denmark, further strengthening his expertise in climate resilient development programming.
He has also contributed to academic research through the publication of two peer reviewed journal articles in the Journal of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development (JAERD) and the Tanzania Journal of Agricultural Sciences (TAJAS), focusing on factors influencing the adoption of improved agricultural technologies amongst smallholder farmers in semi arid Tanzania.
Throughout his career, Humphrey has worked extensively in more than sixteen districts across Tanzania and has collaborated with a broad range of international development partners, including SNV, Farm Africa, World Vision Tanzania, Îles de Paix Tanzania, FAO, NORAD, World Food Programme (WFP), SwissAid Tanzania, Sokoine University of Agriculture (SUA), Nelson Mandela African Institution of Science and Technology (NM-AIST), CKU Denmark, IDRC, and numerous Local Government Authorities.
Humphrey is fluent in both English and Kiswahili and is widely recognized for his strategic leadership, technical excellence, resource mobilization skills, strong facilitation abilities, and commitment to evidence based, participatory, and sustainable rural development. His passion lies in empowering communities to become resilient, self reliant, and capable of driving their own development through inclusive, innovative, and environmentally sustainable approaches.