Gerson Isaac Nyadzi is the Science Coordinator and Team Leader of Mbola Millennium Villages cluster in Tanzania. Dr Nyadzi joined the project in July 1st, 2006; however, he was involved in strategic village site identification and assisted in the initiation of the MVP project in Tanzania since September 2005. He participated in the MV1 proposal writing for Mbola, Tanzania and attended the 1st Science Coordinators and Database Managers orientation workshop held in January 2006 in Nairobi and Kisumu, Kenya.

As the Science Coordinator, Dr Nyadzi is responsible to ensure that the Mbola Millennium Villages Project (Mbola MVP) receives the scientific and technological support and guidance required to achieve the Millennium Development Goals at the community level and work as a focal point for the Millennium Villages Science Team (MVST) to provide oversight of the technical aspects of the project and to backstop the technical activities, surveys and data collection/analysis for both research and scaling up villages on best options and good lessons, and requiring direct interaction with all sector coordinators and partners. As a Team Leader, the main role is to serve as the focal point for the Mbola MVP at the Cluster Program level for the Millennium Villages Management Team (MVMT). Within this context, as the Team Leader, he is responsible to ensure that all project related program and financial management activities are in accordance with approved annual work plans, budgets and procurement plans.

Dr Nyadzi holds a PhD in Production Ecology and Natural Resource Conservation from the Department of Environmental Sciences, Wageningen University and Research Centre, The Netherlands; a MSc in Soil Science from the International Training Centre for Post Graduate Soil Scientists, Faculty of Sciences, Gent University, Belgium and a BSc (Hon) Agriculture from the Department of Agriculture, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Morogoro, Tanzania.

Dr Nyadzi previously worked as a Senior Agricultural Research Officer with the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security, Tanzania and later joined ICRAF as a Post Doctoral Fellow (Soil Scientist), and was promoted to an Associate Scientist and a Site Manager for ICRAF Tabora, Tanzania and as an Interim Country Representative, ICRAF Tanzania. It was this time that he assisted in developing agroforestry trials for soil fertility improvement and fuel wood supply through the Southern Africa Agroforestry Network (AFRENA). He also worked as a consultant on Agriculture and Food Security in Kigoma Tanzania. Dr Nyadzi’s research experience spans over 15 years, in the field of soil fertility, water and soil nutrient dynamics and his scientific output is evidenced in over 22 articles in journals, book chapters and proceedings.